On 5/26/07, Kenneth Kixmoeller/fh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I am just musing about the spectrum of processes, from "seat-of-the- > pants" to "Big-8, professional project manager." Where on the > spectrum is the best for a small shop?
My philosophy: it's not about you. It's not about the small shop. It's about the client, and the problem the client needs solved. Different problems (and different clients) means that you have to adopt different techniques (just as framers and roofers and deck layers and finish carpenters are all carpenting) Some clients want prototypes and requirements documents and specs and estimates. (I once spent 6 months working with a client to prove my initial assessment that the project they wanted to do was too expensive and resource-demanding for them to take on: I knew it in the initial interview. They paid me to write the specs that proved it. That may sound like a tremendous waste, but they saved millions of dollars and likely their business.) Some tell you their problem and want you to solve it without bothering them with details. Some need you to work with their internal development staff, which can involve training, mentoring, leading. Some need a setup that can be deployed to 2000 desktops in 30 time zones. Some will just let you copy it off your usb tab onto their four workstations. Different projects need different solutions. Some are happy with emails that tell them that you understand what they're asking. Some want printed and bound documentation. Some want to do a waterfall development, some want to do the most extreme XP. (It's a very important part of your job to insure the tools and techniques fit the job; more than anything else, I think this is the expertise a professional brings to the job.) > And (back to the original > musings), would a client pay for a process which involves all of the > steps and checks that "doing it the right way" would involve? All software development is a complex risk-benefit calculation. It's the customer's money, and they need to understand the level of risk and the consequences of failure. They get to call the shots. You get to present them with alternatives. If they choose one you can't support, you have to let them know that. -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
