Setting Project Requirements

For most of us, I think we can all agree that our expectations of a project we are in charge of should be high to create a quality products for our users or company. Take me for example, I have this project my client has entrusted me with and I want to show this client that I truly care about the product I create.

As a business owner, I find this to be a great aspect to look for when working with individuals, whether they be full time employees or outsourced individuals. When working on a clients project, the very first thing I do is get as many details as possible and set their expectations and parameters. By doing so, this allows me to fully understand both the importance to their company and what the high points should be.

Consider these points...

• Ask ALL Questions - Don't be afriad to ask questions that may sound dumb as those are usually the ones that truly make the difference in whether you understand the project.
• Set Your Limits - You know your work and experience bounderies so now may not be the time to push yourself into learning a new skill. Quality before quanitity.
• Set Decent Deadlines - You don't always know what the project may intale so always set progress goals to keep yourself going. It's okay to get ahead of schedule but never behind.
• Keep in touch with their Company - Keep the contractee updated on the progress made. Build up their confidence but don't be afraid to let them know if you run into stumbling blocks (it happens).
• Take EARNED breaks - You can crash and get discouraged from working too long and too hard. Just make sure these breaks are regulated and not overly done. In addition, if you feel that you've been slacking off, you should probably skip the next break and get caught up.

Personal Thoughts

I bring these point to you with personal experience and reasons of why this is so important. As a developer, I ran into the issue where I was in above my head with a project and needed reached out to a developer to do some freelance work. That didn't seem like such a bad thing (and sometimes it's a better thing). at the time. I felt like the person I reached out to didn't need too much detail, just the project needs and that was it. The freelance said that doing the project should only take, maybe an hour. Cool!

The problem here is I didn't set decent deadlines for both myself and the freelancer. What should have taken an hour, turned into nearly a two week project. While my natural instinct was to blame the freelancer, I had to think, "I did not set a project deadline and therefore can be considered a lower priority if they had multiple projects they were doing, and I also didn't set my own deadline so I didn't have a true reason to be mad (and that really sucks).