A client once told me their previous agency "finished" a project and disappeared the next day.
The site was live. It worked. But there was no documentation. No training. No monitoring. No maintenance plan.
Two weeks later the site went down. They had no idea how to fix it. The agency didn't respond for 4 days.
That's when I realized most agencies have a broken definition of "done."
For most shops, done means deployed. Code is live. Invoice is sent. On to the next project.
But that's not done. That's just "it works on my machine" at scale.
Here's our definition of done:
1. Deployed The code is live in production. SSL is active. DNS is configured. CDN is running. Backups are enabled.
2. Tested We've run manual tests on every user flow. We've tested on multiple browsers and devices. We've simulated load. We've verified integrations.
3. Documented Every API endpoint is documented. Every environment variable is explained. Every deployment step is written down. The client has a maintenance guide.
4. Audited We've run security scans. We've checked accessibility compliance. We've reviewed performance metrics. We've validated SEO structure if needed.
5. Client Trained The client knows how to use the admin panel. They know how to add content. They know where to find logs. They know who to contact if something breaks.
6. Monitoring Active We've set up uptime monitoring. We've configured error tracking. We've enabled performance monitoring. We've set alert thresholds.
7. Maintenance Plan in Place The client knows what maintenance is required. They know how often. They know what it costs. They know what happens if they skip it.
Only when all seven layers are complete do we call a project done.
It sounds like overkill. But it's not. It's the difference between delivering a car and delivering a car with a manual, a spare tire, and a warranty.
Last month we had a project go live. Two days later, a third-party API changed their authentication flow without notice. Our monitoring caught it within 5 minutes. We fixed it within an hour. The client never noticed.
That's only possible because monitoring was part of "done."
The biggest shift for clients is the training layer.
Most agencies hand over a site and assume the client will figure it out. Then the client breaks something and blames the agency.
We do a 90-minute walkthrough. Screen recording provided. We answer questions live. The client leaves confident.
It takes time. But it cuts support requests by 60%.
"It works on my machine" is not a delivery standard.
Your local environment is not production. Your test data is not real data. Your network is not the client's network.
Done means it works in the real world. For real users. Under real conditions. And the client knows how to keep it working.
Anything less is just a handoff, not a launch.
What's your definition of done? Do you have documentation and training as part of the deliverable?
#SoftwareDevelopment #QualityAssurance #ProjectManagement #WebDevelopment #AgencyLife
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Philip Rehberger Founder, ScopeForged scopeforged.com
