man doing estimates - defining the job in detail

What Does It Mean to Define a WordPress Project in Detail?

People commonly want to know more about what is involved in Principle # 1 – Define the Job in Detail with a Content-First Approach. It’s interesting because, in practice, the other principles are really subsets of this first one.

For example, in order to fully define the job in detail, among other things, you really must define Roles and Responsibilities (principle #2), craft an Estimate (principle #3), break the job down into a Work Breakdown Structure (principle #4), establish a Change Procedure (principle #5), and agree on Acceptance Criteria (principle #6).

You know, one of my favorite Abraham Lincoln quotes is, “If you give me 6 hours to chop down a tree, I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” And THAT is the concept behind defining the job in detail. We all know it does not take very long to create a WordPress website IF you have all the pieces and parts sorted out beforehand.

And in terms of the level of detail… or how nitty-gritty you need to get… then another quote applies: “God is in the details.” Now a lot of folks believe the quote to be “the devil’s in the details” but that was just a play on the original quote (probably from somebody who didn’t want to deal with the details). When it comes to managing a WordPress website development project, the more time you spend defining and gathering the detail, the more “heavenly” your development experience will be.

Below is a list of some of the deliverables you might use to create a DETAILED JOB DEFINITION. Later this year, when we launch The Complete WordPress Project Management Roadmap, it will include templates and samples as well as processes and video tutorials to ensure you don’t forget anything when determining the client’s business requirements. This list will, of course, be tailored to the specifics of your project.

  • Proposal Questionnaire
  • Proposal
  • Project Definition Questionnaire
  • Project Plan/WBS
  • Site Map
  • Layout/Design
  • Statement of Work
  • Web Elements List
  • Content Gathering Forms
  • Test Plans
  • Training Plan

I hope this gives a little more clarity into what is involved with Defining the Job in Detail. In another post I will explain what I mean when I talk about a Content-First approach.

Thanks so much for hanging around and reading my stuff. Until next time…