The Onboarding describes all the steps from the first customer contact to the official start of the project. It involves exchanging information, getting to know each other and laying the basic building blocks and strategy for the following project.
Onboarding is the getting to know and exchange phase between an agency and the client. It usually lasts one or more weeks, depending on individual needs and project size.
Before a project can take place, the agency and partner must first find each other and understand if they fit together. This exchange takes place over several meetings and usually via email too. Thereby project information, planning and opinions are exchanged and a strategy is developed.
If everything goes well, an offer is being formulated, then a contract is signed and then, finally, the project can start. As soon as the project officially starts and a deposit is made, the onboarding phase is over.
Below we will go through the process step by step until we move from onboarding to project development.
Onboarding in 8 steps:
1. First Contact
2. Initial Consultation
3. Project Scope Definition
4. Project Overview Submission
5. Negotiation and Agreement
6. Contract Signing
7. Kickoff Meeting
8. Onboarding Documentation
1. First Contact
The first contact usually takes place via email. The customer either leaves their details on a website form, for example, or contacts us directly by email. As soon as contact is established, the customer usually provides initial information about the project.
This short exchange serves only as preparation for the first meeting. As soon as everything is correct, we send our customers a prompt invitation to a meeting using the Calendly tool.
Demographic data that Immersive Studios collects
We collect available demographic data about our potential customers to create a unique profile. We do the same with provided data about upcoming projects and conduct further research. We use this information to create internal overviews and understanding and to prepare our team for the next steps.
We treat all data confidentially. No project data or non-public data about a company or others will be shared with us unless we receive explicit permission from you and there is a valid reason.
You can always request deletion of your data upon or ask us for a copy of all the information we have collected about you.
2. Initial Consultation
The first conversation is the first personal encounter and the opportunity to exchange ideas in depth about the project.
How does the conversation go?
After a short welcome phase, we will go through your project again in detail, which follows on from your briefing.
You can find out how you can create a perfect briefing here
We will ask many questions that we have prepared in advance based on the information you gave us. You can think of this part like a visit to the doctor. We work through all the different problem points and then make a detailed diagnosis.
The goal is to understand your problems and your project as precisely as possible. We can then discuss it together and offer you an initial assessment. You can also ask all the questions that you have prepared.
Who is taking part in the first meeting?
The first discussion is carried out by one of our qualified project managers. He is very familiar with our services, can advise you in detail about the project and answer any questions you may have.
From your side, you can join the meeting alone or with your team. It's best to let us know in advance. It is best if the CEO of a small company takes part in the meeting or, if a larger company, the responsible project manager or director.
3. Project Scope Definition
Next, we will work on developing an intensive plan for your project and thus defining the framework of the project.
How does this work?
We sit down together to go through the individual project requirements across the different service areas. Depending on the size and scope of the project, this can include one or more meetings.
Here we will discuss design and 3D requirements, development tasks and what the technical complexity behind them looks like. We will also look into references and inspiration and agree on what the project should roughly look like in the end. We also discuss other circumstances in detail such as budget, time frame and the type of communication and exchange process.
What does the result look like?
After we have successfully defined the project scope, the detailed planning of the project is completed. We now have all the specific tasks, how complex they are and how long they take. Likewise, all parties now have a clear idea of how the project will proceed, what mutual responsibilities exist and under what terms the project will take place.
4. Project Overview Submission
Our team will now summarize all the details that we have now worked on in a project overview.
What is a project overview?
A project overview document suggests the implementation of your project under certain conditions that include specific items, timeframes and budgets attached. If you agree with these conditions, we can proceed to formulate a contract.
The document itself is not the final contract, not an offer and cannot be signed. It's not a briefing either. It's merely a summary that should give you a good overview of the most important details and terms of the upcoming project.
5. Negotiation and Agreement
Based on the project overview, we now move into the negotiation phase. Maybe you want to change certain items, or negotiate the time frame and budget.
We are always open to engaging in such negotiations and strive for a good, joint solution. For this we can hold further email exchanges as well as a final negotiation that takes place in the meeting. As soon as we have reached an agreement and all parties are satisfied, we can proceed to formulate the contract.
6. Contract Signing
In the next step we formulate a contract. To do this, we use ready-made templates and fill them in with the conditions that apply individually to the project. We then send this document to the customer by email for review and signature.
For electronic signatures we use tools such as Hellosign or Adobe sign. These enable us to obtain secure, legally binding signatures quickly and easily digitally.
If you have further questions about the signature or would like further information about our contracts and their exact conditions, you can request them from us via email.
If you want to know what important requirements a contract for a 3D website project must have, you should read this article about 10 Essential Criteria Every Contract for a 3D Website Project must Include.
After you receive the finished contract from us, you can now review it with your team. If everything is correct, you can now sign it.
Making a deposit
After the contract is signed, you will receive an invoice and the first payment will be made, amounting to a maximum of 50% of the entire project. We have already discussed and agreed to what extent further payments will take place (e.g. in milestones).
With the receipt of the deposit, the project officially starts and we move into the work phase.
7. Kickoff Meeting
Now a one-off kickoff meeting takes place in which the project team introduces itself to the customer and communication channels are established. We'll quickly go through the next steps again and prepare for the project together.
If necessary, we can hold a small Q&A session and plan further meetings for individual project areas and go through the final plan for communication, feedback and revisions.
If all parties are satisfied, we start the project.
8. Onboarding Documentation
After the kick off call, we prepare onboarding documentation for the customer's team to ensure that we are aligned and have all the necessary information to get started.
This documentation contains the following information:
- project overview
- project time frame
- team information,
- customer information
- Communication plan
- Collaboration tools
- roles and responsibilities
- Training resources
- emergency contact information
- Quality assurance and testing guidelines
- additional resources and references
This document is intended to serve as an additional overview and orientation during the project. From here, references can be made to other documents such as the briefing or resources for implementation. So it helps both the customer and our team as a useful overview.
In parallel to this document, our team will send regular detailed updates about the project progress within the agreed framework of communication.
Onboarding Summary
The onboarding process describes all the steps from the first customer contact to the official start of the project (the kick off call). The first part is about getting to know each other and then developing a common understanding and plan for the emerging project. Individual sections, tasks, responsibilities and an idea for the final project are developed through intensive communication.
If this is successful, a project overview is drawn up and the specific conditions under which the project should take place are then negotiated.
We then formulate a contract from this and send it to you. If everything fits, you can sign it and a deposit will be made.
The project officially starts with the deposit and the kick-off meeting and we move into the work phase together. After this meeting, you will receive another detailed onboarding document from us that will serve as a detailed orientation and guide for the project.
