WordCamp San Diego 2013 - Why Projects Go South

Client Challenges:
Why Projects Go South

Sunday, March 24, 13

The phrase “go south” (or
sideways) refers to when a
project doesn’t go as planned. It
also inevitably means the client is
upset and the project, as it sits at
that moment, is in jeopardy.

Why Projects Go South @CrowdedSites

You don’t have to brush all of your
teeth, just the ones you want to keep.
- Judy Chyrchel (My Mom)


This presentation will feature three
scenarios illustrating why projects
go south and their solutions.

We will follow up with some tips
on how to keep our clients happy
and our projects on track.


Are bad projects preventable?


Where in the website building process
do projects go south?


Why do projects go south?


Who’s responsibility is it to make sure
projects don’t go south?


TRUTH:
Bad projects are preventable. Projects
can go bad at any time. Projects go
bad when we don’t communicate and
it is our responsibility to keep our
project on track.


Whenever I ask myself those
questions after a project has gone
bad, the blame initially is never on
myself. After more thought, I do
concede that I could have done
more.


SCENARIO 1:
A designer has designed websites for
a few years. A new big dollar project
has come up. They want to build the
next facebook with BuddyPress. The
designer installed the plugin on their
site and it looked easy. They could do
this whole job themselves and make
bank! What should they do?


SOLUTION:
1. Creating the next “facebook” is a huge risk
ﬁlled with unrealistic expectations.
2. The designer is under experienced.
3. They could partner up, but the designer lacks
the foresight to spec the project correctly.
4. The designer should gracefully pass on this
project.


ANALYSIS:
Red Flags:
1. The designer would not meet the clients
“facebook” expectations.
2. If the job goes south the designer could not
ﬁnish the job alone, thus incurring more cost,
making a bad situation worse.


SCENARIO 2:
A developer is building an ecommerce
site for a small business. The client
constantly wants to meet to discuss
strategy. After a while the developer
reschedules meetings and is slow to
return emails. One day they get an
email titled “Mandatory Meeting.” In it
the client is upset. What now?


SOLUTION:
1. Get back to the client immediately.
2. Agree to meet them as soon as possible.
3. Prepare a list of what has been completed and
what is left to be completed.
4. Listen to the client.
5. Apologize.
6. Explain the time commitment you can afford.
7. Create a launch schedule.
8. Execute.


ANALYSIS:
What happened?
1. The developer did not set the right
expectations at the beginning of the project
for how they work.
2. The project was not being managed, so the
client took control.
3. Now the developer has to work twice as hard
and probably do some extra work, to appease
the client.


SCENARIO 3:
Your new style, is to communicate
every step of the way, good or bad.
You are in production and though
there is nothing to show, you
consistently send email updates
about project updates, delays and
challenges. The client emails that they
don’t think you can ﬁnish the project
and want their money back. Huh?

SOLUTION:
1. Contact the client immediately and set up either
a face to face or phone meeting.
2. Prepare a list of what has been completed and
what still has to be completed.
3. When you meet, apologize for over
communicating and explain updates will come
when there is something to “see.”
4. Set a date in the near future where you will show
the client your progress.
5. Reiterate your commitment to the project.


ANALYSIS:
1. The project is taking too long.
2. You are over communicating with information
the client doesn’t care about or doesn’t
understand.
3. The client hasn’t seen anything.
4. All of your emails about “updates” and
“challenges” sound like you don’t know what
you are doing and you are struggling.
5. Next time ask the client up front how they like to
be updated. Be ﬂexible if that changes too.


The What If’s
Every project is different. Not every
solution described in these scenario’s
will work for everyone or may even
apply. If a project is under stress it
may be better to terminate the project
and move on.


Developer Termination Reasons:
1. Non payment.
2. Client pivot’s - project is now out of scope.
3. No client involvement.
4. Constant delays.
5. You don’t have enough time.


Client Termination Reasons:
1. No progress.
2. No communication.
3. Nickel and dimmed for changes.
4. Unexpected results.
5. Developer won’t make revisions.


How to terminate a project:
1. Include a Termination clause in your contract.
2. Handle it like a business transaction.
3. Use a Termination Agreement if ﬁles and ﬁnal
payment are exchanged.
4. It’s in the clients best interest to sign a
termination agreement, otherwise you own
everything.
5. Payment needs to be received for the amount of
work that was performed before termination.
6. Don’t keep money you didn’t earn.


Final Power Tips:
1. Your client is the person who is paying you and
the person you are paying.
2. Sign a contract with clients and subcontractors.
3. Don’t talk poorly about your clients. Be
respectful. Remember, they chose you.
4. When working with others, don’t bad mouth your
colleagues. We are all in this together. Be
professional.
5. Don’t be afraid. No one is going to hurt you. It’s
never too late to do the right thing.


Ignoring the obvious and not
addressing your clients needs as
soon as they arise, will only create a
situation that gets rancid over time.
Much like this jar of mayonnaise.


Questions?


Thank you!
• Slides at www.CrowdedSites.com
• Follow me @weschyrchel & @crowdedsites
• For any questions feel free to contact me!
• Wes@CrowdedSites.com


WordCamp San Diego 2013 - Why Projects Go South

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