By Charlie Brown
The harsh truth is:
No matter how great your web development idea is, without a proper management system in place, you’d likely fail.
Becoming a skilled web developer lies in your ability to effectively and efficient manage small and large projects. In fact, the moment you up your project management skills, you’ll be way ahead of your competition.
As you know, websites and mobile apps don’t just grow revenue overnight, you need laid down plans to execute your marketing strategies.
Web development project is a tedious task. As the project manager, you’re motivating and managing your team as well as managing client’s expectations and risks. That’s not all—you’re also responsible for the completion and delivery of the project within a specified deadline and budget.
The good thing is that once you’re able to properly connect the dots, and do what is expected of you, the whole development process will be rewarding.
To get you started on your web development, here are 5 website project management tips that work:
1. Document every important aspect of the project
You want to write every important thing about the project in one document and confirm all the details with the client. Such material is often called the, “Project Brief,” and it will save you a lot of trouble that may arise later on.
At a minimum, you want to be on the same page with your client regards the project—thus, you want to be certain that both of you understand the significant parameters of the project which can include:
a). Client Description: As a developer and project manager, it’s important that you know and understand your client and the context of the project; this will enable you to know what he wants and therefore give him exactly that.
b). Project Objective (this is where context becomes important): What’s the underlying objective for this website design, what does the client intend to achieve?
c). Team of the project: How many people are involved in the project? Aside from the graphics designer, website developer, and copywriter, who else should the client communicate with?
d). Timing and budget: Note down the projects expected date of delivery (EOF), and the client’s budget, as well as expectations. More importantly, the success of your web development project rests on effective timing, remember that.
e). Technical requirements: You need to explain to the client every technical aspect of the project and its requirements, this will ensure that he doesn’t come back later looking for troubles.
f). Miscellaneous: Which other information is needful during the project execution? It’s essential to document it. In fact, with the right online task and project management tools such as Ignitur or Asana, it can be done easily.
The primary goal here is to ensure you have one document that adequately describes the project which was agreed by both parties.
2. Create a detailed plan
Here, you want to break the project into smaller, measurable milestones. This is where you should clearly state what the features of the project are, when each feature should be ready for delivery, which team members responsible for each feature?
In a concise manner, you’re expected to define the scope of the project, define each team member’s responsibility, and set a measurable goal to determine the progress of the project.
To achieve this, apply Michael Lant’s “Agile project charter methodology.” According to Michael, this methodology gives you a clear picture of where you’re going, why you’re headed there, who will be impacted by the move, the most prevalent risks, and who is going to assist you.
Below is an excerpt from the post:
At a glance, you can see that it’s not enough to develop strategies for your project, you need plans: smaller tasks and how to approach them.
The success criteria gives you a benchmark on what to aim for—so that when you hit your milestone you know that you’ve achieved a goal.
3. Organize a well-planned kickoff meeting
This meeting is aimed to set the foundation of the project. It’s a meeting between the project sponsor, the project manager, product owner, and members of the development team.
This is also the ideal opportunity for you to motivate and energize your team.
Your principal goal with this kickoff meeting is to align the team with the primary project objectives and discuss any misunderstandings or problems regarding the project.
In the meeting, you should cover the main purpose of the project, the key success factors, deliverables and goals, start and end date, and project and communication plan.
This chart by Wisdomology says it all:
4. Invest in reliable project management software
To make project management tasks easier, you should have a centralized source of information your team can access anytime. This will also make communication between team members a lot easier. After all, you don’t want developers wondering when a feature has been completed.
The best solution to this is to research and invest in good project management software. The word “good” as used here is actually relative. Personally, if a piece of software is reliable and easy-to-use, then it’s good. Or what do you think?
The project manage software will enable your team to remain connected while working on the project. They’ll avoid unnecessary confusion, and get things done faster.
5. Be assertive and communicate wisely
You don’t have to be passive as a project manager. Instead of sitting down and hoping problems will disappear, try to be assertive and diligent in solving them.
As a rule of thumb, be disciplined enough to tackle critical issues the moment they arise. Also, learn to communicate wisely with your web developers and designers.
Conclusion
There you’ve it, the 5 project management tips that will supercharge your next web development project.
If you can efficiently manage smaller projects, then you’re gearing up for more complex projects—all it takes is your zeal to learn more—and understand your audience better.
Charlie Brown is a freelance content writer. Recently, he has working for a Pittsburg-based content marketing firm. His mission is to simplify and demystify online marketing for both upcoming and long-established entrepreneurs using tools such as digital signage templates by Dopublicity.com.
