Updated September 2026: in January 2020 I drove an onsite review call, presented the slide flow I had built from my understanding of the client's needs, and the onsite team responded with entirely new requirements to be delivered in two days. I have rewritten it into advice on running a review call so that new requirements surface early.
Before the call I had worked on inputs from my manager and the delivery person, and I suspected the onsite team would discard some of them. I led the call, walking through the storyline and each slide. The onsite team acknowledged the slides, then set out new requirements and asked for everything within two days. The offshore team was taken aback, and the next morning we started again from scratch.
How should you structure a review call?
- Open with the objective: what the deck is for and what decision you need from this call.
- Confirm the client's requirements first, before showing any slides. This is where new requirements should surface.
- Walk the storyline, not every slide: the headline of each section and why it is there.
- Close with actions: what changes, who does it and by when.
Why confirm requirements before presenting?
Because the onsite team may have heard new things from the client since the brief. Asking "has anything changed on the client's side?" in the first five minutes can save a day of presenting work that is already out of date. In my call, the new requirements only emerged after the full walkthrough.
How do you respond to a large change in the call?
Do not agree to the timeline on the spot. Take notes, ask clarifying questions, and ask whether these are the client's final requirements. Then propose a timeline after a quick estimate with your team. Two days may be possible for part of the work, not all of it.
How do you research new requirements quickly?
Start with the repository for similar past work, then ask colleagues who have handled the topic. Write down the specific questions you need answered, and get them to the onsite team the same day, so answers arrive while you are still building rather than after.
What should the follow-up email contain?
The new requirements as you understood them, the agreed deliverables and dates, and any assumptions. Ask the onsite team to confirm. If the requirements change again, the email is your baseline.
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