How to ensure the success of an e-commerce project through efficient communication between the investor (client) and the development team?

Effective communication between the investor and the development team is crucial for the success of an e-commerce project. Some experts have estimated that the average business executive spends approximately 75% to 80% of the day engaged in oral or written communication. It is estimated that upper management spends 50% of their time in meetings. Executives consider 67% of meetings to be failures. All this time spent in unproductive meetings leads to a wasted $37 billion every year across the United States.

Over 90% of the personnel officials at 500 US businesses stated that increased communication skills are needed for success in the 21st century.

Here are some tips to ensure efficient communication:

1. Build a relationship of trust: build a relationship of trust with the development team to foster open and honest communication. This will encourage the team to share any concerns or issues that may arise during the project.

2. Use quick communication: if possible, using faster means of communication like chats or calls instead of emails or board messages greatly improves the feedback loop and allows for faster development progress.

3. Provide clear project requirements: clearly define the project requirements and communicate them to the development team. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal.

4. Set realistic expectations: set realistic expectations with the development team regarding project timelines, budgets and deliverables. This will help avoid misunderstandings and ensure that the project stays on track.

5. Organize the proper workflow of the project: setting straight and clear states and transitions for the tasks with thoroughly thought out assignments greatly helps with the project's progress.

6. Assign a project manager: assign a project manager to oversee the project and ensure that communication flows smoothly between the investor (client) and the development team. The project manager can act as a liaison and keep both parties informed about the project’s progress.

7. Coordination: when coordinating the work of multiple teams like design, marketing, customer service, etc. it might be helpful to designate a single contact person for each team to simplify communication and cooperation.

8. Regularly review progress: regularly review the project’s progress with the development team to identify any issues or delays early on. This will allow for prompt action to be taken and keep the project on track.

9. Provide feedback: provide feedback to the development team on a regular basis, both positive and negative. This will help them improve their work and ensure that the project meets your expectations.

10. Celebrate milestones: celebrate milestones throughout the project such as the completion of a major feature or module. This will help maintain morale and motivate the development team to continue working towards the project’s success.

Good communication is not the only condition to be met for a project to be successful. However, it is an important ingredient of its success, since poor or straight up bad communication is time-consuming and it might greatly hinder any work on the project.

Adhering to the "good habits" in communication presented above, we can ensure control over the course of the project (progress, possible bottlenecks, improvements) and budget. It also helps build healthy client/development relationships and high customer satisfaction. In the end, effective communication is the key to success.

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Author

Michał P.

QA Tester

Don't let his pleasant appearance fool you! He enjoys sailing and shooting, almost a pirate at heart but on an average day he is more of a tech enthusiast with inclinations to post-apo vibes. Google Analytics has no secrets for him.