Pre-project documentation: what is it and why is it so important?
Among my friends there is not one who would love to write technical assignments or something like that. To draw plans for the capture of the universe on napkins, to collect layouts from colorful stickers, to grind the concept in the head and in words - everyone loves and knows how to do it, but to sit down and write it down properly ...
For example, any template of a serious document plunges me into a deep stupor.
My friends have a lot of good ideas, but with such an approach, thank God, it rarely comes to production. Why? Poorly designed projects are rarely successful. Either the head-to-head team gets stuck in those works that were not visible at the beginning, or the goblin turns out to be crooked, poorly adapted to life. Poorly scalable.
The need to formulate, to answer the question “What?” Or “For whom?” Many times is only beneficial. This work allows you to get rid of the husk and test the idea for durability. In addition, pre-project documentation is needed in order to save time and money - the more carefully you think through the project at the beginning, the faster and better it will be done.
There are a huge number of data collection and analysis techniques, a ton of software development methodologies, but so far there is not one that could be used without regard to web development. And to hell with it, with the methodology! Good pre-project documentation has four components - a business concept, market and competitive environment analysis, product requirements and layouts. We’ll talk about this.
Pre-project documentation is needed, first of all, as a fulcrum - we need to rely on something when making decisions. It’s great when this support is objective.
The main task of pre-project documentation is to clarify. Answer the question “What, for whom and how are we doing?” And get the data necessary to answer the question “Is it worth doing this at all?”.
Successful pre-project documentation serves as an excellent basis for writing functional requirements, technical specifications, user documentation, strategic plan, press releases; as well as to coordinate the details of the project with related departments and management.
Before spending expensive programmer man hours, it’s worth noting!
In addition, successful pre-project documentation allows predicting the scale of disasters with very high accuracy - assessing the costs of developing basic and additional functionality, and drawing up a project budget.
I have already said that high-quality pre-project documentation allows, first of all, to verify the conceptual and economic feasibility of the initial idea.
The more thoroughly the main issues are thought out at first, the less extra man-hours will be spent on remaking, finishing, pulling ... Choosing the best technical solution is easier when you understand what you are going to do and how you will develop further.
A business concept, market and competitive environment analysis, functional requirements, graphic layouts - these are four components of good pre-project documentation.
Let us consider more carefully each component.
The business concept is the most important document. This document addresses the following issues: the nature and content of the business (what) , the audience / consumer (for whom) , the business model (where the money is) and competitive advantages (why our elephants) .
In addition, the business concept defines the intended niche, the strategy of market conquest (market entry) and the strategy of business development.
A successful business concept is an excellent basis for writing a press release, user manual and for making a wide variety of decisions.
After we figured out what, how and for whom we are going to do and what to cut loot with, it would be nice to make sure that the market is ready for our genius.
(This stage, to some extent, goes parallel with writing a business concept; obviously, to write a section on competitive advantages, you need to study competitors)
Functional Requirements is a document that complements and extends a business concept. He answers the question "How?".
What are the layouts everyone knows, but not everyone knows that these are not just pictures. Each graphic layout is the result of mass data analysis. This is an exact science.
(I’ll talk about this on Wednesday in the article “Design is not a picture, design is a process”).
The ideal pre-project documentation also has a fifth component - the guideline.
This is the technical specification of the graphic concept. Why should you spend precious time on this? Because in the end it will save resources. Firstly, the guideline will save you from the further need to think about such things as the location of certain elements. Secondly, it will save the designer from the need to answer the question “What are the distances?” For the hundred thousandth time. Thirdly, you are documenting the code, why is the design worse?
*
So, a successful pre-project documentation allows you to clarify, serves as a fulcrum for decision-making, answers the questions “What and for whom are we doing?”, “Where do we get the money from?”, “Who are these people who will bring us the loot”, “Why they will carry it for us? ”and“ Who can prevent our enrichment? ”
Good pre-project documentation is an exhaustive foundation for a detailed technical assignment, project budget, user manual, brochures and other merchandising.
Besides:
For example, any template of a serious document plunges me into a deep stupor.
