Promises (Clearleft Newsletter)

Emphasis mine:

In practice, sign-off leads to disappointment for everyone involved. A design created in isolation in a graphics-design tool almost never survives contact with the reality of the web. The client is disappointed that the final output doesn’t match what was signed off. The developer is disappointed that they weren’t consulted sooner. The designer is disappointed that the code doesn’t match the design.

I really like this acknowledgement that, in practice, sign-offs function as tacit promises that are too easily broken (UI mocks through “hand off” often follow this same pattern).

Making a comp for sign-off is like making a promise. When the finished product doesn’t match the comp, it’s like a promise has been broken.

By combining design and development, there are no promises to be broken. When you show something to the client, it’s already in the browser. It’s already in the final medium. Instead of saying, “we promise to make this,” you’re saying “here’s what we’re making.”