{"id":801,"date":"2009-04-08T14:44:48","date_gmt":"2009-04-08T21:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bluew.com\/blog\/?p=801"},"modified":"2020-11-12T23:51:48","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T23:51:48","slug":"the-first-quarter-inch-develop-project-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nayamode.com\/blog\/the-first-quarter-inch-develop-project-guidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Quarter Inch \u2014 Developing Project Guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Life is like a yardstick.<\/strong> <\/span>In some ways, the easy part is the last 11\u00be inches. The hard part is often the first quarter inch: getting organized and defining goals. Don\u2019t cut corners on that first quarter inch, for it often moves the project from good to great.<\/p>\n

Many of our clients have clearly defined guidelines and goals already in place which helps Bluewave deliver well-designed projects and meet deadlines without difficulty. If the guidelines are fuzzy, projects often become difficult to execute and require more work phases and multiple revisions.<\/p>\n

The collaborative process. <\/strong>Fuzzy guidelines can still lead to successful results. In fact, the collaborative, iterative process with multiple revision cycles can be a valuable tool to help move the project forward, enabling clients to achieve clarity through a trial-and-error process.<\/p>\n

The main disadvantages of this style are higher costs and longer timelines. It is not wrong <\/em>to work this way, just inefficient. Some clients come to prefer this approach, and rely on the insights and solutions that emerge from revision cycles. Others, however, have specific delivery deadlines or budget constraints, so the collaborative process doesn\u2019t work well for those projects.<\/p>\n

The guideline-led process. <\/strong>How can you keep costs down and achieve quick results? Spend time on that first quarter inch, and develop guidelines to address questions that inevitably arise during the course of work. You will eliminate the gray areas for both yourself and the design team, and help the designers understand the project, the user, the goals and the needs. Clarity promotes hitting the bulls-eye sooner.<\/p>\n

Guidelines help the BlueWave team provide the highest quality designs in the shortest amount of time. What guidelines are needed? Below are some questions to consider. If you can answer even some of these questions, we\u2019re ready to start. If not, we can discuss how Bluewave can assist with gathering answers. Alternatively, we should look at using the collaborative process described above.<\/p>\n

The first set of questions are straightforward and easy to answer. The second set contains the more difficult questions, ones that address needs, goals and expectations. This set of questions stimulates thoughts about \u201cThis is where I should be,\u201d “This is my kind of solution,\u201d or \u201cThis feels right to me.\u201d Working at this higher level can often create the difference between a successful project and one that is marginal, or worse, totally off-track.<\/p>\n

Easy-to-answer questions<\/strong><\/p>\n