Like other tasks to be managed, web development will require a plan. The better your plan, the less variation you should have by the time the task is completed. The thing is, no matter how much you plan, it’ll never be perfect. But that’s ok, because that’s why it’s called project management as opposed to project tracking. In this post, I’ll include some tips and tools to manage web development tasks that can be tailored as needed.
Steps & Tips for Web Development Tasks
- Gather and document task requirements.
- Use a similar site to help establish tasks for Design & Development.
- Make sure each item for Design has a corresponding item for Development.
- Consider applying a complexity factor if the reference site is simple. Or, include a possible range of time for each task. Estimate up when you can, to avoid having to go back and ask for more time later. (If possible, share the increased estimate with key stakeholders, but not with all resources 🙂
- You could also consider other agile estimation techniques.
- Estimate and include PM support in your summary.
- Get approval for your estimate.
- Understand the team’s availability, lay out the tasks for each, and create a schedule. Include time estimated per task.
- Ask the team to review/provide feedback if needed.
- Create a schedule baseline to show schedule variance later on. If your scheduler doesn’t allow for that, keep the original version and create updated versions so you can compare as needed.
- Select a project management tool to document, assign, and track task completion. (I prefer Monday and Clickup)
- Add a queue of tasks for each team to pull from and begin work. Include requirements as needed for each task.
- Establish a QA step prior to updating the staging site.
- Create a progress tracker and update every week the time used by the team on their tasks. If using a PM tool that allows you to update this information in a single place, even better.
- Every month, update your project metrics to report task status.
- If you encounter scope creep, have the team work on previously approved tasks while you document the additional work and gather approval. If approval is granted, add tasks to the queue. If not, disregard and continue with the original plan.
- If tasks are taking longer than estimated, document why (add visuals if possible) and report to the client to gather approval for extra time. If time isn’t granted, then you might need to try and figure out which items could be done in less time. Worst case, you might have to simplify your deliverables. This is why a complexity factor early on could be handy.
- As tasks get completed, have the client test out the web development task by phases. This helps catch any issues while the project is being worked on.
- Keep a consistent and clear communication with the client and ensure any troubleshooting is done diligently and in a timely manner.
- Keep the team available as needed after deployment to support any questions or small changes that could be required.
Tools that can Help manage Web Development Tasks
Final Thoughts
It can be stressful to manage web development tasks. Or really, any task prone to uncertainty. But, if you take the time to do a bit of planning prior to jumping in, you can avoid at least some of the common pitfalls. As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you might have about the process, or how we can help.