Website Requirements Document

Hi all,

Does any have a website/Modx requirements document that they are finding useful to help obtain requirements from their clients? If you are willing to share it with others then it would be most appreciated.


Regards

Jamie
Post on here or PM.. Thanks in advance.

Are you talking about a needs analysis?

It is not clear what you are looking for. Typically I have to look at the client goals, types of information, types of features etc. and present recommendations. It sure helps to know MODx well and what it can do.

Post more details and I will see if someone can help you further.

Cheers,

Jay

Thanks Jay,

Yes a "needs analysis" is what we are looking for. We have a document we use for our eCommerce sites which is built around our eCommerce Software (ZenCart) asking both general needs/goals but also offers a number of the specific ZenCart features.

With us now looking to offer Modx to our clients, it would be very useful if the doc offers Modx key features (without being too technical for them).

Regards

Jamie

The needs for a general CMS application are far greater than that of an eCommerce app.

I don’t let my clients define their needs (entirely) I ask them to define their goals and the type of marketing, product and service information that they wish to communicate to the public. In all my experience clients don’t know what they need and often they don’t even to know how to articulate their goals, ideal customers, marketing strategy and sales process.

When I co-founded an web design co back in 1999 our questionnaire asked such questions like: Do you need a form? Do you need x? Do you need y? and etc.

The problem with this approach is that they’ll want everything, understand little of it and then not participate in the upkeep.

The way I deal with clients now is by learning about their business, sales, marketing, marketplace, goals and such and present a solution that meets as many of those needs along with an explanation of why I selected certain options.

I don’t think this really helps you much but clients left to their own devices would be doing single pages with Mission Statements and ego-driven copy and never update it.

I don’t let my clients define their needs (entirely) I ask them to define their goals and the type of marketing, product and service information that they wish to communicate to the public. In all my experience clients don’t know what they need and often they don’t even to know how to articulate their goals, ideal customers, marketing strategy and sales process.

I couldn’t agree more, which is why it is helpful to provide clients with some pointers on writing the brief. With a good brief you can properly measure how successful your solution is.

We prepare worksheets with questions under the following generic headings when starting a project. The questions vary depending on the industry/sector:

* Project summary & objectives
* Target audience
* Perception & tone
* Branding elements
* Communication strategy
* Competitive positioning
* Content
* Accessibility & usability
* Marketing & promotion
* Design process
* Testing, prototyping and approval
* Schedule
* Support and maintenance

@therebechips

I have a similar questionniare for my prospects to complete. Few if any of the questions relate to the CMS and have far more to do with their business, marketing, sales and the like. Based on experience, goals and other factors I present a solution.

Actually Jay, it helps a lot. I think when it comes to eCommerce (where we come from, specializing in Zen Cart) we normally present to our clients how shops online general work and how this could help their business.. Once the client has learned to walk we then offer additional modules which will be useful in the future.

With Modx CMS which I know does more, we want it to cover more basic website needs e.g. Startup website for a Solicitor, Tradesman, Accountant etc.

Saying that, I also agree that what would be much more important for a number of our customer types is to first take a step back and talk with them about their overall aims. We can then tell them how we think Modx+xxx amendments/setup/modules will suit their business model.

I think I need to jump myself to a portfolio of Modx’s in action and read more info to give myself the full picture.. (thanks)

Kind regards

Jamie

Jamie,

I wouln’t even include MODx in the equation. Unlike eCommerce applications client needs trump CMS and so you need to determine what the client needs and what CMS is the right one for the project. Sometimes WordPress works, sometimes Expression Engine, most of the time MODx but you need to know what you can achieve w/modx then present.

Cheers and all the best,

Jay