VCEDC Project Post-Mortem — 2026-04-05

Overview

Internal post-mortem on the VCEDC web project, attended by Melissa Cusumano, Isahaque Mahmud, Isalia Ramirez, Łukasz Bugajski, and Mark Hope. The meeting served two purposes: (1) conduct a retrospective to identify process gaps that caused friction during the project, and (2) resolve a live blocker — a missing event registration form that was preventing the client from sending a scheduled email campaign.

Client contacts: Kathy (primary), Tracy (site admin)
Related client index: ^[1]

Live Fix: Event Registration Form

Problem

The single event page only displayed an "Add to Calendar" button. There was no registration form, blocking the client from sending a planned email to their list.

Root Cause

The free event plugin does not include a registration feature. The ticket add-on is also free but cannot integrate with Kit CRM, making it unsuitable for the client's workflow.

Solution

Isahaque will create a new, dedicated Gravity Form for event registration. Gravity Forms integrates directly with Kit CRM, preserving the client's existing subscriber workflow.

Implementation details:
- A unique Gravity Form is created per event (duplicated from a base form)
- The form is embedded via shortcode inside the white box on the event page template
- The shortcode label should read "Register" (not "Events Form")
- A corresponding unique tag must be created in Kit CRM for each event to track registrations separately (e.g., Event 2026 — Business Taxes and Loans)
- The existing email subscription form remains on the page below the registration form — these are two distinct forms serving different purposes

Client workflow (Tracy):
Tracy will need to manually paste the Gravity Form shortcode into each new event post. The team will document and communicate this process to her directly.

Key Decisions

• Use Gravity Forms over the event plugin's ticket add-on for all event registrations requiring Kit CRM integration. The ticket add-on cannot connect to Kit; Gravity Forms can.
• Each event requires its own Kit tag to allow per-event registration tracking.
• A standard development checklist will be created by Isahaque and Isalia to prevent recurrence of the structural and handoff issues seen on this project.
• All client assets (images and copy) must be collected before design begins on future projects.

Process Gaps Identified

1. No Standard Development Checklist

There was no formal checklist governing how the site should be built. This led to structural errors by the previous developer — most notably, news/blog content was built as individual static pages rather than WordPress posts. Isahaque had to identify and correct these issues after taking over the project.

"The blog news page — he built out each page individually versus posts. So you would never do that. If you knew it was a news or blog page, you would build it a certain way." — Melissa

2. Incomplete Asset Collection Before Design

The project began without all client assets in hand. Stock photos and AI-generated images were used as placeholders, but the client (Kathy) rejected them — the client wanted photography specific to their "Northwoods" region and ultimately needed to provide their own images. This caused significant rework and back-and-forth.

"Before we kick off, we should really have all assets from a client. We just start designing without the assets." — Melissa / Łukasz

3. Unmanaged Client Expectations Around Plugin Limitations

The client was not informed upfront that the free event plugin lacked registration functionality or Kit CRM integration. This created a last-minute blocker at launch.

4. Inconsistent Copy Direction

The client referenced multiple conflicting sources for copy (emails, Word docs, Excel files, a previous website, AI-generated drafts). No single source of truth was established, leading to repeated revision cycles.

What Worked

• The project had a clearly structured timeline/schedule that kept milestones visible.
• Łukasz's design work and image editing (including background removal/Photoshop work) was well-received by the internal team.
• Gravity Forms + Kit CRM integration is a proven, workable pattern for this client's needs.

Action Items

Related Notes

• ^[2] (to be created)
• ^[3] (to be created)
• ^[4]

Attendees

• Melissa Cusumano — Account lead
• Isahaque Mahmud — Developer (took over project)
• Isalia Ramirez — Project coordinator
• Łukasz Bugajski — Designer
• Mark Hope