The project manager is a superhero in effective project management

At PUXdesign, we have seven project managers who take care of our clients. Each of them is responsible for different projects, but they all have a clear job description: 

• creating precise specifications for individual requirements – that is, for developers, web design, graphics, or research.
• monitoring deadlines, 
• consulting with the client – that is, you – throughout the project workflow
• and participating in relaying client requirements back to the internal team.

We have summarized the entire journey of our project manager into nine concise points. So you know exactly how things work with us and what we will be focusing on together. Let's get started.

1. Getting Started: Analysis of the Current State, Workshop, and Preparation of the Brief 

In a joint workshop, we want to understand your goals, needs, and ideas that led you to request a new website or e-shop. Then we go straight to the most important part – the brief. 

 Sometimes we encounter clients who formulate it as follows: 

• Make us a nicer website. 
• We want more customers to visit our e-shop.
• We like this tool from the competition and want it too. 
• Make us an e-shop like Zalando or Alza. 

At first glance, everything seems fine, but at PUXdesign, we know that a proper brief looks a bit different. It must be specific and measurable. This way, we can propose specific changes and steps that will work. 

 Here’s how it’s better: 

•  We want to increase website traffic to 1,000 visitors per day by December 2024. 
•  We need our conversion rate to grow by X% by the end of next year. 
•  We want to start online sales by June 2024.

2. We Discuss: Initial Framework Proposal

The next step is to process the framework proposal. This is, of course, based on the input information we discussed in the workshop. If it is relevant for your project, in the meantime, our web designers are already preparing a wireframe or the first graphic design.

3. Roadmap

Based on three fundamental predispositions – deadline, scope, and price – we create a so-called roadmap. This is a document that specifies the deadlines for the project's key milestones. 

According to the roadmap, both you and the project manager monitor adherence to the agreed timeline for providing materials or completing parts of the work. This ensures a smooth progression of all tasks.

The roadmap includes an overview divided into three lines: 

• one for us – the contractor, 
• the second for you – the client 
• and possibly a line for third parties with whom we need to arrange cooperation (for example, ERP, payment gateways, or marketing agencies).

4. Dynamic Assignment: We Update and Supplement

We are getting to the heart of the matter. Right now, we are presenting you with a final overview of the scope of work, including the deadline and exact price. 

We are also preparing the technical documentation. At PUXdesign, we typically work in an agile project management manner. In short, this means we continuously provide you with an overview of the scope of work. We are also working on creating technical documentation, which is not fixed but evolves with the project. 

This documentation provides basic guidelines and definitions for our developers and web designers. It includes essential functionalities and possible integrations for your e-shop or website, as well as space for specific requirements.

You, as a client, have the opportunity to contribute your thoughts and comments to the technical assignment throughout the process. 

• Do you want to add something to our technical assignment that we have not fully specified yet?
• Or do you have a new idea that we must not overlook?

We appreciate your active collaboration and readiness to respond to new ideas and requests.

5. Development: the so-called technical implementation

Now comes the technical part of the project – development. And the developers know exactly what to do. They stick to the graphic design and technical documentation from the previous point, so their work goes smoothly.

6. We test and fill with content

Is the project development finished? It's time to fill the new website or e-shop with texts, images, videos – in short, content. And we move on to the testing phase.

This means we check if everything works in terms of design (to ensure the website matches the design), as well as in terms of usability (to ensure the website functions correctly for visitors).

We test on various devices:

• computer,
• tablet,
• Android and iOS

and in different browsers:

• Chrome, 
• Mozilla Firefox, 
• Safari 
• and Microsoft Edge. 

And when everything is in order? We move on to the next point. 

7. Setting Up the Final Environment Before Launch

Once your website or e-shop is complete in terms of development and design, filled with content, and tested, we will host it on a so-called dev/demo domain. This domain is fully functional and serves for a complete preview. For you as a client, it is a great opportunity to click through and see how the live website will look in a 1:1 ratio. We will also give you access to the website's administration so you can play with the content and familiarize yourself with the user interface. 

However, no one besides our team and you knows the domain, and it cannot be found through Google searches.

8. We Accept and Invoice

Is everything in order? It's time for acceptance and the final part, invoicing. This confirms for both parties that the work is complete and both sides see it the same way. And we're heading to the finish!

9. We launch in 3, 2, 1

Just a moment – part of the launch itself is the so-called launch preparation. 

Think of it as a checklist of tasks that we need to tick off as completed. For example:

• 404 page: we will prepare a special page in case a user encounters a non-existent link. This way, we keep visitors on your site and reduce traffic loss.
  
• Sitemap and robots.txt: we will optimize the sitemap and robots.txt file to improve your website's visibility in the online environment.
  
• Favicon and metadata: we will create a custom favicon for your brand and set up metadata that enhances your website's recognition in browsers and when shared on social media.
  
• 301 redirects: we will ensure that old URLs are correctly redirected to the new site to prevent traffic loss.
  
• Integration of Google services: we will set up Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Google Search Console to monitor traffic and optimize your website.

Interested in more? We have put together 26+1 tips on what to check when taking over a completed website.

Drumroll, please! We are launching on the live domain. Your clients and customers will finally see all the work done so far.

Now you know that the project manager at PUXdesign keeps the project on the right track. But of course, it is not solely up to him. A functional solution is supported by a whole team of consultants, graphic designers, and developers. We will talk about their work another time. How can we assist you in the meantime?