Using a Strategic Planning Phase to Determine Project Scope

The most essential phase of any project is the planning phase. In our August 2008 newsletter, How Much (Work) is a Website? A Lot!, I wrote:

“any web development project should be planned well in advance to ensure that the goals, scope, budget and timeline are appropriate and achievable.”

This of course seems obvious, but it is one thing to know what you want and quite another to know what you actually can do!

The planning process is the appropriate time to identify what the immediate non-negotiables are for your project – that functionality which is a “must” - and determine if costs and/or time can be saved by tracking down and using existing tools rather than replicating them on your own. Imagine, for example, how much any development budget would have to increase in order to replicate the functionality of Google Maps. Thankfully, Google provides a free API so that you can leverage the power of their mapping tool rather than trying to build your own. What's in it for Google? They get to “own” the mapping space. What's in it for you? You don't have to spend the millions of dollars that Google spent building this tool, nor the millions of dollars they're likely spend maintaining it. I think it's safe to say that Google will probably be around as long as your project needs them to be.


If some of your “must haves” cannot be provided by a third party, it's worth asking if they can wait- especially if they are, at least initially, cost prohibitive. We often end up having fairly specific conversations detailing the “Phase 2” of a project before we've even began the development for the first phase. In fact, a really good strategic planning process should include mapping out the long term future of your project, not just the road to its initial launch. Trust me, if you've ever spoken with Mark O'Brien, our President, you'll know that he loves talking about Phase 2!   next >