With our service offerings for marketing, ecommerce, and CRM administration, many of our clients ask what the extent of those offerings are. In other words, where does the administrative service end and a requirement for an additional project quote begin?

Here are three questions determining if a client request is part of our subscription offerings versus a project requiring project management and an additional quote. If the answer to any of the following questions is Yes, then it will likely need a project quoted out:

Enhancements

Does the request involve delivering project milestones, data analysis results, or implementing new features and enhancements outside of the primary focus of maintaining system stability, uptime, and user satisfaction?

Expansion

Does the request involve new systems, new data sources, additional stakeholders, additional teams, and third parties, or is it primarily centered around the single platform we administer?

Expertise

Does the role require additional expertise, platforms, or broader project management skills (multiple resource management, project meetings, timelines, deployments, testing, etc.), or just deep technical knowledge and expertise in the platform we administer?

Additionally, If any of the following are required for the request, it should be quoted for a whole project.

  1. Project Discovery: This phase involves understanding the project’s goals, objectives, and requirements. It includes conducting research, gathering information, and identifying key stakeholders. Project discovery sets the foundation for a clear understanding of the project scope.
  2. Planning and Scope Definition: Defining project scope, objectives, deliverables, and success criteria is crucial. A comprehensive project plan, including timelines, milestones, and resource allocation, ensures effective project management and coordination.
  3. User Research and Analysis: Conducting user research helps understand the target audience, their needs, and pain points. Analyzing user behavior and preferences informs decision-making. Creating user personas or stories guides design and development efforts for optimal user experience.
  4. Design and Prototyping: Creating visual representations such as wireframes or prototypes helps visualize the project’s interface and experience. Iteratively refining designs based on user feedback ensures usability and alignment with project goals.
  5. Development and Implementation: Coding and building the project according to requirements and design specifications. Conducting code reviews and using version control ensures collaborative development. Integration of components creates a cohesive solution.
  6. Testing and Quality Assurance: Comprehensive testing ensures the project meets functional, performance, and security requirements. Various testing stages like unit, integration, system, and user acceptance testing are conducted to identify and resolve defects.
  7. Deployment and Launch: Preparing the project for deployment in the production environment. Activities include configuration, data migration, and system setup. Collaborating with operations teams ensures a smooth transition to the live environment.
  8. User Training and Support: Providing training and support materials to end-users ensures effective adoption and utilization of the project. Offering ongoing technical support and addressing user inquiries or issues enhances user experience.
  9. Monitoring and Evaluation: Monitoring project performance, usage metrics, and user feedback to assess its effectiveness. Analyzing project data identifies areas of improvement. Iterative enhancements based on user feedback and changing requirements ensure project optimization.
  10. Project Closure and Documentation: Conducting a post-project review to evaluate the project’s success and learn from the experience. Documenting project artifacts, including specifications, designs, test cases, and user manuals, facilitates future reference and knowledge sharing.

Could we still work on the project as part of our service? Possibly, if the client agrees to the following two conditions:

  • The client assumes full responsibility for the success or failure of the project, its timelines, its resources, and its budget.
  • Our administrator has the capacity to assist with your project in addition to their typical administrative duties.