Project Proposals and Kick-off Questions

This post is somewhat familiar ground for me, as I’ve written variations of these words several times over the years.

When I first started Squidge Inc, and was still cutting my teeth in the relatively unfamiliar commercial world outside of the BBC, I made a lot of mistakes. In my overzealous keenness to get started on projects with clients, I skipped some fundamental steps that meant problems started to occur once we started projects.

It was a steep learning curve in some respects, but it made me start to hone what I affectionately now call my ‘kick-off questions’.

These questions, when answered fully by a client, allow me to easily put together a detailed proposal/outline document for a project - and ensure that that client and I are always on the same page BEFORE any work starts.

It’s surprising the number of that clients that don’t come to the table with a fully formed outline for what they want, and I’ve found going through this process helps sculpt that outline early on, and lays the foundations for a good working relationship from the early stages of the project.

I’ve had good feedback from clients over the years for this process. It’s not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m still quite shocked when I talk to other folks who work for themselves, some who are new to running their own business, and some who (more scarily) have been doing it for years, that don’t do anything like this!

You can use the questions as the basis to an initial discussion about a project, though some will benefit from the client going away and coming back with some extra details for you as well.

Although the questions focus getting details for a website project - they can easily be adapted for product/application projects too.

1 - Design

Can you list some links to any websites you like the look of, or might be similar to what you would like for your new site/product?

I still smile that this is number one - as in my mind, it’s not actually the most important part of a project - the audience, content and functionality are (usually!) - but to get a client on-board this can actually be quite a fun process for them.

I specifically encourage them to seek out design references that aren’t simply their competitors, and also to find things that they DON’T like, and why.

Some clients really enjoy this process, and it starts the project off with a really nice mood board of design preferences and aspirations that can be easily references, or discussed early on in the project.

I do usually bring my own suggestions to the table too - but try to get the client to go through this process independently first, to see what they produce.

2 - Content

Give some thought to exactly what you would like to go on the site itself, can you supply details/thoughts about any of the following:

• Your brand/logo
• Images or graphics you like
• Draft text you would like to see on the website
• An idea of the sections/pages

This the meat of what the client really needs to think about - and surprisingly, often they haven’t!

Branding/logo isn’t in design, as if they have one, they will mention it as part of the first question answer anyway.

If a client doesn’t have a brand, I will get this done independently by designers I trust with such an art-form. As Squidge Inc, I simply don’t supply that service, but want to know if they’re going to need it in order to get it addressed early so we can then fold it back into any design references they’ve provided, or future brand guidelines that may affect their original references.

Images and graphics set an expectation for how they like to present content, and if they have aspirations for a graphically heavy project.

When we get to draft copy and the ideas of sections and pages - this can be a very insightful view into how THEY see the website being structured, or the product working. Again, often they haven’t considered that it’s actually them that have to supply the content for the project… not me… and it sows this seed nice and early in the process.

3 - Updates

Would the site need to be updated frequently?

• If so, what areas of the site, how often and with what kinds of content?
• If so, would you like to be able to do this yourself or via Squidge Inc?

Yes, I know that’s technically 3 questions - but they’re all focused on one thing, will there have the be a client friendly UI to maintain the website/product - a CMS or ‘Content Management System’.

I’m often surprised by the number of clients who request they need a Wordpress website, when they end up admitting that they will likely only update the site once a year.

This can also set the wheels in motion nice and early in considering a CMS solution that may actually plug into an already familiar system or even their social media accounts!

A good example would be a client who wanted a calendar on their site to show upcoming events. Rather than making this something that the site had to manage, I simply suggested that they use their existing Google Calendar - which I took a feed from to show up-to-date event information on the site.

Do be mindful, that if you use 3rd party services to provide content onto a client site that you explain that you can’t be held responsible if such services fail, change or restrict access to content the project relies on.

4 - Marketing

Do you have any marketing strategies in place for getting users to your website/are you relying on straight web searches for users to find your website, or is this not a high priority?

A bit of a sneaky multi-threaded question there - but again, there’s a simple goal here, to see what their marketing expectations are of the site, or product. In the early days, I’d launch a website, and the client would instantly search on Google and ask why it wasn’t appearing.

