Starting a project means that eventually, it will be time to wrap up that project. Ever wondered what it’s like to wrap up a project with Tandem? Here are some truths that we keep in mind when wrapping up a project with a client.
Teach a Person to Fish
When we close out a project, our goal is always to give you as much knowledge as possible so that the path to success is clear for the next phase of the project, whether or not we are part of it. This is also true for mini closeouts, like if we’re mid-project or there’s a new team configuration. We have multi-year relationships with many clients, but your priorities are not always the same month-to-month or year-to-year — that’s why we strive to understand the role we’re going to fill in your organization at any moment in time.
We always push our clients to own and host their product. After all, it’s your app, so you should own the designs and code! We want you to keep working with us because we are a trusted, valued partner — not because we host your code. Sometimes, it makes sense for us to own the knowledge base. But there have been countless times where potential clients come to us with code they can’t access or documentation they can’t understand left by previous consultants. Because pairing plays an integral role in how we function as a team, we consistently provide technical and design documentation at a closeout so you, your team, and your agency partners can be successful, even when we’re not there.
There’s Always Time to Celebrate (and Improve)
When wrapping things up, we like to create a moment. A moment where work is approved, recognition is given, and reflection is done before we move on. We always give the project team time to pat themselves on the back, whether it’s at the conclusion of one phase of a project or the very end. During longer projects, it’s easy to lose sight of the key milestones along the way, so it’s important to do a mini-closeout every phase of the project. Taking a moment to acknowledge and celebrate what we accomplished together makes us stronger as a team.
Our goal is that by the end, we can articulate how the insights and opportunities from the research phase informed everything we did and everything we could do in the future, creating a virtuous circle. We often run closeouts like retrospective meetings because we want to stick to our methodology of continuously improving. Even if we think everyone is on the same page, we conduct an interactive exercise so folks can give input, ensuring that everyone is confident in the final piece of software.
As product thinkers, in our closeouts we like to include things we talked about but didn’t have time for and what we’d like to do next. We also often include a slide in the closeout deck about what we’d do if we had all the time in the world. Because even if we aren’t there for those next steps, we are still focused on your business goals and helping you grow.
We’re Not Under the Illusion That You’re Going to Work With Us Forever
When we start a project, we aren’t thinking about the end in a negative way, but in a candid way. Tandem is just as successful when we hand something off well in six months’ time as when we are a trusted, embedded, long-time partner (and in many cases, we are both!).
At Tandem, we believe that delivering business value isn’t always about us being there. One of our core values is acting with integrity, which means we believe in transparency and doing the right thing for the project. That means we will never create an ultimatum for you. The nature of our business involves a best-case scenario where we roll off of a project and you can be successful with the work we’ve done.
Our job is to provide expertise and create a transition plan so that you can thrive when we shift to a different role in your company or when we’re gone. We may have made this product together, but ultimately it’s yours. We pride ourselves on putting lots of emphasis on prioritizing your needs and will never build structures that prevent you from moving on.
Wrapping up a project means starting one. Let’s work together to meet your business goals. Chat with us today!
