The Power Of Front Loading Projects

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??? In Today’s Dive:

• The Power Of Front Loading Projects
• Webflow Conference 2023
• Cool Links

Hello fellow divers,

I have missed the past two weeks! Was on vacation, then some folks at Flow Sparrow were on vacation. Didn’t have much free time, but we are back now.

Alongside this content, I’m planning to start doing interviews with creatives, developers, entrepreneurs, and marketers I like. All with the goal of helping you run a better website development business. Watch out for that coming soon. ??

Until then, we will continue the scheduled programming.

Let’s dive in.??

???This Week’s Dive???

The Power Of Front Loading Projects

I've been really interested by the reasons creative projects commonly go off track lately. In our experience it appears that projects with minimal resources invested at the beginning tend to be the most chaotic, incur higher internal costs, add a lot of stress, and ultimately result in a poor client experience.

The concept of “Front Loading” has been a new focus for us. This involves investing more time and resources into a project's early stages, with the goal of gaining a comprehensive understanding of the project, anticipating major obstacles, and generally getting further ahead on the onset.

There are some benefits and some potential pitfalls to watch out for with this approach. Let’s dig into an example scenario, then the pros and cons.

Example Scenario:

Suppose you've sold, scoped, and closed a website development project, and are now planning the first two to four weeks of work.

Project Specifications:

1. Original design from scratch
2. Some technical integrations (implementation somewhat unclear)
3. A few creative animations need advanced development on the homepage
4. Copy content is not fully ready

Approach Without Front Loading:

1. Design a single homepage iteration, await client feedback
2. Postpone technical integration testing until development begins
3. Explore animations during the development stage
4. Offer a copy content framework to the client and wait for completion

Approach With Front Loading:

1. Design multiple homepage iterations, present one or more options
2. Obtain access to the platform being integrated, conduct initial integration testing.
3. Investigate animation functionality in a test project
4. Add starter copy content into the framework for them.

It’s a simple example, but it illustrates how you can practically front load difficult elements of the project.

1. For the design, you’ll have more options ready if they aren’t on board with the first design.
2. For the integration, you’ll know earlier whether it will work or not and if you’ll need another approach.
3. For the creative animations, you’ll know whats possible in the design phase.
4. For the copy, you’ll give everyone a leg up on providing final content to you.

Benefits of Front Loading:

• Problem Discovery: Identify potential issues early, enabling risk mitigation and avoidance of delays or budget overruns.
• Early Project Direction: Gain a clear understanding of the project's scope, objectives, and requirements, fostering clear goals and a roadmap.
• Efficiency: Handle creative tasks like brainstorming, conceptualization, and prototyping upfront to avoid roadblocks during the project.
• Team Alignment: Front-loading ensures everyone understands the project's vision, enhancing collaboration and reducing misunderstandings.
• Client Satisfaction: Early milestones build client confidence in your team's capabilities and the project's success.
• Avoid Last-Minute Rushing: Previous experiences show us that leaving problems until the end can create a chaotic finish.
• Quality End Product: Addressing difficult aspects early ensures a better final product, as refining and perfecting small details can be prioritized toward the end.

How to Front Load:

• Think And Plan First: Ask the right questions early to your team and client, then create a thorough plan for the duration of the project.
• Be Creative Early: Try out multiple styles and complex sections, having alternatives ready can save time in the long run.
• Prioritize Early-stage Resources: Delegate more hands at the start and ensure every department knows their role.
• Troubleshoot: Identify potential issues early and address them promptly.

Front Loading Pitfalls and Mitigation:

• Burnout: Avoid overworking at any project stage. Maintain a healthy work-life balance and don’t overdo it.
• Lack of Flexibility: Overemphasis on early planning can hinder later adaptability to new insights or changing circumstances. Be flexible if the situation calls for it.
• Initial Over investment: Excessive early-stage investment can strain budgets and timelines if not judiciously managed.

A good example of bad front loading?is designing the entire site before getting approval on a style, then having to redo it entirely. There are things that can be front loaded and things that can’t, so be thoughtful about it.

Closing Thoughts:

I like to think of projects the same as my workday. Get the hard stuff out of the way first, then have a more relaxed rest of the day. This gives me peace of mind throughout the day knowing I already accomplished a lot, the same can be said for projects.

I can assure you waiting to the last minute to solve tough problems is never fun. Putting yourself in a situation where you are solving tough problems towards the end, realizing certain things won’t work, and trying to launch all at the same time is a recipe for disaster.

When you start a new project, think about how you can effectively get ahead in the early stages. If you are mindful about what you front load, you can get the stressful bits out of the way and make the project go a lot smoother for you and your team.

Webflow Conference registration is open!

Very excited for Webflow conference this year! Had such an inspiring time there last year, met so many awesome people. Can’t wait to do it again this October. You should come along for the fun.

They will be doing a tour across four cities on two continents this year. Kicking off Oct 5 with the main event in SF, followed by smaller in-person-only events in NYC, Chicago, and London.

I'll be attending the San Francisco date on October 6th. If you're going too, I'd love to meet you there! ??

??? Cool links

• Revenue you’d expect when launching a website agency?- w/ Dan from Relume
• Update from Webflow on Localization -?Coming soon!
• Great thread on?building an agency that scales?
• Creating an award-winning page transition in Webflow using GSAP?- W/ Ilja Van Eck
• Fontshare fonts are?now available directly within Framer.

Thats all for today folks! Hope you have a lovely weekend.

P.S. If you are on Threads?come say hi!