Episode 7 The Analysis Phase (part 1)

April 7th 2007

This episode marks the beginning of our five part series on project process. Today we will be covering the first part of the Analysis Phase. We’ll have our very first listener question, and then move on to discuss that first contact with a client and how to hash out a proper proposal. Be sure to tune in next time for episode 8, where we’ll finish up the Analysis Phase by discussing how to write a contract.

There’s a lot to cover in the Analysis Phase, so we’re going to be covering it in two episodes. Below is a quick run down of this episode’s content:

Proposal vs. contract
The initial contact
Writing a proposal

Some helpful links:

How to write a winning proposal (in depth article from creativepublic.com)
Web design contracts: why bother? (an excellent article on why you need a contract and why it’s not a proposal)
Contracts and Proposals (good FAQ section from aw-wrdsmth.com)
WebDevDocs (legal documents for web designers)

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10 Responses to “Episode 7 The Analysis Phase (part 1)”

Excellent post. I look forward to the other 4 parts to this series.

Aaron Lynch on April 7th, 2007 at 7:26 am

How do you feel about off site portfolio’s such as one on carbonmade? Do you think this looks unprofessional not having designed the portfolio, but personally I think it looks really great, what do you think?

Scott on April 8th, 2007 at 1:10 am

As a budding web developer I look forward to this podcast every week. Thanks so much for the insight.

Philip on April 9th, 2007 at 7:34 am

Hey Josh! Long time listener, first time commenter. Great podcast! I liked your analogy about how much a car costs. Clever. Also your diss on programmers…

Sarah on April 24th, 2007 at 12:26 pm

I loved the car sales man analogy. I’ve used that before but not at proposal stage, more during the design phase. It’s certainly something I’ll be baring in mind for initial meetings if that issue comes up.

Mark Caudell on April 27th, 2007 at 1:41 am

I need my Tweak Fix! Too long of a wait between podcast. This is an excellent series it has already helped me construct my freelance business standards. Keep it coming. Thanks