Website Design – The Incubation Period
After dealing with hundreds of clients, we noticed a phenomenun, part in partial with “Scope Creep” described in Wikipedia.
To eliminate Scope Creep, we suggest an “incubation” period. This will allow clients and designers a chance to review what is on the table and decide if it fits the needs. It’s much easier to change design at the beginning of a job than to try to go about making changes after development of the site has already begun.
The fact remains that along with Scope Creep comes the issue of later design changes. This type of activity can virtually cripple a web designers ability to serve lots of clients at the same time. It adds confusion to the mix and it adds costs to the ticket when it’s undertaken after a development period has begun.
The problem with design changes is that it usually creeps in after development has begun. In reality these types of changes affect more than just a simple change. Where there is one change, there is almost always another need either to conform the flow or because once we start the changing, the client see’s how it affects design overall.
Also, if you have enough clients and all of them take an hour of time each week until their site is completed, you’ll soon find out that you are way behind scheddule on all of them.. and nobody understands why.
The What If Scenario
In addition to straight out design changes, we always have the client who wants to “just see” what it would look like if we changed this or that element on the mockup. Fair enough. In the long run most of our clients return back to what we originally delivered. We know the design of web sites and our eye for placement, color and sizing is astute. Generally we make the changes of mockup and we end up with the prior result more times than not.
Incubate your web design
Now as to the incubation period it just makes sense. We do the mockup, and then we incubate. This give our client time to search over the internet and compare his soon to be baby to the other babies in the park. Short of an all out design change, he will add features and make some changes. Subtle changes, like color and graphic images are certainly not an issue. Okay so we change a gradient, or a color, but overall it’s the same design, the same mockup . The issue comes in most often when we do design changes that affect the layout and after we have already begun the development phase. Now you not only have an artist involved, but the entire cycle of integration on the team.
It makes sense to do the incubation period and let things settle before beginning to install a website. We have learned over years of work that waiting a week will save two weeks in accomplishing the overall design of a website. Think about it!