My friends have a lot of good ideas, but with such an approach, thank God, it rarely comes to production. Why? Poorly designed projects are rarely successful. Either the head-to-head team gets stuck in those works that were not visible at the beginning, or the goblin turns out to be crooked, poorly adapted to life. Poorly scalable.
The need to formulate, to answer the question “What?” Or “For whom?” Many times is only beneficial. This work allows you to get rid of the husk and test the idea for durability. In addition, pre-project documentation is needed in order to save time and money - the more carefully you think through the project at the beginning, the faster and better it will be done.
There are a huge number of data collection and analysis techniques, a ton of software development methodologies, but so far there is not one that could be used without regard to web development. And to hell with it, with the methodology! Good pre-project documentation has four components - a business concept, market and competitive environment analysis, product requirements and layouts. We’ll talk about this.
Why do we need pre-project documentation?
Pre-project documentation is needed, first of all, as a fulcrum - we need to rely on something when making decisions. It’s great when this support is objective.
The main task of pre-project documentation is to clarify. Answer the question “What, for whom and how are we doing?” And get the data necessary to answer the question “Is it worth doing this at all?”.
Successful pre-project documentation serves as an excellent basis for writing functional requirements, technical specifications, user documentation, strategic plan, press releases; as well as to coordinate the details of the project with related departments and management.
Before spending expensive programmer man hours, it’s worth noting!
In addition, successful pre-project documentation allows predicting the scale of disasters with very high accuracy - assessing the costs of developing basic and additional functionality, and drawing up a project budget.
What problems can a successful pre-project documentation help avoid?
I have already said that high-quality pre-project documentation allows, first of all, to verify the conceptual and economic feasibility of the initial idea.
The more thoroughly the main issues are thought out at first, the less extra man-hours will be spent on remaking, finishing, pulling ... Choosing the best technical solution is easier when you understand what you are going to do and how you will develop further.
What does a good pre-project documentation consist of?
A business concept, market and competitive environment analysis, functional requirements, graphic layouts - these are four components of good pre-project documentation.
Let us consider more carefully each component.
Business concept
The business concept is the most important document. This document addresses the following issues: the nature and content of the business (what) , the audience / consumer (for whom) , the business model (where the money is) and competitive advantages (why our elephants) .
In addition, the business concept defines the intended niche, the strategy of market conquest (market entry) and the strategy of business development.
A successful business concept is an excellent basis for writing a press release, user manual and for making a wide variety of decisions.
Market and competitive analysis
After we figured out what, how and for whom we are going to do and what to cut loot with, it would be nice to make sure that the market is ready for our genius.
(This stage, to some extent, goes parallel with writing a business concept; obviously, to write a section on competitive advantages, you need to study competitors)
Product Requirements (Functional Requirements)
Functional Requirements is a document that complements and extends a business concept. He answers the question "How?".
Layouts
What are the layouts everyone knows, but not everyone knows that these are not just pictures. Each graphic layout is the result of mass data analysis. This is an exact science.
(I’ll talk about this on Wednesday in the article “Design is not a picture, design is a process”).
The ideal pre-project documentation also has a fifth component - the guideline.
Guideline
This is the technical specification of the graphic concept. Why should you spend precious time on this? Because in the end it will save resources. Firstly, the guideline will save you from the further need to think about such things as the location of certain elements. Secondly, it will save the designer from the need to answer the question “What are the distances?” For the hundred thousandth time. Thirdly, you are documenting the code, why is the design worse?
*
So, a successful pre-project documentation allows you to clarify, serves as a fulcrum for decision-making, answers the questions “What and for whom are we doing?”, “Where do we get the money from?”, “Who are these people who will bring us the loot”, “Why they will carry it for us? ”and“ Who can prevent our enrichment? ”
Good pre-project documentation is an exhaustive foundation for a detailed technical assignment, project budget, user manual, brochures and other merchandising.
Besides:
- it saves you time and money
- brings clarity
- makes you think again (many times) of the idea
- if you have good pre-project documentation, the world is already at your feet