Get the Drop on web project planning & needs assessment

I don’t think I’m alone here.

I work in a corporate environment; multiple projects going on at once; they need to be done yesterday; they need to serve everyone; me and my computer are the only resources.

A CRM, a CMS; They need to combine social networking with a forum and a classifieds ad model. They like what MSNBC is doing with news, but wants to add UGC and an SMS feature. They want a glorified FTP (you know, FTP but with this and this and this and this…).

Imagine you’re sitting down for a meeting with a department head who’s been waiting for the understaffed internet team to get to his needs. You can’t just say ‘no’.

Manage client input

Everyone’s an expert. Very few people actually know what they want in a site, but I’ll be damned if they won’t tell you to a detail about how it should look & work.

Guide the conversation. You know what you need. Audience. Problem. Constraints. Let your client know that you intend to gather this information, gather it, then move on.

Close with action items

Segue with additional guidance:

“OK, I’m going to take that information a write up a project proposal. You’ll e-mail me form X right after we’re done, and I’ll send the proposals for review by end-of-business today.”

Get to work

You should have survived the meeting. Be flexible, but firm. Your stance should be attentive, but non-committal.