Website Project Management - Communication
| Article Index |
|---|
| Website Project Management |
| Planning Your Website |
| Get It In Writing |
| Communication |
| Content |
| Website Traffic |
| Maintenance and CMS |
| Picking A Design Agency |
| All Pages |
Communication
Ask around with the question “why do you hate your web developer so much?” and you’ll get a wide variety of answers. Put them on a couch and go deeper and at the root will almost always be a communications issue. It’s a lot easier to deal with issues or delays if you’re kept in the loop, so make sure your developer keeps you informed of how the job is progressing (on time? on budget?) and if anything is needed on your end.
How do you ensure this happens? Your developer should have a project manager assigned to you whose responsibility it is to keep you up-to-date. This communication should happen regularly and in a format that works best for you (in person/phone/email). Additionally, you should be comfortable with their communication style; do you clearly understand them and vice-versa?
Another mechanism you can use to aid in communication is a project management website. These are now pretty common within larger web development companies. They allow you to log in 24/7, see project progress, view and contribute to discussions, upload files, view proofs, etc. It’s a great tool: ask your developer if they have something like this for you.