Timeline for Can Agile be accomplished without client involvement?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 7, 2012 at 22:44 | vote | accept | P.Brian.Mackey | ||
| Feb 15, 2012 at 20:54 | comment | added | Robert Harvey | @maple_shaft: Indeed. | |
| Feb 15, 2012 at 20:52 | comment | added | maple_shaft♦ | @RobertHarvey Even a bad client in a bad economy is still a client and they still keep the lights on for a few more months. The risks for the client in the case I mentioned are minimal and contained to whether they received the solution promised on time. The risk for the software shop in this case is if this pain-in-the-rear client is going to suck us dry. | |
| Feb 15, 2012 at 20:46 | comment | added | Robert Harvey | @maple_shaft: Clearly you've been burned by this. But, as with all things, it comes down to choices. Agile exists because waterfall has its problems and people are not perfect. If the client has been advised of the risks, and wants waterfall anyway, that's their choice. It's also the software shop's choice to decide whether or not it's worth risking waterfall on a client that doesn't understand the risks, or denies the validity of those risks. | |
| Feb 15, 2012 at 20:43 | comment | added | maple_shaft♦ | cont... why should they have to pay for it? Just to save face with the customer and not completely screw over any chance at repeat business then you have to turn around and do the rework for free because they demanded the fixed price contract in the first place. This is the more prevalent attitude and exactly what P.Brian.Mackey is experiencing. Customers strong arm these negotiations and when you are just one of 100 startups trying to score the contract then the guy with the realistic and fair Agile based contract will have to wait in the back of the line. It is HARD out there right now. | |
| Feb 15, 2012 at 20:39 | comment | added | maple_shaft♦ | it's just a matter of how much they want the rework to cost (the longer it is delayed, the more expensive it is). Who is it really more expensive for though? Most clients don't see it as paying for your time to get their current vision of a solution in place. Sometimes they just have a problem and have no way of knowing what the solution should be until you tell them what it will be. At that point if what you told them doesn't actually solve their problem then it is YOUR FAULT not theirs. How is it their fault that you misunderstood their real problems in the first place? cont... | |
| Feb 15, 2012 at 19:36 | comment | added | gnat | Parts of your team can, however, act as "proxy" customers - in my experience, testers made pretty effective "proxies" of the kind you mention. When I was a tester myself, I also sometimes pretended to wear a customer suit so to speak. Such a proxying have limitations though - eg QA guy complaining about how much time it takes to install the product might just feel that way because they do it daily while customer does it once a year or two | |
| Feb 15, 2012 at 18:43 | history | answered | Robert Harvey | CC BY-SA 3.0 |