Here’s a weird concept I’ve been working on. I’ve been taking note of anything that makes a project hit a snag, including simple correlations. For example, maybe projects don’t go as well if you wear red shoes. Red shoes might not be the reason, but if the correlation is strong, I put it on this list.
Here are all the things that need to go right for me to do a quality job:
Pre-Sales
If subcontract, client has secured primary contract
Project is at least 2 weeks long
Willing to make progress payments in advance by CC or PayPal
RoR
ruby installed
gem installed
rails installed
sudo permissions to run mongrel
mysql access
phpmyadmin installed
subversion access
SSH access
HTTP URL
valid server credentials
port 3000 open or alternate
Apache + fcgi or nginx
Layout
PSD or HTML supplied
Web-safe font family and fallback defined
Color hex codes supplied
Transparent PNGs not used for IE6 compat
Font sizes specified
Data column liquid behavior defined
Liquid wrapping rules defined
PSD delivered at 72ppi
JavaScript/CSS refactored in HTML comps
All rollovers/animations defined
All lookup sources/values defined
All input controls defined
All dithering effects specified & client informed that dithering will not carry in CSS
All form field styling and justification defined within browser constraints
Wireup
User role/permissions defined
Database tables, pks, and fks follow mvc-style conventions
