The Handover Guide

Very often on MomoCentral, we receive requests to take over a project done by a previous developer or vendor. These projects are usually either in the following situations:
1) left in shambles as the client has given up hope on it and is looking for someone to rescue it
2) completed properly but client is looking for new developers or even their own in-house developers to take over

However, these developers or vendors can sometimes be unprofessional even when the client has paid up for the project as per the original contract in full. What do I mean by unprofessional? Insufficient details were given to the client on purpose, leaving the client stranded and unable to find anyone else to take over.

Seeing this happen too many times, we’ve come up with a checklist of basic things clients should ensure happens before completing the handover.

1. Full Source Code + Media Files
– This should be the full, actual, UNCOMPILED source code of the project, including any media images/files used. It should preferably be well-commented so any developer taking over will understand what is happening in each part of the code

2. Database Dump
– An actual database dump from the live server or test server used to run the project. This ensures that any developer taking over can import the database details and data that you see in your live server, and try to run the project with the same data on a new server

3. Deployment Documentation
– This should be documentation about how to deploy the source code, database and run the project on a new server.
– Ensure the document also includes any necessary administrator login credentials, test customer login credentials, and any credentials for other user roles.
– It should also include details of what server setup and configuration is required to run the project. (E.g: PHP Version 5.0, MySQL Version X, Apache version Y with IonCube installed, ImageMagick installed, etc).

4. User Manual (Optional)
– A quick user manual detailing the features of the project and how they are supposed to work / how a user can use them. This also gives the new developer an idea of what features are there, how they work, and where to find the code related to them.
– It’s not super crucial if you don’t mind the developer taking over figuring it out by tracing code. This however will incur unnecessary time.
– Note that this is not compulsory unless the vendor stated they will provide it, or if they charged you for it.

5. Deployment on your OWN server
– This is very crucial. Very often vendors and developers deploy the project only on their own staging servers, and sometimes refuse to deploy it on a server you fully own. This is because they want to earn commissions or referrals from a deal they may have with a hosting partner.
– Getting the vendors and developers to deploy a WORKABLE copy of the project on a server you fully own is crucial in ensuring not only that the full project is on a server you have full access to, but gives your new developer full access to the same code.
– Get the following details once it is set up on your OWN server:
a) FTP/SFTP Details (URL, login and password)
b) SSH credentials (including PEM Key, if any, username, URL and password)
c) Root access credentials (especially SUDO password)
d) PHPMyAdmin credentials (URL, login and password)

6. Design Files (If they charged you for design)
– The design files should either be Adobe Illustrator files or layered PSD (Adobe Photoshop) files. This enables your future designers to take the materials/branding you have, and reuse or edit them for your marketing collaterals, or even design modifications for your current project.

7. Domain Registrar
– This is the company of which you bought your website URL from. If the vendor bought the domain on your behalf, ensure you have full details of the domain registrar so you can point it to your own server if needed. The details are:
a) Domain Registrar URL
b) Login Panel URL
c) Login Username
d) Password

If you have the above, you should be pretty well-covered. I know the list can seem daunting to the non-technical but if you can find a technical friend to help you check on each of the above once details have been provided to you, that’d be best! Alternatively, you can try hiring a developer for a few days to help you check through the items.

If we missed out anything, do let us know in the comments below!