This week for Be Aware, I’ve provided some tips on revisions. I’ve taken the liberty of going a little bit more in depth here at GD on the topic of revisions.

When you find yourself getting deep in the muddy waters of the revision swamp take some of these possible escape routes into consideration for the future:

• Bill for Extra Revisions
  Explain that further rounds of revisions will take more man-hours and must be billed as such. Be up-front and honest about any overages that might occur as a result of extra revisions. I suggest providing a change-order to the client that outlines: there request for additional rounds of revisions, the total amount of each revision, and the maximum amount of time each revision will take with an updated milestone schedule.
• Don’t be afraid to sell your design to the client.
  Chances are, the client may want more revisions because they just don’t understand the solution you’ve provide to them. Show them why it works and how it will help them. If you are just providing your solution to the client and not explaining it in detail, then ho do you expect the client to believe this is the correct solution for them? Remember, everyone thinks they know design, so show them why this solution works for their problem and you’ll find they’ll respect and value your expertise much more.
• Put it in Writing
  Remember to always firmly outline the number of rounds of revisions in a contract at the beginning of the project. I’ve found the standard to be 2 or 3 rounds. You will also need to clearly define the milestones for each revision round. Make sure you give yourself ample time between revisions for presentation, discussion, and client feedback. This amount of time really varies depending upon the type of project, the client’s motivation, and other outside factors but it is safe to give a minimum of 1 week between revision rounds to ensure you can meet the schedule.

The biggest thing I’d like to stress is that you shouldn’t think of revisions as being negative to a project. The best possibility is that you will earn more for your hard work, but at the very least, they can reveal that there may be a communication gap between you and your client that you will need to tend to. Either way you can turn the situation into your advantage!