Book Summaries | The $500k/year Solo Dev Agency Playbook - Defining Work

December 29th, 2023

Introduction to Chapter 4 (Defining Work) in The $500k/year Solo Dev Agency Playbook

Below you’ll find the most important notes that I took when reading the fourth chapter of The $500k/year Solo Dev Agency Playbook. If you’d like to grab a copy for yourself, check it out here.

Key Insights

  • Project Quality: Artificial deadlines harm product quality, while poor results affect project success.
  • Scope Challenges: Both small and large agencies struggle with defining project scopes, often impacting engineers the most.
  • Essential Document: A well-crafted Scope of Work (SOW) is crucial for project definition and alignment but should avoid client result guarantees.
  • “Work” Definition:
    • Unknowns: Address uncertainties by defining work as “untangling the mess” or validating client goals as hypotheses.
    • Non-Technical Approach: Avoid starting with technical solutions, especially with less technical clients, focusing instead on problem understanding.
  • Project Scoping Steps:
    1. Simple Rules: Begin with basic rules to understand the problem before diving into complex solutions.
    2. Simple Models: Transition from rules to simple machine-learning models for easier maintenance.
    3. Increase Complexity: Gradually explore more complex solutions when simple ones no longer suffice.
  • Outcome Definition:
    • Charge for Analysis: In ML projects, charge for analyzing data and determining the feasibility of solving specific business problems.
    • Insight Value: Emphasize the value of insights over actual work; insights guide subsequent contracts for implementation.
  • Timeline Definition:
    • Avoid Timelines: SOWs should not include timelines; successful project delivery is about meeting expectations and collaboration.
    • Adaptability: Clients must understand how to adapt to changing requirements without rigid deadlines.
  • Mitigating Risks:
    • Separate Deliverables: Separate deliverables from end results to allow flexibility in pivoting goals and requirements.
    • Discovery Projects: Use short-term, billed-by-hour discovery projects to gather information and clarify the broader scope.

Core Principle

Small Iterations Build Confidence:

  • Small, iterative steps build confidence, fostering trust and expanding options for project evolution.