Information Technology has reached the finish line. You can’t write code that hasn’t been written before. You can’t develop software that I can’t buy. The focus of IT on social networking results in nothing more than the same advertising sales that brought Yahoo! to stock market prominence, eventually becoming Google’s dominance, but is predicated entirely on our need to see an advertisement in order to consume a good or service. Great! Now we can all talk to each other, and we don’t have to use the phonebook, or even a phone.
What is IT able to do to now to actually further global progress? DNA analysis? And how many job slots are available for that purpose? Has IT reached a massive finish line and is that why so many of us are seeking opportunities now? What does the world need now?
Let me know. In the middle of this gloomy economy (and a matching weather pattern in Cincinnati at least), are you actually working on something NEW?
First, a Big Thanks to all my new followers and readers. “How low can you go?” hit 200 views in 2 days and, frankly, I had expected 200 views for my entire blog for the entire month. Big thanks to the general WordPress blog community as well.
People often ask me what the correlation is between my incomplete Jazz Music degree from the University of Cincinnati and my involvement in information technology. I like to point out that Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox) veterans included Dr. Mark Weiser, the first drummer to ever appear live on the Internet with his band “Severe Tire Damage” and Rich Gold, an electronic music composer, performance artist, and cartoonist with a degree in electronic music. I also like to recall my attendance at the Microsoft Tech-Ed in New Orleans in 2002, where they set up a local pub with music equipment we could all jam to during the evenings after marathon PowerPoint presentations. Sadly this resulted in a lot of equally marathon-like performances of “Sweet Home Alabama.”
(As you continue reading, hit the play button on this performance I did with my trio at the Cincinnati Art Museum a while back. I was on two days without sleep and had just travelled from my client in Dayton straight to the gig. Sorry for the poor audio quality.)
Let Go
Phil DeGreg was my teacher during my time at UC. One important aspect I learned about jazz solos was the ability to let go of things that had already come out of my fingers. During a live performance, when you hit a note, it’s gone, history, done. The note, right or wrong, has hit the ears of the listener and they’re making their little judgment calls and deciding whether to purchase another beverage or not. Coding a software program is nearly the same, except you can delete and replace stuff. But sometimes we shouldn’t. There are a billion things I could play over a single chord change, and as well a billion ways I could create a solution in code. If I spend my time letting my mind wander to the alternatives, it makes for music that never gets heard, and code that never gets released.
It makes me wonder about Microsoft’s “release-and-service-pack” philosophy. Perhaps it is the necessarily human approach to assume that software, like music, is produced by humans, and the audience is therefore obligated to expect shortcomings, or as we say in the music realm, clunkers. The idea is to get the product out there without regret, but with the expectation that next time around, things will be better. When I play a new piece, I almost need to mess up. Mistakes are really the borders of perfection. Microsoft’s versions of .NET have certainly gotten better with each release. Although some can argue the merit of Microsoft products overall, one can’t help but feel we’re always witnessing a company growing, however painfully. I’ve certainly messed up coding plenty, but production of those mistakes practically burns the corrections into my brain like a cattle branding iron.
Practice makes…
Practicing various scales, licks, riffs, or other melodic passages affords me the ability to increase fluidity of creative signals between my brain and my hands. In effect, I’m no longer “playing” as much as I’m really “singing via the piano.” This is why I think company-mandated, on-the-job learning is a good idea. If you’re afforded the opportunity to research and experiment with new development techniques, get into some walkthroughs, branch out into other languages while in the work setting, you’re going to increase that creative fluidity while on an actual project problem in the work setting. I think being in the work setting while doing the learning creates a subconscious familiarity with innovative thought, transferable as the practice of a scale is to the performance stage.
Music and IT have a high degree of correlation and I could slice off aspects all day for you. Maybe I’ll turn this “Jazz Solos & Nerdy Code” into some sort of series. But for today, my thought is that your window of time to production is likely smaller than it was yesterday. For that reason, what you’re attempting to produce might need to become smaller as well, and the time devoted to finding the “right code” even smaller. Imagine if coding were a live performance of a jazz solo. No backspace, no CTRL+X, no regrets. Maybe an impossible standard, but oh, what a guideline!
