Do you effectively present the outcomes at the Specification Review presentation?

The findings of the Spec Review should be presented by the developers and the Account Manager at a meeting with the key decision makers of the project for review and acceptance. It is important that all the required people are in a room together to review the plan. It is also valuable to record this meeting.

spec review desision makers — Figure: It's a lot easier to get a signature when you've got the right people in the room

If you've run the Spec Review successfully the client should not be surprised by anything you present. This means discussions should focus on issues such as what particular requirements could be added into the scope for the MVP, or what releases can be completed by what date, rather than spending the meeting helping the client regain consciousness after they blacked out from seeing the price.

The Spec Review presentation should be scheduled by the Consultant or Account Manager for the afternoon of the final day of the Spec Review.

“I will send you a proposal when I get back to the office.”

Figure: Bad example – a common mistake is to tell the client you will complete it later

“Let’s schedule a meeting now for Wed 3 pm. I will send a meeting invite to all the stakeholders.”

Figure: Good example – this is an appointment with a specific time for the next schedule The benefits are:

You are striking while the iron is hot
All parties benefit while the information is fresh in their minds
The client won't experience the inevitable delays when you go back to the office and get stuck on other client issues that appear more urgent

What does the client get at the conclusion of the Spec Review?

Option A - Email (if they want to minimize documentation time)
Option B - Word document (if they need to get approval from someone higher up)
Option C - PowerPoint presentation (if they are the decision maker, and they don't want a doc)

pptx to video — Figure: Good example - Export your PowerPoint presentation as a video

Option D - Video of PowerPoint presentation with narrations exported to a video (the best option to gather more feedback, you can even gather public feedback E.g. PointBank https://sswconsulting.github.io/PointBank/)

Note: Make sure to name your video according to including version numbers in your file. Publish your video to YouTube afterwards so you can easily share it with colleagues and clients.