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It would be an excellent tradition for people to post stories about their mistakes -- we live in such success-driven cultures that it's almost like admitting yo

by m0nty 18y ago

It would be an excellent tradition for people to post stories about their mistakes -- we live in such success-driven cultures that it's almost like admitting you're a loser if you ... well, lose occasionally. Yet, the more I develop software for other people, the more I see that it's about the people, not the software per se. The map is not the terrain, the plan is not the project.

edw519 18y ago
"the more I see that it's about the people, not the software per se" Thank you. A fundamental truth we too easily forget.
- m0nty 18y ago
  I'm going through the aftermath of one of my failures at the moment. It's been an interesting, illuminating experience. I've learned that I am (as I suspected) fallible. I've also learned that most "civilians" don't know what they want from software, even though they think they do. And I've learned that you can't please everyone, and it's futile to try. I might write this one up some time, but the fat lady ain't singing just yet.
  - edw519 18y ago
    Sorry to hear about it. For some customers, showing that you care is half the battle. Hope this is one of them.
    - m0nty 18y ago
      In fact, you hit the nail on the head. They're discussing canning the project but appreciate I've put heart and soul into it, and are looking at all the options about how to go forward. Fortunately, one of those options includes keeping me on, so they're still paying me. This in itself is one of the lessons I've learned: I don't have to be perfect to be useful. Believe me, that's a real paradigm shift.
      - lux 18y ago
        In my experience, honesty is your friend here :) I had a contract that we took on which inherited someone else's codebase as a starting point, but it sounded simple enough. When we realized it was getting not-so-simple we had to decide whether to go back to the client and explain that it's going to be more than we thought, or whether to just push through and go over a bit (false coder heroism...). We decided to push through. Turned out that just made things even worse and we would need even more time to fix it now. We were also busy with another big project at the same time, so we were focused more on that as well. So things dragged on. Finally, I had to have a meeting with the client where I could make something up or simply tell them the truth. I opted for the truth (that would be my dad's influence :). I was pretty scared it wouldn't work, but they accepted my apology and the plan to correct it, which did require more time and money to complete. I felt like I had dodged a bullet. We managed to sort everything out in the end, learned our lesson, and they've since recommended us to several other companies because they feel they can trust us. And it feels pretty good to have earned someone's trust that way too. Anyway, I write way too much on here... (gotta learn to edit! ;) But good luck with your project, hopefully you'll have the same luck I did!
        edw519 18y ago
        "Anyway, I write way too much on here..." Not at all. We need more war stories here. Thanks.
        m0nty 18y ago
        "false coder heroism..." This was me, but now I'm learning the valued art of project management. Like marketing, I used to think it was all baloney, but now I know better.

by m0nty 18y ago

edw519 18y ago

"the more I see that it's about the people, not the software per se" Thank you. A fundamental truth we too easily forget.

m0nty 18y ago
I'm going through the aftermath of one of my failures at the moment. It's been an interesting, illuminating experience. I've learned that I am (as I suspected) fallible. I've also learned that most "civilians" don't know what they want from software, even though they think they do. And I've learned that you can't please everyone, and it's futile to try. I might write this one up some time, but the fat lady ain't singing just yet.
- edw519 18y ago
  Sorry to hear about it. For some customers, showing that you care is half the battle. Hope this is one of them.
  - m0nty 18y ago
    In fact, you hit the nail on the head. They're discussing canning the project but appreciate I've put heart and soul into it, and are looking at all the options about how to go forward. Fortunately, one of those options includes keeping me on, so they're still paying me. This in itself is one of the lessons I've learned: I don't have to be perfect to be useful. Believe me, that's a real paradigm shift.
    - lux 18y ago
      In my experience, honesty is your friend here :) I had a contract that we took on which inherited someone else's codebase as a starting point, but it sounded simple enough. When we realized it was getting not-so-simple we had to decide whether to go back to the client and explain that it's going to be more than we thought, or whether to just push through and go over a bit (false coder heroism...). We decided to push through. Turned out that just made things even worse and we would need even more time to fix it now. We were also busy with another big project at the same time, so we were focused more on that as well. So things dragged on. Finally, I had to have a meeting with the client where I could make something up or simply tell them the truth. I opted for the truth (that would be my dad's influence :). I was pretty scared it wouldn't work, but they accepted my apology and the plan to correct it, which did require more time and money to complete. I felt like I had dodged a bullet. We managed to sort everything out in the end, learned our lesson, and they've since recommended us to several other companies because they feel they can trust us. And it feels pretty good to have earned someone's trust that way too. Anyway, I write way too much on here... (gotta learn to edit! ;) But good luck with your project, hopefully you'll have the same luck I did!
      - edw519 18y ago
        "Anyway, I write way too much on here..." Not at all. We need more war stories here. Thanks.
      - m0nty 18y ago
        "false coder heroism..." This was me, but now I'm learning the valued art of project management. Like marketing, I used to think it was all baloney, but now I know better.