Building a Digital Product? Here’s What to Expect From Project Kickoff to Final Deliverable

An Inside Look At The Cheesecake Labs Client Experience

Have you ever anticipated going to a new restaurant? After weeks of hearing amazing reviews and waiting for the reservation, you show up excited but hesitant. Will it live up to expectations?

Fast forward and guess what: you not only get exactly what you wanted, but it’s even better than expected. The staff is friendly, having checked in to see how you’re doing. You receive the total white glove service where the tiny details surprise you with delight. From start to finish, every single expectation was exceeded.

Developing a tech solution for your business should feel no different.

At Cheesecake Labs, genuine care is our standard and perfection is the only option. Over the last decade, we have served hundreds of clients by building digital products, from mobile apps to web applications, to provide user-friendly experiences and solve unique real-world problems.

If your business is beginning to wonder what it’d be like to create a digital product, read on to get a taste of what Cheesecake’s renowned process is all about.

What To Expect While Working With Cheesecake Labs

Let’s be upfront about something: we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all model. If you work with Cheesecake Labs, you can expect a personal touch across everything that we do. From your day-to-day communication with our team to the final product we create, each and every aspect of the client journey is uniquely catered to each client’s preferences and needs.

Like with any great relationship, we truly believe communication is foundational in providing an extraordinary client experience. Caring for our clients isn’t just something we talk about, it’s something we embody and it’s what sets us apart from the rest. From the moment you come in contact with someone from our team, you’re treated like family and given a seat at the table.

Consistent, reliable communication is one thing, but that dialogue feeling like a two-way street is another. At Cheesecake Labs, a seat at our table doesn’t just mean we’re easy to reach – it means we want you to feel comfortable and excited to participate in our collaborative process. We’re not just great at what we do, we have fun while we’re doing it! Our most valuable asset will always be your ideas, questions and feedback, so we make sure you’re part of the journey every step of the way.

Investing in any type of digital product is no small decision, which is why Cheesecake Labs approaches the client experience with so much integrity. We understand what this means for you and your business upfront and in the long-term. And we are committed to making the process as efficient and effective as possible.

Now that you have an understanding of the big picture of what we do here at Cheesecake Labs, let’s walk through the specifics.

A Phase-By-Phase Overview Of The Client Journey

Getting Started By Getting To Know You

Whether you come knocking with a simple idea or the entire scope of work out laid out, you will be greeted with a warm welcome and a gameplan. We connect with your business on a personal level right from the start, deconstructing everything from your company’s pain-points and initial ideas to user needs, project constraints and much more.

Before getting anywhere near a contract, we’ll have these in-depth conversations to thoughtfully consider current problems and desired end goals. Adding layers of input on everything from tech to design, our team’s multi-disciplinary talent leads add tons of diverse perspectives and explore a multitude of solutions.

As the client helps Cheesecake Labs understand where their business is at, we can then deliver a proposal outlining a unique end product with the best technical features to solve whatever their company faces and maximize impact.

It’s not about promising fancy, over-the-top digital products for the sake of ego or vanity – it’s about creating a personalized solution with the client’s goals, audience, timeframe and budget in mind.

Cheesecake Labs Team Holds The Internal Kickoff Meeting

The numbers have been crunched and the contract has been signed – let the real fun begin! When we welcome you to the Cheesecake Labs family, our team first gets together internally to start brainstorming around your business’ needs and what we can create to help.

The key players for this meeting include the client’s project manager, designers and engineers, along with Cheesecake Labs’ tech and design leads. As mentioned, our entire process is extremely collaborative so we can provide the most technically appropriate product for your unique set of needs and goals.

Keeping communication clear and consistent is vital for our client experience. For the internal kickoff meeting, our team is given all the context that was exchanged prior to the contract being signed. Cheesecake Labs believes this type of care allows every member of our team that touches your project to deeply understand what we’re creating for your company and why. Maximizing efficiency is important and we want to ensure clients are not having to repeat themselves again and again.

It may seem surprising, but the goal of this meeting is actually to uncover questions. We want to find any gaps or missing links as well as any opportunities that may have been overlooked during initial conversations. These questions will be discussed internally and presented to the client should further clarity or feedback be necessary.

Project Team & Client Hold The External Kickoff Meeting

The momentum continues with introductions! It’s time for things to start coming together as the client meets the full team that will be working on their digital project for the first time.

To establish guidelines and expectations, the project manager will review the contract, the workflow process, the agreed scope of work, and any unique circumstances or constraints outlined by the client. Additionally, our best practices are shared so the client has exact expectations on how we will be managing client communication and the project timeline.

We never act on assumptions, which is why the call will wrap up by addressing the questions that were uncovered during the internal kickoff meeting. With clarity and clearance from the client, the Cheesecake Labs team of designers and engineers will be able to proceed with initial steps.

When a client walks away from this meeting, they’ll have a clear idea as to the project’s timeline of events over the following weeks. This includes how the project manager will oversee and handle the backlog of tasks and deliverables on an incremental basis. Certain pieces of the project may be as little as one week, while others may take longer.

Continued Communication: What’s Next?

The conclusion of the external kickoff meeting is really just the beginning. Whether it’s the weekly Zoom meetings or day-to-day updates on Slack, the client will continuously interact with the project manager as they oversee the creative and technical processes unfold.

No matter what each project timeline looks like, the priority is to have the client be exposed to the product incrementally and involved with changes as often as necessary. This allows them to have a lot of visibility and provide feedback while things are in process. Small releases of the final product allow personal input on the design and development from the client.

Cheesecake Labs method accounts for the inevitable changes and setbacks that come up with any and every type of product. Our change-management system handles the intake of anything new to the backlog, recognizing tasks that may impact the schedule or budget. This allows us to constantly give the client an accurate update on where things stand, if there are any delays and/or what needs to be revisited with clearance.

This is measured objectively with analytic and reporting tools that allow us to forecast how long certain project releases are projected to take. Paired with our intelligent, change-management process, we can handle any changes as necessary while still being able to stay on track with your project’s schedule.

Conclusion

Cheesecake Labs has been in business for almost a decade, successfully bringing over two hundred unique digital products to life from conception to execution in that time. While no two of these clients and their final deliverables were the same, each and every single one was created upon the same foundation of collaboration, integrity, care and thoughtfulness.

If white glove service sounds like the type of client journey you’d like to experience, look no further. Cheesecake Labs will create the perfect product for your company while keeping your schedule and budget in mind.

Please send us a message so we can explore how we can work together.