Howie emailed me asking for a quote on a simple survey. Thing is, he had no idea what he wanted his survey to look like, the fields he needed, how the PDF should look or anything like that.
This happens all the time. People go to a techie asking for a quote without even knowing what they want.
Imagine going to a custom car builder and asking for a quote on a car but not telling them anything else? You could get a quote on anything between a VW Beetle and a Ferrari. And depending which one you got, you could either be relieved at the price and disappointed at the result or gob-smacked at the price and walk away without realising you were buying a Ferrari.
And so I give this advice to every single person who comes to me without knowing what they want… (This is a real time-saver!)
“Draw up a spec. Even if you don’t use me, a spec will be useful no matter how you end up doing this thing. It breeds clarity, direction and even creates a small bit of momentum.”
So how do you write a spec? Easy…
- Draw pictures of the screens.
- Label them to show where people would click and what would happen next.
- Write out bullet points of the features you need.
- Include every field you need in every form.
- If a field (or button or page) does something special, write it down.
- Write “user stories”. Literally describe a person and how (and why) they would use the system.
All this helps more than you’ll ever know. It gives a techie like me deep insight into what you’re building. And with that, I can quote you more accurately and guide you towards the perfect solution for your business, your customer and your budget.
Plus, you get a real idea of what you’re building and can fix problems before they even crop up because you thought it all out on paper first.
Ready to make your next million selling software? Send me an email. 🙂