Webinar - How to Define a Realistic Website Project Timeline
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The document outlines key considerations for setting realistic website timelines, emphasizing the importance of understanding project scope, consulting experts, and planning for content. It stresses that success is a product of long-term planning and recognizing client expectations while debunking common myths about design simplicity. The average website redesign at Gravitate takes 4-6 months, with a focus on thorough research, strategy, and quality assurance.
Webinar - How to Define a Realistic Website Project Timeline
- 1. WEBSITE TIMELINES Presented by: Flynt Johnson flynt@gravitatedesign.com July 23rd, 2015
- 2. AGENDA Why This is Important Tips for Setting a Timeline 1. Don’t be arbitrary 2. Define Your Poblems & Scope 3. Consult an expert 4. Know thyself 5. Be Realistic 6. Don’t forget about content 7. The myth of simplicity 8. Think long-term 9. How Gravitate does it Q&A WELCOME “Long-range planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.” -Peter Drucker
- 3. A few words from: WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT “Success should be a synonym for learning.” “Great clients trust their vendors. Vendors with great clients fight tooth & nail to earn that trust. Don’t shuck the responsibility” “No offense to anyone, but I hate colorful spreadsheets”. More fromDon: www.gravitatedesign.com/blog/developing-and-improving-process-a-gather-content-webinar/ “People throw around the term “passion” a lot in my industry. I don’t think many folks realize passion doesn’t mean having fun, or even enjoying what you do, it means literally, ‘To suffer for what you love.” “I will retire the day a client doesn’t say they want a ‘Clean and professional’ website. What’s wrong with messy amateur sites??” Don Elliott Gravitate Director of Production
- 4. http://www.webat25.org/ arbitrary: /ˈärbəˌtrerē/ based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system. 1. DON’T BE ARBITRARY Typical Timeline Requests: January .................................. end of fiscal year (June) February .............................................. end of fiscal year March .................................................... end of fiscal year April ....................................................... end of fiscal year May ......................................................................... wildcard June ....................................................................... wildcard July .................................................................... end of year August .............................................................. end of year September ...................................................... end of year October ............................................................ end of year November ............................................................ wildcard December: .......................................................... wildcard
- 5. Define the problem: 2. PROBLEMS & SCOPE »» what problems are you trying to solve »» what constitutes a successful solution »» what’s the scale »» how strong is your your competition »» how complex is your message »» audience expectations »» anything else the agency needs to find solutions Create a Preliminary Scope: »» research requirements »» design requirements »» content requirements »» functional requirements »» testing requirements »» anything else you think the agency will need to do
- 6. The Agency Problem: What do you do when 9/10 clients has an unrealistic deadline? Agencies become: »» crusaders »» political soft peddlers »» liars »» factories 3. CONSULT AN EXPERT Questions to ask agencies: »» When does your typical website launch? »» What is your process for a redesign? »» How do you define scope and timeline for a website project? »» How long did (name a specific website of theirs) take? Why? »» If we gave you an extra month to work on that website, what more could you have accomplished? »» If we took a month away, what would you have sacrificed?
- 7. The Biggest difference maker for when a site launches isn’t the agency, it’s the client. Be Honest about your organization »» how prepared you are for this redesign »» team schedule »» workload »» team size & how your team makes decisions 4. KNOW THYSELF 5. BE REALISTIC Planning Fallacy: a phenomenon in which predictions about how much time will be needed to complete a future task display an optimistic bias, and underestimate the time needed. No work happens in a perfect world
- 8. 6. PLAN FOR CONTENT »» Great content is a requirement for a great website »» Unless you’re rethinking your content, you’re not redesigning your site »» Content is hard, and takes time to get right »» More projects are delayed by content/messaging, than design and development combined “Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration” -Jeffrey Zeldman
- 9. 7. THE MYTH OF SIMPLICITY “I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity” -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
- 10. 8. THINK LONG TERM You impress your boss by launching your site quickly, but you impress your clients (and build your business) by taking your time. »» Keep overall goals in mind »» Carefully consider before making sacrifices for short term gains »» The average company redesigns their site every 3-5 years »» If you think of your website as a product or even a project, you’re setting yourself up for failure »» Plan ahead (we’ll be working on this, too) Live Websites: 1995 .......................................................23,500 2000 ............................................... 17,087,182 2005 ............................................... 64,780,617 2010 .............................................206,956,723 2015 ......................................... 1,000,000,000 If you ever need motivation, go here: www.internetlivestats.com/total-number-of-websites/
- 11. 9. TYPICAL TIMELINES At Gravitate: »» Our Average redesign launches in 5 months »» We have launched a website in under 2 months, and we have projects that took more than a year »» We recommend alotting at least 4-6 months to a website redesign »» Every project includes: • Research • Strategy • Design • Development • Quality Assurance • Launch »» Clients won’t typically see the first design until they’re 30-45% of the way through the project Top 10 results for “how long does it take to launch a website:” 1. 48 hours 2. 1 week 3. 3-4 weeks 4. 6-10 weeks 5. 12-16 weeks 6. 6-9 months Don’t trust Google
- 12. Q&A
- 13. THANK YOU