Freelance like a pro without the Hasstle - avoid client’s creep

What i will attempt to cover ★ Project scope ★ Project creep ★ Control change process ★ Scoping requirements ★ Good scoping ★ Things to consider when scoping @walecloud forloop Abuja March 2018

Hello! I am Wale Ayandiran @walecloud ➢ Web Development Engineer & Facilitator @Ekobits ➢ Quality Assurance Supervisor @tunga.io ➢ ALC mentor in Web Development with Google & Microsoft ➢ Aspiring cloud rockstar

Have you ever had scenarios like this; Client: It’s just a static website with 4 pages. You: Okay, the prize is 100k. Client: Oh cool, I will send you 50% and work begins. You: Yeah sure. Only for you to end up creating an ERP app or dropped the project because of too much work to be done in the project. Sound familiar?

Client: How long will the project take? You: I will be done in a weeks’ time. One month later… Client: The site is not live yet? You: The homepage is built, everything else will be ready next week.

PROJECT SCOPE Project scope is the part of project planning that involves identifying and documenting a list of specific project goals, deliverables, features, functions, tasks, deadlines, and ultimately costs. In other words, it is what needs to be achieved and the work that must be done to deliver a project.

Project Scoping Scoping isn’t something that you can spend a day on during the project and never think about again. In fact, to scope a project accurately, you need to pay attention throughout the project Phases.

Scoping takes place during; ✖ The planning phase ✖ The scoping phase ✖ The execution phase

The early stages of defining the project and its goals the planning phase

The scoping phase This is where you try to ➢ List out the work that needs to be done given the project goals ➢ Estimate how much time will be required to do them.

when you are actually implementing the project. The execution phase

KNOW your strength & skill-set Don’t attempt to be a Rockstar dev..

WHAT IS PROJECT CREEP Project creep is the seemingly relentless inflation of work requirements that take hold soon after a project has begun. Try as you might to guard against its worst ravages, the optimal way of dealing with it is through effective change control processes

WHAT CAUSES PROJECT CREEP ➔ Lack of proper documentation (deliverables) ➔ Varying Client’s & Developer’s Perspective ➔ No change control process

HANDLING PROJECT CREEP HOW DO YOU HANDLE ADDITIONAL FEATURE REQUEST FROM A CLIENT? 40 80 200 240 CHANGE CONTROL PROCESS

CHANGE CONTROL PROCESS The change control process ensures that each change proposed during a project is: DRA ➔ Defined adequately, ➔ Reviewed and ➔ Approved before implementation.

Change request form There are two documents used during the process: 1. Change Log: used to provide a record of all changes requested and decisions made 2. Change Request Form: used to document details of the change, including the business case

Good software scoping Boils down to a consultative questioning and listening process. This is more than standard client-developer chitchat, or collecting a documented wish list of demands. It will be intensive and purposeful. As a software engineer, getting the price right in most cases is the challenge you will face and communicating to your client how and why they should pay XYZ amount. Sound familiar?

Scoping as a developer As a software engineer, getting the price right in most cases is the challenge you will face and communicating to your client how and why they should pay XYZ amount. Sound familiar? Identify the project needs When you are clearly able to identify the needs of a project, you are more likely to set a sound benchmark from the beginning. Understanding the ‘what and why’ of a project will enable you to set specific goals and objectives. It also sets the groundwork for what tasks are to be performed and how they are to be performed.

Scoping as a developer As a software engineer, getting the price right in most cases is the challenge you will face and communicating to your client how and why they should pay XYZ amount. Sound familiar? Define your objectives and goals of the Project The basis of the project scope should entail your goals and objectives to be one that follows a SMART guideline. That is, to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound.

Scoping as a developer As a software engineer, getting the price right in most cases is the challenge you will face and communicating to your client how and why they should pay XYZ amount. Sound familiar? Project scope description You need to be clear about the features and functionalities required for your product or service. For example, you are building a website. You need a list that provides how you will build your website, the type of branding required and so on. In other words, what certain qualities will increase achieving your project’s success.

Scoping as a developer As a software engineer, getting the price right in most cases is the challenge you will face and communicating to your client how and why they should pay XYZ amount. Sound familiar? Expectations and Acceptance Successful projects are ones that take into account the satisfaction of the client. Whether they meet the client’s expectations and accept the product, service or process. You need to know what your client’s expectations are on a project, manage it well and agree on Acceptance level.

