More Planning, Less Work

I run into it time and time again: on my own projects but mostly in my current position. When there’s a great rush — an unexplained sense of urgency, for nothing more than urgency’s sake — planning takes a back seat to “Is it done?” (And that’s the more polite version. Usually it’s “We want this launched by Friday”, because they’ve decided to begin running print ads that direct people to a non-existent website… One that hasn’t even had any type of mockup completed, and most certainly hasn’t had finalized content provided, or hosting squared away.)

And now, as I’ve sufficiently played around with a cute little plugin called uSquare, I’m already contemplating a shift in how I want things to run here on my own website.

Planning.

Sometimes it just boils down to changing your mind.

But mostly it boils down to the rush, which robs everyone involved of a well thought out and complete website, both on the front and back-ends.

Even though I’ve grown accustomed to it, it doesn’t mean I like it. And I’ve weaved in some semblance of forethought into my process so as to make things much easier (99% of the time, easier on myself) down the road when the client requests a new bell or whistle be added or something to be changed around, or the ability to do X, Y, or Z. I’ve gotten quite good at it.

But there is no substitute for thorough planning. I’m lucky if I even get a complete design brief at the start of a project; as opposed to “Here’s a logo, they need a site in 3 days. Good luck!”

No domain name. No existing web address if there is one. No hosting information, cPanel or FTP, competitors to size up, creative direction, website features, sitemap, front/back-end functionalities needed, contact email address(es), calls to action, no summary of their business or goals they want to achieve by having a website, no existing analytics account… (Are you taking notes? This is all stuff that should be gathered during a preliminary meeting.)

THEN it would be the proper time to set a deadline. Sadly, I keep getting stuck doing things backwards. There’s a better way.

A perfect example is building a house:
Do you build a house without blueprints?
Do you set a date for a housewarming party and base your build timeline off of that?
Do you hire a plumber to plan and execute the entire project?
Do you finalize your blueprints without knowing the environment / size of the plot?

I think there is an ignorance that’s perpetuating when it comes to web design and development. Maybe it’s the “5 clicks and your done!” commercials that people may see. I don’t know. But there’s a serious lack of respect for what designers/developers deal with in the technical trenches. Unforeseen bugs, cross-browser compatibilities, every little nuance that a client sees on the sample websites they love… None of that just “comes when you cook the meat” (hat tip to Walter Matthau in The Odd Couple).

Someone thought that through, someone took the time to build it. I don’t quite understand the disconnect other than plain ignorance. If someone hires someone else to build their website, they obviously don’t know how. So naturally they wouldn’t know what’s involved.

So it’s our job to educate too. Food for thought.