Presented by David Minton and Stephen Pashby at
4th Annual NCTech4Good Conference (06/07/2013)
Don't let planning your next website project become a full-time second job. Join us for a fresh look at the planning, RFP writing, and hiring process. We'll provide a "from the trenches" look at common points of failure and provide tactics for avoiding them through guidelines, tips, and case studies.
Takeaways:
1. Learn how to plan a successful website project
2. Learn how to prepare an appropriate RFP
3. Learn how to select appropriate internal resources and/or external vendors
3. Staying Organized
“Organizing is what you do before you do
something, so that when you do it, it is not all
mixed up.”
A.A. Milne
Author of Winnie the Pooh
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18. “I’d say it’s been my biggest problem all my
life… it’s money. It takes a lot of money to
make these dreams come true.”
Walter Elias “Walt” Disney
Co-founder of Walt Disney Productions
On budgeting
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19. Determine your budget
• What is project success worth to you?
• Budget will guide:
• Technological approach
• Customization & integration
• Expandability & future costs
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20. Budget factors
• Consider total cost of ownership
• If not paying cash, opportunity costs?
• Is schedule or budget flexible?
• How will you measure their success?
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21. Tips: Budgeting
• Projects always cost more than expected
• You never have enough for everything
you want; plan around core needs
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23. “There cannot be a crisis next week. My
schedule is already full.”
Heinz Alfred “Henry” Kissinger
US Secretary of State &
Recipient of Noble Peace Prize
On scheduling
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24. Define your schedule
• Work back from deployment date
• Reserve time for testing
• Reserve time for development
• Reserve time for bidding and selection
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25. Tips: Schedule
• If you think you have set aside enough
time, you probably haven’t
• Expect project to takes 2–3x as long!
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29. Tips: Management
• More decision makers lead to longer and
more expensive projects!
• Provide single points of contact for
project production workers.
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31. “Most people have no idea of the giant
capacity we can immediately command when
we focus all of our resources on mastering a
single area of our lives. ”
Tony Robbins
Motivational Speaker
On Resource allocation
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33. You
• Pros
• No additional cost
• Readily available
• Cons
• Opportunity cost
• Do you have the necessary skills?
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34. Paid staff
• Pros
• No additional cost
• Readily available
• Cons
• Opportunity cost
• Less scalable than freelance or agency
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35. Volunteers/interns
• Pros
• Free or cheap
• Augment internal capabilities
• Cons
• Less stable than freelance or agency
• Less scalable than freelance or agency
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36. Freelance/individuals
• Pros
• Less expensive than agency
• Augment internal capabilities
• Cons
• Less stable than agency
• Less scalable than agency
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40. “If you think it’s expensive to hire a
professional to do the job, wait until you hire
an amateur.”
Paul Neal “Red” Adair
blowout/oil firefighting pioneer
On hiring professionals
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51. Types of vendors
• Freelance/individuals
• Virtual firms
• Web development agencies
• Advertising/marketing Agencies
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52. Which ones?
• Ask your peers
• Do web searches
• Review other websites
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53. How many?
• Does your organization have a minimum
bidding requirement?
• Consider no more than double this
number
• Ideally 3–6
• If really unsure, consider Request for
Information (RFI) to narrow number
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54. Compare vendors
• Review proposals with vendors through
meetings or calls
• Ask for an apples-to-apples comparison if
vendor proposals do not line up
• Everything is negotiable
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56. Tips: Budgets
• If you aren’t permitted to provide budget
numbers, indicate a budget above which
proposals will not be accepted that is
higher than your budget.This will help
recipients to decide if they want to
respond.
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57. Tips: Budgets
• Indicate who created your current
website, as well as the development cost,
and annual maintenance, as a point of
reference.
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58. Tips: Budgets
• Expect vendors to review your IRS form
990, available on websites such as
www.guidestar.org.
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59. Tips: Qualification
• Schedule initial calls or meetings to allow
both you and the vendors to pre-qualify
each other.
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60. Tips: Qualification
• If you openly publish your RFP, don’t be
surprised by the number of responses
you receive.
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61. Tips: Qualification
• Limit the length of response.This will
save you and the vendors significant time
and effort.
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62. Tips: Qualification
• Ask specific questions to allow you to
better compare vendors.
• The amount of effort required to
respond to your RFP should be
commensurate with your budget!
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64. Tips: Selection
• Indicate what type of vendor created the
current website.
• Why are you seeking a new vendor?
• Was the current vendor invited
to submit an RFP response?
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65. Tips: Selection
• Indicate how many vendors have been
invited to respond to the RFP, as well as
what types of vendors.
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66. Tips: Selection
• Don’t ask for “spec work.” Most
professionals will not provide work, such
as designs, plans, etc. as part of an RFP
response.
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