A busy professional asked me this question:
I forgot that client didn’t make milestone and did all my best on his project now he marked my project as incomplete and didn’t pay me even. What do I do?
This is a very good lesson to learn for the future. Document all the requirements of the job, as well as the timeline and acceptance criteria that are agreed to be met for completion. You and your client need to fully understand and agree upon what “DONE” means.
What can you do at this point for this particular situation?
Work with your client to document any “remaining” requirements that he feels are “incomplete”. Document the agreed upon definition of “complete”. For instance – what are the explicit measures that define “complete”.
If the client can not clearly articulate what is “incomplete” – then the project is complete by definition. If he has a list of things that need to be completed, make sure you have it documented and signed regarding what “complete” means.
For instance – if something isn’t working as they expected, a Tutorial or Manual can complete that requirement. If something needs to be added, perhaps a separate utility run prior or after the installation will correct the situation. If the feature scope is in question, discuss providing a discount for an Alpha or Beta version. And outline the additional fees for additional feature lists. If there is a list of defects or bugs that are making the list of “incomplete” – provide some documented workarounds (either manual steps or automated steps) as well as a timeline for a maintenance release.
Find out (and document) exactly what is missing – and work from there. What do you have to lose? You aren’t getting paid “now”. Doing the above is a good way to negotiate some level of payment for the work that you have provided.
Make sure you keep all documentation on the project between you and your client. If you have a phone call regarding a change in the feature spec – document it in an email and have them acknowledge the change request, timeline and price differential.
“GET IT IN WRITING” to avoid this in the future.
Hope this helps a little.
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Written by Laura Rose
Author of the business and time management books: TimePeace: Making peace with time – and The Book of Answers: 105 Career Critical Situations . Laura is a business and efficiency coach that specializes in time management, project management, and work-life balance strategies.