Mar 21 2008
Getting Approvals Upfront
Scenario: Your client is a division of a large, multi-faceted, well-known corporation in almost any field. Your client, that individual division of the company, engages you to bid and execute on a marketing or communications initiative that centers around or includes an interactive component. You provide a scope of work, you are approved by the client to start work on the interactive piece of the project, you work through the “silent development period” before which you can really show your work to the client and have them test the solution. Then… you have something for the client to see, “touch, feel,” test, etc. You are close to launch. Then BANG! You hit a roadblock wherein an approval can’t be obtained and you now have to scramble seconds before you “Go Live”. You now fear that your entire effort of weeks, months, etc. on the project could be in jeopardy.
This is a very typical circumstance. Large companies, no matter how efficient, are usually decentralized and scattered. Obtaining approvals and signatures from various factions is usually an arduous and slow process. It is also often difficult to show your client and their necessary arbiters the designs, workflow and more that will be part of the website/other interactive product before it is developed so that true approvals can be received. So, what can you do to mitigate some of these risks?
You can’t avoid red tape in large organizations. You can’t avoid the uncertainties that arise when your client and their entire organization can’t see for days, weeks or months what you are building until it is actually built. However, experience shows that asking your client, as early as possible in the requirements gathering, project scope development, project launch, and content creation/delivery processes, whether they have queried, say, their legal, marketing, branding or other key departments about baseline requirements can dramatically reduce complexities during the typical frenzy of the launch period.
Be aware, however, that your client may purposely avoid speaking to these other divisions in their company because they know that doing so will slow the process and potentially inhibit the development of something exciting, new and, moreover, profitable. Also realize that interactive initiatives — even though the World Wide Web is now almost two decades old — even for the most Internet/interactive/multimedia-savvy entities are still, to a certain degree, in their infancy. The innovations, technologies and opportunities to promulgate information that are available through the Web — the same ones that created the Dot.Com boom! — often go faster than rights, permissions, regulations, etc. for them can be established. Therefore, in addition to standard concerns about “facing the Legal department”, reticence can be complex.
Still, asking doesn’t hurt. Find the right time in your communication to ask questions like: “Is there an official set of regulations/guidelines within your organization for the development and delivery of this type of solution?” or “Have you encountered issues in the past with ‘X’ (Branding group, Legal department, Marketing, Sales, Product Development, etc.) and is there a way to have a constructive discussion with that department now which may mitigate those risks?” We assume that our clients are thinking of everything within their organization, especially surrounding these types of approvals, but they may simply not have thought about them. Don’t be a roadblock in getting your project contract signed and starting the work that makes you money and gives you creative opportunities; but don’t fear asking for some basic information about your clients’ own Ts & Cs as early as is feasible. Asking these questions won’t solve your launch issues entirely but you may have a more productive overall process.
