The problems that cause projects to fail are almost always visible before the project starts.
Not perfectly visible. But visible enough that a structured checklist, run before signing the contract, catches most of them.
Here is the checklist I run before every project.
Commercial checks
Have I confirmed the decision-maker? The person whose yes or no on deliverables is final. Not a committee, not "the team." One specific person.
Is the scope specific enough to build to? Can I describe the deliverables in enough detail that both sides would agree whether they had been met?
Are payment terms clear and agreed? Deposit amount, milestone schedule or net period, what happens if payment is late.
Is there a signed contract? Nothing starts without one.
Have I confirmed the client's timeline is realistic? My estimate for the project versus what they need.
Technical checks
Do I have or can I get all the technical information I need? Existing codebase access, API credentials, hosting environment details, third-party service documentation.
Do I understand the integration requirements? Every third-party service the project depends on, including the ones the client mentioned in passing.
Are there any technical dependencies I cannot control? APIs that might change, services that have reliability issues, technology choices the client has mandated that have constraints I need to know about.
Relationship checks
Have I met or spoken to everyone whose opinion will matter to the final approval? Any stakeholder who has not been in a conversation but whose feedback I will receive.
Does the client communicate in a way I can work with? Response time, communication style, clarity of feedback.
Are there any signals from the sales process that I am choosing to ignore? Red flags I have explained away.
What to do when something fails the check
Some failures are fixable: missing information you can get, terms that need clarifying, a conversation you have not had yet.
Some failures are signals: a client who cannot name the decision-maker, a scope that remains vague despite direct questions, timeline expectations that do not match reality.
Fix the fixable ones. Take the signals seriously.
The Freelance Command Center includes pre-project checklists and client onboarding workflows. EUR 17.
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