What is a Project?

Customers ask a contractor to do a project for them. It is probably on a one-time basis. It is probably complex. There are limits of time and budget and resources. It must satisfy customer expectations and industry standards.

Here are four major characteristics of a website project.

---

1. An Established Objective

The customer wants to achieve something. But they might not know the technical requirements of a web project to achieve their wishes

A good contractor will work with a customer to help clarify their wishes. Together they will develop a list with the customer’s top priorities:

• I want a website for my podcast
• I want a website for our church bulletin
• I want to sell our product
• I want to interface with our Social Media platforms
• I want people to sign up for our newsletter

2. A Timeline

The customer and the contractor negotiate a beginning and an end:

• We can begin on March 1
• I want it done by October 31
• We need it in six months

3. The Customer is Prepared

Stakeholders have given their approval

The customer has designated a single point-of-contact to work with the contractor

The customer has agreed to the contractor’s pricing and invoicing system

The customer will be able to pay invoices promptly

4. The Contractor is Prepared

The Project Manager will bring experts aboard as needed:

• Designer
• User Interface
• Developer
• SEO Consultant

The technical requirements are agreed-upon. Examples:

• We must support 2,000 unique visitors per day
• We will use the concrete5 CMS
• We will use all the lastest web standards

Originally published on January 14, 2017

Last updated on October 28, 2022

TOPICS: Project Management,