So much changes over the life of a project that it can be difficult to know what the current source-of-truth is for a designer or developer working on your project.
Briefs are considered the source-of-truth in terms of what has been requested for many stakeholders. But briefs are often written without key voices in the room, and they need to be updated as those voices get added to the ongoing conversation. Most projects get to a stage where the original brief is no longer representative of how the final outcome should actually look or function. In order to manage expectations for everyone involved, it’s important to understand what represents the source-of-truth at key points in your project.
By documenting where the source-of-truth is for your projects requirements, it prevents stakeholders pointing to an outdated request, from an outdated document.
| Project stage | The source-of-truth is… |
|---|---|
| Before a project begins | A written brief or specification provided by you |
| After discovery | Either, or: Project plan, updated specification or user stories |
| After design | Either, or: Mock-ups or prototypes |
| Once your website is launched | The website itself in its launched format |
| If your website is updated by SMILE | The website in its updated format |
By allowing us to move to the next stage, you are accepting that the source-of-truth is shifting too.
Because our Professional Services team builds websites to your requests, it’s important that you provide the level of specificity that you’re comfortable with. Where you do not specify how something should work, we will use our expertise and fill in the gaps. If you re-specify something later on in the process that you did not previously document in the source-of-truth, this will require a change control process.