“We’ll build you a website” is not a scope.
In short: After discovery and before wireframes, have the client sign a detailed scope. It heads off a lot of hard conversations later.
“We’ll build you a website.”
That was pretty much the whole scope in a client’s contracts. And their projects kept going over budget.
When the team looked into it, their first conclusion was: “Well, we need to budget more.”
Maybe (probably... usually). But I think the bigger issue was that nobody, not the client and not the team, knew where the project was going or when it ended.
If the contract says “a website,” you’ll keep building until the client stops asking. And if you try to challenge them before they decide the project is done, you won’t have a good reason.
The fix we landed on was one extra checkpoint. Not a new contract, and not a big process change.
After discovery, before wireframes, the client signs a detailed scope. Not “a website,” but “these 12 pages, on this platform, with these features, with this many rounds of revisions.”
My client made a good point: clients will push back, because they don’t want to be locked in. The honest answer for their client: a clear scope is how we deliver on time and on budget. It protects both sides. We’re not saying things won’t change, but we need a plan today.
And it does a few other useful things:
- It boxes in your team’s time, not just the client’s expectations.
- It lets you build a real schedule, with dates you can stand behind.
- When something changes, there’s a signed document to point to, instead of a he-said, she-said.
My favorite position to be in on a project is one where, if there’s a delay, everyone can see exactly why. That’s what this gets you.
Sometimes, it’s one quick checkpoint that makes all the difference, and heads off a lot of difficult conversations later.