Sometimes project delivery gets delayed even though the expectations have been clearly set and milestones have been defined. Even the best planned projects can get delayed as you can encounter a number of bottlenecks – whether it is internal or external communication you are struggling with.
As a first step, I’d recommend focusing on your team or clients and identifying the most common reasons for the delay. Do you have a great, creative designer whose communication skills or response time should be improved? Do you often end up chasing clients for the info or feedback they need to provide so you can actually work on the project? There might be some other bottleneck specific to your business or clients so if you identify them, you’ll have a good chance of preventing them.
Every web design project should have a clearly defined project scope. Make sure you have clearly outlined the activities, timelines and deliverables as these will help you monitor the whole process. There is a number of project management tools that can help you coordinate and track the project. Creating smaller tasks and assigning clear ownership to team members (or clients) guarantees a better project overview a visibility. Trello is a flexible and easy to use project management software that can help you with the whole process. Though it is a bit limited in terms of features available, it does the job and helps you manage the projects at an affordable price. If you’d like to go for a more feature-rich project management software, Teamwork is a better option, though a bit more complex (and expensive!).
So, once you’ve identified potential bottlenecks, set the expectations and found the right project management software, you should be ready for this journey. In my experience, it all comes down to (clear) communication eventually. When analyzing the projects we have worked on and their delivery, the reason for a delayed project delivery was poor or delayed communication in most cases. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to control communication all the time, but here are a few tips on how to improve it:
- Get on the phone – use your phone more often, especially when you chase clients for feedback. It is easy to find an excuse for lost or missed emails from you and your team, but if you speak to your client on the phone, coming up with an excuse will be harder, and it is more likely that you will hear back from the client.
- Follow up email – yes – getting on the phone will make things quicker, you are more likely to get the info you need, but don’t forget a follow-up email. Especially if you discuss the requirements or amends. This way, you make sure everything is confirmed in writing as well and there will be no room for misunderstanding.
In summary
So, it is all about planning and communication. When we started, we were a small company with a few team members, but now as our team has expanded and we handle several projects at the same time, we need to plan each project carefully and have the right project management software.
Mini Bee Photography is a company that specialises in newborn, maternity and cake smash photography in Newcastle and Durham. This is a website design project that we have delivered smoothly within the predicted timelines thanks to the communication rules we have followed and our project management software.
