Unless your clients have been down this road many times (and even if they have!), I suggest using a visual map of your overall process that matches up to the deliverables you are going to share with them.
Of course you aren't trying to teach them how to do what you do, but you're providing them with some context for what's involved and why you are sharing various items with them. My experience is that most clients appreciate feeling "in the know" as long as you don't go too deep. Great way to make them feel smart and add value to what you do!
Many times, the clients will have their own system set up--Sharepoint, Copper Project, FTP, DropBox--and I'll adapt my workflow to theirs. But when a client doesn't have anything in place, I'll turn over my project folder and subfolders.
Before I turn anything over, I go through every folder and remove any extraneous source files so the client gets only what they need to move forward. If the client requests versioned drafts, I'll include them. Most times they don't and I just deliver final scripts and source files in a structured folder.
It seems like a lot of folks are using DropBox which is an efficient way to work with external clients. You don't have to send anything if the client has the same folder access as you do. Otherwise, I send 2 DVD copies via Express Mail at project transfer.
@Bob S - I like your idea of a visual map. Do you have an example you can share or point to? Are you using something like a mind map or something more like what a graphics recorder would create?
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Allison,
Unless your clients have been down this road many times (and even if they have!), I suggest using a visual map of your overall process that matches up to the deliverables you are going to share with them.
Of course you aren't trying to teach them how to do what you do, but you're providing them with some context for what's involved and why you are sharing various items with them. My experience is that most clients appreciate feeling "in the know" as long as you don't go too deep. Great way to make them feel smart and add value to what you do!
Hope this helps.
Great question Allison.
Many times, the clients will have their own system set up--Sharepoint, Copper Project, FTP, DropBox--and I'll adapt my workflow to theirs. But when a client doesn't have anything in place, I'll turn over my project folder and subfolders.
Before I turn anything over, I go through every folder and remove any extraneous source files so the client gets only what they need to move forward. If the client requests versioned drafts, I'll include them. Most times they don't and I just deliver final scripts and source files in a structured folder.
Here's a great post from Tom on common file structure and organization techniques. Jenise also shared how she manages her projects.
It seems like a lot of folks are using DropBox which is an efficient way to work with external clients. You don't have to send anything if the client has the same folder access as you do. Otherwise, I send 2 DVD copies via Express Mail at project transfer.
@Bob S - I like your idea of a visual map. Do you have an example you can share or point to? Are you using something like a mind map or something more like what a graphics recorder would create?
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