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I think I agree to a point. What I discuss ahead of time with potential clients is the fact that in order for the project to be successful they need to be enga

I think I agree to a point. What I discuss ahead of time with potential clients is the fact that in order for the project to be successful they need to be engaged and willing to work with me toward what eventually will be the end product. I've never received what I would consider a "sufficient spec" ahead of time, but I'm always (as long as the client is engaged with me and with the project) able to do the extra legwork to come to a concrete understanding of what we're trying to accomplish. I have, early in my consulting career, worked with companies where there was literally no feedback, insufficient specifications, and we had no access to the people who would eventually be using the software. It was at this time, early in my consulting career, when I decided this was a critical intangible I must have in a potential client before I start negotiating an actual contract.

odonnellryan 11y ago
You're certainly right. But, the same goes for if they were developing the software in-house: you need to have the customer use the software. It is probably a bit more pronounced in consulting, I agree. This is extreme programming, at least part of it. It is called a lot of things (client tests, cards, whatever) but the goal is the same: to get frequent and critical client feedback. I've had the same experience as you. Asked to implement something, but you KNOW they are not using the software.
mcv 11y ago
And this is exactly the kind of thing that's a lot easier with someone in the same country, the same culture, and the same language. The big problem with outsourcing to another country is that you've got a big communication gap in the middle of your project, and you need to compensate for that. (Though you can also easily run into this problem without outsourcing, but I every step between the programmer and the user/customer makes this problem more likely.)

odonnellryan 11y ago

You're certainly right. But, the same goes for if they were developing the software in-house: you need to have the customer use the software. It is probably a bit more pronounced in consulting, I agree. This is extreme programming, at least part of it. It is called a lot of things (client tests, cards, whatever) but the goal is the same: to get frequent and critical client feedback. I've had the same experience as you. Asked to implement something, but you KNOW they are not using the software.

mcv 11y ago

And this is exactly the kind of thing that's a lot easier with someone in the same country, the same culture, and the same language. The big problem with outsourcing to another country is that you've got a big communication gap in the middle of your project, and you need to compensate for that. (Though you can also easily run into this problem without outsourcing, but I every step between the programmer and the user/customer makes this problem more likely.)