Client Work Request Instructions

Purpose

This is a client-facing process intended to open useful channels of communication and collaboration.

Scope

It covers the details of the linked process diagram, and what to expect after submitting a work request.

Content

This process is designed to help us do great work for you, as transparently as possible.

If at any point you sense something’s not working or not right for you, don’t hesitate to tell us and we’ll improve it!

If you’re a visual person, check out the process diagram here.

We use Trello to communicate work items with our clients.

Go to the Trello Board we’ve set up for you. You’ll see a number of columns containing cards.
Create a new Card in the “Requested” column.
Click your card to create a description. If it’s a bug, include the URL you observed it on and steps to reproduce it. If it’s a feature, document the rationale.
Add any file attachments with any examples, templates, screenshots or other specification files.
If you want a specific person’s attention, mention them in a comment under the card or add them as a “member”. Otherwise, it may be some time before someone sees your card.

For more information on how we use Trello, see here.

New requests go into the Requested column and from there we triage them (confirm they’re clear). If so, they’re moved to “Backlog”.
Each Monday, we move items from Backlog column into the the Sprint column (meaning it’s planned for completion this week). This way we can plan our week and it’s clear to clients approximately when things will be done.

Please let us know if there’s an issue with how your work items are handled.

If you’re in a rush to get something done, let us know and we’ll try to include it in the earliest possible sprint.

Otherwise, we’re assuming cards at the top of the Backlog column in Trello are higher priority.

First of all, the below method takes a little practice, so just ask us to provide an estimate at any time and we’ll walk you through it.

We suggest using the velocity method to always have an up-to-date timeline and cost, and to respond quickly when off course.

Look at your Backlog (list of work to be done), and identify what you need done by what date (we’ll call this the project parameters)
This allows estimating how many hours per week (and per month) we need, which in turn gives a cost estimate.
Each week (or two) check in and determine whether the volume of tasks completed so far is on course. This will indicate a velocity or number of tasks per week. Ask, how can we improve the velocity? Do we need to adjust resources allocated?
The velocity also provides a constantly updating estimate of the final project completion and cost. It’s simply:
remaining_weeks = number_of_tasks_in_project / tasks_per_week total_cost = dollars_per_hour * remaining_weeks / hours_per_week