Communication Protocols for Client Projects

Projects don’t fail because of bad code. They fail because of bad communication. Here’s our protocol.

The weekly dispatch

Every Friday, clients receive a written update. No exceptions.

# Week 12 Update — Project Atlas

## Shipped
- User authentication flow (email + social)
- Password reset functionality
- Session management across devices

## In Progress
- Dashboard wireframes (70% complete)
- API rate limiting implementation

## Blockers
- Waiting on brand assets for login screens
- Need decision on multi-tenancy approach by Tuesday

## Health: 🟢 Green
On track for March 15 milestone.

Three minutes to write. Prevents three hours of “quick check-in” calls.

The 24-hour rule

Every client message gets acknowledged within 24 hours.

Not necessarily answered—sometimes we need time to investigate. But always acknowledged.

"Got it—looking into the performance issue now.
Will have a full analysis by Wednesday EOD."

Silence breeds anxiety. Acknowledgment builds trust.

Demo over description

A 2-minute Loom beats a 20-paragraph email. Every time.

When we ship a feature, clients see it in action. They understand immediately. No interpretation required.

Decisions in writing

Verbal agreements evaporate. Every significant decision gets logged:

• What was decided
• Who made the call
• Why (context for future reference)
• When

No more “I thought we agreed to use React Native.”

Red flags travel fast

Bad news doesn’t improve with age. The moment we spot a risk—timeline, technical, scope—clients hear about it.

Not after we’ve “tried to fix it.” Not in the next weekly update. Immediately.

We’ve never had a client get angry about early warning. We’ve seen plenty get angry about surprises.

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This isn’t overhead. It’s the foundation that makes everything else work. Trust compounds faster than technical debt.