Smashing eBook_ Professional Workflow for Web Designers - Luke Reimer [1]
Sample Client Questionnaire
Work Order or Creative Brief
A work order or creative brief outlines the actual work that is going to be accomplished. It is here that all details surrounding the design and development, including technical aspects, should be included. This is in contrast to a document that defines the relationship between client and consultant, which is covered shortly as a “Contractual Agreement”.
Creative briefs often vary in format, type, and content both between different web design firms as well as between different web projects. By this time you should have a great understanding of the client’s initial needs from the client questionnaire, have met with them to discuss the finer details, and are now simply documenting precisely what you are going to provide.
Details such as payment terms, as well as deadlines, can be included in this document or in the contractual agreement (or both) depending on your preference or the needs of the project. In this example, I’ve left financial details to the contractual agreement but have included project start and finish dates in the work order.
Sample Work Order
Contractual Agreement
This document can be considered to be the most important of the bunch by far. The contractual agreement gets right down into the details of the client/consultant relationship using legal terminology and encompassing all scenarios and aspects of the project. Key areas are confidentiality, payment terms, due dates, expenses, reservation of rights, definition of relationships, liability, permissions and releases, termination, and acknowledgement.
No stone should be unturned within the scope of this document, so be sure to pay it serious time and attention to make sure that it is comprehensive, relevant, and clear in its language. I find it useful to envision what horror stories could potentially take place and safeguard against each one. For example, ask yourself questions like the following:
• What if a client refuses to pay for work already completed?
• What happens when a client terminates the project halfway through?
• What happens if a client doesn’t pay an invoice on time?
• Who pays for legal fees if there are serious conflicts?
• When and where can I use the client’s name (in my portfolio)?
Each of these questions, and more like them, should be addressed in a contract. Work on yours, fine-tune it, and use it as a template for the majority of your web projects. In this way you’ll have a carefully crafted and hopefully bullet-proof legal shield for any scenario concerning content, dates, payment, and the like.
Lastly, the contract means nothing if it is not solidified and made legally binding – this is most commonly done through signatures. I can’t stress enough that email communication will simply not suffice. Meet in person, use a fax connection, or employ any other means necessary to ensure that the contract becomes binding. The most solid of contracts are those which have multiple original copies signed by two parties as well as witnesses, and have multiple copies retained for record-keeping purposes.
Sample Contractual Agreement
Confidentiality Agreement
Also referred to as an NDA or Non-Disclosure Agreement, this document ensures the client that any company information that you become aware of in your work remains confidential. Although this may feel like a formality, it is often one of the documents that the client takes the most seriously. In fortune 500 corporations, for example, even the organizational structure (who is the manager of who) is considered confidential information. Sensitive information that you’ll deal with will