A practical guide for non-technical people on how to work with developers

:What we need to get the job done right for you.

A plan.

We need to know the big idea, the 50,000ft end to end idea –
If you haven’t thought of it yet, better give this one a good think first.  Once you set out the vision, don’t plan on changing it.  Just the individual components.  If you want another vision, that’s gonna cost you – and it’s a whole other project.

Content

Developers prefer all of the content, images, and artwork upfront and ready to go.  It may sound selfish, and needy – but it makes our job more efficient.  (We’ve done this before) .  Our job is not to play where’s waldo for the content that you would like, instead please provide us with a folder or zip file at least that contains the images, text, and anything else required for the project in advance.  One communication including all the content should be the source, rather than a hodge podge of emails the developer will get lost in and never find what he/she is looking for.

Execution

Set a deadline before you begin.  Do not, I repeat, do not continue to make changes on the initial plan and content after development has started.  Wait for a review session, to add or change the configuration.  Adding or changing the plan during development is costly and time consuming, distracting the developer from executing.