Knowing what the expectations are, early, allows me to manage them as well recommending trusted, specialized service providers who will support the marketing solution the client is after.

Some clients say that they simply don’t need any marketing - the site is just there to have a professional, online presence.

5 - Audience

What are the specific audiences you have in mind for the website?

Short and sweet this one, but it ends up producing some interesting, sometimes very unexpected, responses. I use the word ‘audiences’ here, as it forces the client to try and think of other potential users, not just their core target audience. With more complex projects this can lead to persona development, and a research phase targeted at specifically identifying the audiences and motivations behind them.

6 - Budget

Do you have a ball-park budget for the project?

Yep - ask the question. I will never forget talking to fellow agency, who had just started out, and they admitted having had numerous meetings with a potential client about a really interesting sounding project, to then find out that the client’s budget aspirations were vastly below what was required to work with them. Such a lot of wasted time, and disappointment for both parties.

Can money be an awkward subject - sometimes. But I try to remove that by asking the question early. If the client is hesitant to supply a cost, then I can potentially quote based on the requirements for the project - sure - but, as with any professional service, it’s good to know the budget requirements so that any proposed solution matches them appropriately.

7 - Timescale

Is there a deadline for when the project has to be live?

I would always say that ‘as soon as possible’ is not a deadline, it’s simply an indication of urgency. The delivery of a project has to be considered realistically and I will often detail a rough plan of sign-off points leading to a rough delivery time window. The issue with any creative project is that things can take time, and being in a rush goes very much counter to that.

Equally, actually HAVING a deadline is super important. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security if there is no deadline, as this can make a project stretch over a longer and longer time period, with no ultimate goal for when things have to be finished.

If the deadlines are tight, features can be phased, for example. If the project seemingly has no deadline, then insist on one and make sure that the momentum on the project is kept up.

8 - Domains & Hosting

Have you already bought any domain names (a website address, eg: http://squidgeinc.com) and/or hosting? Do you/would you like to have any email addresses set-up for your website?

The technical infrastructure for any project is very important. Do be wary that you can go into the rather scary realm of techno-babble for clients when you get to this question. I have always had ‘no jargon’ promise for Squidge Inc, and it’s wise to be aware that hosting, domain names and even email, can leave a lot of folks feeling a little overwhelmed and/or confused.

It’s pretty much a given that a client will have usually bought a domain for the project. The key thing with this question is to make sure you have access to the domain, and can wire it to the services you will require for the project.

I will not host any of my client work on hosting services I don’t manage. The simple reason is that if there are problems with performance, or with the site going down, I can’t support a service that I don’t know, or trust.

Email isn’t something I relish dealing with, in all honesty. If a client wants one setting up then I will provide help with getting them onto Google Suite - which offers its own dedicated 27/7/365 tech support.

Knowing your requirements around the technical aspects of the project means you can explain, and detail the ongoing costs around hosting etc as well.

9 - Additional & Future Features

Can you list any additional features you may like for the future, or that haven’t been covered in the previous questions?

A bit of a catch-all here, but it’s always good to have sight on where the project may well evolve to over time. Planning for such things from the get-go makes far more sense than going for a particular approach which then makes a future enhancement much harder to accommodate.

It also means you can propose ‘phases’ of development, or work, that can lead to planned future features, for example.

10 - Project Owner

Who will be the single main point of contact for the project?

This is something I ALWAYS insist on - having one point of contact that is responsible for sign-off at the various stages of the project. It’s all well and good working with a group of people on a project - but clarifying early on that one of them will ultimately communicate confirmation of sign-off means you don’t end up being piggy-in-middle if there are disagreements/conflict from the client-side of things during the project, for any reason.

And that’s it - hopefully a nice set of questions that outline some key aspects of project. You can then use the answers to these questions to draw up a pretty detailed proposal, and scoping document around what you will be delivering, for who, when, how and for how much.

I’d always be clear that any such document will need to be revisited if there are any changes to the project.

It’s a reassuring reference point for you and for the client - and should resolve any ambiguity before any work even starts on a project. I don’t start any work on the project until such a document is signed-off.

You may want to also detail key payment points across the project within this document - on sign-off of the document, agreement of content, sign-off of design, and launch - for example.