I often look through Rent-A-Coder, a website that attempts to marry coders and buyers through a bidding process, and I come away each time feeling…well…dirty. It reminds me of scenes from Miami Vice when Crockett and Tubbs used to roll through the alleys filled with prostitutes. “Hey, baby! I’ll give you a PHP/MySQL website for fifty!” Seriously, website bids for $300?!
It’s starting to remind me of the music scene in Cincinnati. For as long as I can remember, unless you’re in a stage act band, gigs come in two flavors: the $50 and under, and the $100 and over. Grant and Benjamin. It hasn’t really changed. The price of gas, food, clothes, and whatever will increase, but gigs will stay right at this level. If you’re making more than that, it’s because you’re doing a private party on a boat, or a wedding, but now that you can rent gear for those occasions, even those high money gigs are dying off. Musicians are willing to play for coffee if it means they can do their thing in front of a live audience of 5 people. When three digits are involved, they generally salivate and wearing a suit and tie becomes less of hassle. And if you let them drink free beer? Well, then. The music will certainly sound great….to at least them. Because of this, the rising cost of music education, unless you’re going to teach others how to become poor, is becoming largely unjustified.
This is exactly where IT is going if people don’t start valuing the services they provide, and tether themselves to a standard despite the hard times. First and foremost, knowlege and expertise are the essential component. Remember those tests in grade school that asked you to pick which thing you needed most for a football game? The referees, the crowd, or the football players? The quarterbacks are the analysts, the running backs and receivers are the developers, and testing is defense. But there is a different pay scale between high school and professional football, isn’t there?
Secondly, if someone hires you, then generally they’re going to make some revenue. I would contend it is the non-essential producers that should be trimming their margins, not the quarterbacks, running backs, and defense. So how much do you want to make? Take the net you want to earn and divide by 220 (working business days, minus holidays, etc.). $88,000 is $400 a day, $50 per hour. Charge it. Stick to it. Whatever the rate.
Why? Because lastly, who’s to say that companies aren’t going to take advantage of this economic downturn by attempting to control costs and enlarge profits for years to come after this supposed depression. Are they going to stop using the “because of the hard economic times” excuse when the hard economic times no longer exist? Heck no. You’ll be in a job making “hard economic times” rates for years. Do you think they’ll come to you one day and say “hey, buddy, the depression is over, here’s that $20,000 raise.” Heck no. It’ll be “file an evaluation request form and we’ll see if we can’t get you that 4%.”
Here’s the irony: companies searching frantically to control costs hire the lowest bidder, not the best qualified. They pass on hiring somebody who could actually provide long-term benefit to bring on Mr. Cheap Gig. In the music world, this results in BAD MUSIC. Guess what the result is in the IT world? To get over this, actually assess what the company is trying to do in numerical terms. Do the homework you’re supposed to do before the interview, golf-and-beer outing, or prospect lunch and get an understanding of the health of the company and your worth to them. If they can’t pay your per diem, pass. Yes, I said it. Pass. And stop earning $20 to design a company’s front-facing website. Unless that’s what you want all of us to earn some day.
And if companies don’t want to hire all of us at our deserved rate, well then they have assumed the captain’s position on the Titanic, we’re the musicians on the boat, and it has been a pleasure and honor to play with you on this night! What was the drinking policy for the band?
I’ve worked for several companies over the years and something I’ve come to recognize with each new opportunity is what I refer to as “New Guy Leverage.” This is the period of time where you are the golden child, the new baby, the fresh face, the person who has done no wrong…yet. Unless you threaten someone else by the very nature of the existence of your position, everyone generally loves you. Most importantly, the ideas you share are welcomed, whether based on your past experiences, your knowledge and expertise, or a combination. For a new, full-time employee, this lasts from two weeks to a month. For a new contractor hired from a recruiter, this could last from a month to three, and a certain sense of detachment or separation can remain throughout the engagement and grow as the duration increases.
I’m therefore puzzled as to why a company would elect to insist on hiring full-time employment, or hire only through recruitment. What happened to HR? I’ve seen placement firms charge as high as 100% margin per hour, and as low as 25% per hour. Why?
