3 ms·

I don't think the problem is with the model-- I've used that model before, succesfully. In fact, the Norwegian government's development fund considers this mod

I don't think the problem is with the model-- I've used that model before, succesfully. In fact, the Norwegian government's development fund considers this model to be preferred for projects they finance. Rather, your problem is one of communication. You even say as much when you write: The small business owner I'm working with keeps expecting each iteration of development to be production ready and tries to go out and use the software right away. He then gets upset when it doesn't do what he expected It's your job to make sure he understands the process, and what the deliverables are. And: why aren't you getting the payoff (in the form of domain knowledge)?

arandomdev 16y ago
Good point. I feel like I'm making myself clear about the process, but maybe I'm missing something. I think in the future I need to write out some sort of business relationship agreement that states my intents as a company and lets the small business know what they should expect from me and what I expect from them. I don't think that's too much to ask since the business is actually getting immediate value from this agreement, mine doesn't come until later. I definitely get payoff with domain-knowledge (instead of money at this point) which, I don't mind. I just didn't want to keep trying to make this business model work if I was going to continually sacrifice cash for domain knowledge. I want to make money eventually :P It's nice to hear that this model can (and frequently does) work. I really like the idea and I think there is a lot of potential to create useful products. This is my first attempt and I knew that there were going to be bumps along the way, I just didn't want to keep trying something that doesn't work. Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate it.

3 ms·

I don't think the problem is with the model-- I've used that model before, succesfully. In fact, the Norwegian government's development fund considers this mod

by michael_dorfman 16y ago

arandomdev 16y ago
Good point. I feel like I'm making myself clear about the process, but maybe I'm missing something. I think in the future I need to write out some sort of business relationship agreement that states my intents as a company and lets the small business know what they should expect from me and what I expect from them. I don't think that's too much to ask since the business is actually getting immediate value from this agreement, mine doesn't come until later. I definitely get payoff with domain-knowledge (instead of money at this point) which, I don't mind. I just didn't want to keep trying to make this business model work if I was going to continually sacrifice cash for domain knowledge. I want to make money eventually :P It's nice to hear that this model can (and frequently does) work. I really like the idea and I think there is a lot of potential to create useful products. This is my first attempt and I knew that there were going to be bumps along the way, I just didn't want to keep trying something that doesn't work. Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate it.