Introduction
This document aims to outline points that should be considered at each stage of a small project that will be conducted by a remote worker through vWorker.com. While the article was written from experiences with vWorker the information can be applied to any such similar sites and small projects.Are you thinking of posting a project for some work on vWorker (formerly RentACoder), Freelancer.com or other such online project sites? If you are there are some valuable lessons that you can apply to ensure you get the product/result you want, at a fair price and ensure if something goes wrong you have covered yourself.
Project Initiation Checklist
| No. | Description | Rationale | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Document your requirements, aims and goals | Ensure you know what you want so that you are able to accurately communicate that to potential bidders | |
| 2 | Use examples to demonstrate your goals and expectations | As it is unlikely you will ever meet the worker face to face, ensuring that you are both on the same page is essential to ensure you get a result that you desire. | This will not only save you time but will also save workers time in minimising unnecessary bids by people that may not have the skills/time to complete the work you want. |
| 3 | Read through your project bid request, eliminate any ambiguity | Ambiguity can land you in deep water, rather than using "I would like" say "The final solution must" such simple wording can mean the difference between you getting what you wanted, or if you go into arbitration getting your money back. | |
| 4 | Consider the urgency and risk of deliverables failure - consider mitigating risk | With every project (VWorker or otherwise) comes the risk of failure, if it is essential that you get the project delivered first time and on time consider options such as picking (and paying) for two or more workers as backup in case one does not deliver. | |
| 5 | Invite previous workers you have had good experiences with | If you have worked with someone before and they did a good job, invite them to bid on your new project as there is never any harm in asking | |
| 6 | Avoid accepting the first bid that comes along | Often you will get a flood of bids in the first 24 hours, however over coming days you can get some residual bids possibly from people that were on existing projects and had to wait to complete those first. Consider waiting two to three days before accepting a bid. | |
| 7 | Discuss, discuss, discuss | Don't be afraid to ask questions, find out more about the worker, their experience, if they have examples of their previous work, ensure they understand your exact requirements. | |
| 8 | Once you accept a bid consider emailing other bidders. | This may sound cumbersome however I have found by doing this each time for each worker that posted a serious bid they have been far more likely to bid on my projects in future. |
During the Project
| No. | Description | Rationale | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Document everything | If things go wrong, and inevitably they will at some point the vWorker team can only go by what is documented in a ticket. If requirements changed they should be documented, if your scope increases that should be documented (and the bid possibly expanded) and so on. | If a worker requests discussion outside of the messaging system on vWorker, including if they use the vWorker chat system, always ensure you update the project with a message to the vWorker indicating a summary of your communication session with them, the outcomes and the decisions as you understand it. Ask them to reply with a confirmation. |
| 2 | Request regular updates from the worker to ensure that they remain on track | This is crucial for short and long projects alike. As you are the project manager for your project you need to keep on top of your "team" in this case one worker to make sure they are on top of their work and will deliver on time. | |
| 3 | NEVER release funds before you have received the deliverables | This is a simple one, it is against the vWorker rules and if you do so you are pretty much guaranteed that you will lose the funds. | If a worker requests you release money before they deliver immediately contact vWorker support |
2 Comments
Hide/Show CommentsNov 29, 2011
Anonymous
Hello Stuart,
These are great tips and are smart ideas to keep your vWorker project on track.
Here are a few other tips you might not be aware of, for your personal arsenal:
1) How do I select the best performing worker? (the "Trial By Fire" method)
2) Self Defense 101: 5 Things Every Entrepreneur Must Do, to Avoid Getting Burned by a Rogue Techie
3) What is spiral development and how can it help me with my project?
Just so you know, in a month or so we'll be releasing 2 new options that will eliminate the difficulty of interviewing: crowdsouring and hybridsourcing. You can get a sneak-preview here: http://www.vworker.com/RentACoder/DotNet/docs/SourcingTypes.aspx
Continued success to you and your projects,
Ian Ippolito
vWorker.com
Nov 29, 2011
Stuart Ryan
Hi Ian,
Thanks for that, the spiral development looks very interesting and I look forward to seeing the crowdsourcing and hybridsourcing.
Cheers
Stuart