When too much is never enough.

During an initial discussion about a new Drupal site I'm likely to ask a prospective client if they've given any thought to what contributed modules they would like to use.

More often than not their reply is "All of them".

While this is not a great starting point for developing a site plan, it is frequently where the site architecture discussion begins. The client who wants to integrate Drupal Commerce with OpenAtrium to make an online department store may at first glance be an enticing opportunity, but before long you're looking at a project dragged down by spaghetti code, scope creep and user fatigue.

With Drupal, It is tempting for a project to evolve into a functional monstrosity, a visual horror show and a navigational nightmare, How do you avoid having your project plagued with nearly insurmountable development challenges and themes packed with every manner of Javascript whizz-bang and eye-candy aplenty?

Thankfully, many people are now beginning to realize is that over built sites frustrate content editors, developers, site managers and most importantly, visitors.

Launching a successful Drupal site depends on having a detailed expectation of user-experience and clear well-defined requirements for developers to work from. They may also require discipline, soul-searching and a bit of restraint.

Years of dealing with people who come to the table with a long list of requirements - or nothing more than great idea - have taught me a few things I am happy to share.

• What level of knowledge should attendees have before walking into your session?
  
  This session will benefit anyone who has ever touched a fresh Drupal installation, browsed the available projects and imagined their dream site.
   
• What will your session accomplish and what will attendees walk away having learned
  
  My session will foster a better understanding of site planning, site architecture and requirements gathering.