Scoping as a developer As a software engineer, getting the price right in most cases is the challenge you will face and communicating to your client how and why they should pay XYZ amount. Sound familiar? Identify Constraints There are always roadblocks to achieving what you were set out to do. Being aware of possible limitations along the way can help you minimize problems that may delay or constrain your ability to achieve your project’s outcome.

Scoping as a developer As a software engineer, getting the price right in most cases is the challenge you will face and communicating to your client how and why they should pay XYZ amount. Sound familiar? Identify necessary changes It is always best to avoid reworking the scope of your project, as it means investing in more time, money and resources. However, at times these changes are inevitable and necessary. Limit changes and always use the change control process to save time and resources.

Scoping The right way! A well scoped project work with features in mind will help make this process easier and more convincing

Scoping The right way! ❖ Document everything:- not just the code but the agreed upon features. ❖ Be disciplined:- avoid performing magic, focus and deliver in the MVP. ❖ Communication is key! ❖ Don’t hesitate to ask questions. ❖ Have a sense of deadline.

Successful Project Scoping takes into account the following considerations: Quality level Timeframe A budget ❏ An agreement on the acceptable quality level of the output of the project. ❏ A budget for the costs that would be incurred to deliver the project. (per feature) ❏ An accepted time period during which the project should be completed.

SAMPLE SCOPING REQUIREMENTS ❏ Functional requirements or general requirements ❏ Stack requirements ❏ Current code base (if applicable) ❏ Workflow preferences ❏ Designs (screens, wireframes, UI elements) ❏ User stories ❏ Hosting ❏ Deployment

WHY GOOD SCOPING IS GOOD ❏ Getting the price right (for both parties) ❏ Showing your expertise before starting a project ❏ Big part of the work is already done ❏ Thinking about solutions critically ❏ Limit project creed ❏ Don’t slave ❏ Making sure you get paid well ;-)

TIPS WHEN PLANNING ON GETTING A PROJECT wORK ● If you’re a core php/laravel developer and the job coming requires a node/express expert, Please don’t tell the client yes! you can also code node too. ● Rather tell the client, i can achieve your result better with php laravel, however if you insist on nodeJs, then i can recommend a colleague/friend/partner (someone else) with the stack capability. ● Don’t use a paid client’s job to learn new stacks especially short time bound ones. Pick a side project to develop your skills. ● There’s no shame in saying i can only code one language, as long as you are great at it. ● Attempting to be a SuperStar, Ninja Rockstar freelance developer, you end up having unhappy clients because you couldn’t deliver or you delivered a shitty software.

EKOBITS What is Ekobits? Ekobits is a youth based social enterprise that uses ICT multimedia creatively to improve the lives of less privileged youth from the non-formal settlement.Among these challenges is Lack of employment which leaves the youth idle and despaired and leads them to engaging in vices such as drug abuse, prostitution, theft among others. The major cause of unemployment among these youth is their inability to access skills and funds. We offer ICT training for these youth to give them skills to enable them engage in gainful income generating activities. The training is conducted in three levels/stages which include taught theory and practicals’ and hands on training through internship. The training curricula is based on creativity and encompasses marketable applications including web-design and development. Learn more: ekobits.academy

Introducing Ekobits Gigster Ekobits Gigster is a Software and Digital Design Service Agency which provides you with the best digital and software skills so that you can focus on building great products. LAUNCHING SOON!!! Follow @ekobits on twitter to stay updated. EKOBITS GIGSTER

Software Managment Documents Implementation Plan - An Overview of the project containing general costs, what the project should achieve. Feature Scope with Description - A technical listing of features to be built into the system with duration. Change Request Form - To handle changes from clients mostly. Change Log Form - To properly document each changes requested and status of the change.

SAMPLE SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION DOCUMENT https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ytPDgzrkXBZriuCjkgA28ENiA 4wx4sxoyW6i0_7tORg/edit?usp=sharing

SAMPLE SOFTWARE SCOPING DOCUMENT

SAMPLE SOFTWARE CHANGE REQUEST FORM

SAMPLE SOFTWARE CHANGE LOG FORM

Any questions?

Thank you for your time! You can find me at: @walecloud [email protected]

Credits ✖ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival ✖ Photographs by Google ✖ Tunga.io ✖ Ekobits Academy ✖ https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/d-scope-softwar e-agile/index.html ✖ https://www.brighthubpm.com/project-planning/57950-exampl e-and-evaluation-of-project-scope-statements/ ✖ https://medium.freecodecamp.org/how-to-effectively-scope-yo ur-software-projects-from-planning-to-execution-e96cbcac54b 9 ✖ https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/what-is-change-control.php