It also seems “consultant” or “contractor” have become bad words. A lot of this has to do with the fact that the meaning of “consultant” was lost long ago. If you’re a .NET developer, you’re placed in a position as a “Senior .NET Consultant.” Alan Weiss, the author of “Million Dollar Consulting,” proposes a pretty good definition of consultant in his book:
“A consultant is someone who provides a specialized expertise, content, behavior, skill, or other resource to assist a client in improving the status quo. This intervention focuses on a specific client need.”
Based on this, without a lot of heavy thinking, a “Senior .NET Developer” may present a specialized expertise or skill and indeed improve the status quo. But Alan further clarifies, “Consulting is not synonymous with implementing, delivering, instructing, or executing, although consulting may include any of these activities.” And what really hits the nail on the head for me in differentiating between a contractor hired to program and a consultant is “Only consulting can achieve the final bridge to unconscious competency and application of new skills to the job.” Consulting involves a high degree of communication skills. You must be able to communicate throughout the spectrum of personnel, from CEOs to junior developers and everywhere in between. This means you must have the personality of someone who would, for example, strike up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery. You must be tolerant, diverse, and generally excited about communicating with people. Technical proficiency in your area of expertise, and excitement about getting up in front of people to genuinely solve problems in a collaborative way, are requirements. Being able to say “no” to upper management or the head of the company is also important.
So an effective relationship between a consultant and a client requires new guy leverage to fan the flame of the natural communications talents that one might possess. By giving new initiative responsibilities to internal employees, companies might often create rifts between those that are given the opportunities, and those that believe they should have been given the opportunities. Thus, a natural resistance to proactive efforts is immediately present, like a polka-dotted elephant in the room. Why risk these politics? The overall effectiveness of the time investment is diminished, and certainly the risk of not meeting the business objectives is prevalent.
Let all your employees be exposed to a true independent consultant. If they feel threatened by this new entity in their workplace, guess what? They know he’s going to leave! They can all hate him together! It’s entirely up to the consultant to engender those relationships. But it starts with a company sending a message to those people it employs by bringing in that outside help and demonstrating a willingness to take the initiative and invest in improving their condition. What a sign of strength! Instead of remaining in a position of waiting until “things improve,” you tell your employees “we’re going to do some proactive things to improve your skills and the position of our organization.” It’s entirely on the new guy, the consultant, to engender repeat business.
I’d like your comments on New Guy Leverage and things your organization is doing or not doing that may affect your feelings of security.
I finally jumped into the Twitter waters myself as I found it neat that actual celebrities and news media people post some interesting things. A good friend of mine, a former colleague actually, told me to consider removing my account, saying its very existence “seems unprofessional.” Two thoughts come to mind.
Be Who You Are, Be Where You’re Wanted
I think it’s wrong to automatically give someone professional demerits of a sort because they have Facebook or Twitter accounts, or even if they’ve indicated certain affiliations, political or pop cultural. But, if you, the CEO, run the type of company that prefers to employ stoic types with no personality or ambitions, that’s your prerogative. But as many of us are out of work, and we go about searching for any job, I would strongly urge you, the job seeker, to go for the exact job. You will be better off in a position where you are accepted for who you are, how you are, as well as what you do, than one where you’re hiding half of yourself. You certainly don’t want to completely let loose on these social networking sites, but you also shouldn’t necessarily hide the fact that you have a sense of humor, play in a band, or even support Obama. Why would you? For the money? That’s the kind of erroneous decision many people will make in getting new positions, one that puts a job in the way of a career. If a company isn’t letting you be you, and frankly, is spending time conducting grade-school espionage on its prospective personnel and calling it “proactive HR”, it might not be the organization of which you want to be a part. Be you.
Paper Walls
I remembered James Clavell’s Shogun and the subtle importance and lessons drawn from “walls of paper and houses so small and people being what they are, stories always sped from the bed to the ballad – never the truth, always exaggerated, because people are people, neh?” As our world becomes closer and closer and more “virtually crowded,” it becomes more important that we respect each other as people and afford each other the ability to be human. I’m just not sure if we can do that. While we can pick up actual words people say in a social networking site, do we apply those words to their working lives, discounting the notion that “people are people?” Certainly, there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed. But what are they?
I think it begins here: Do you work for a company that lets you be who you are? If so, where?
I am rarely motivated to buy a product based on the commercial. I am influenced by two primary factors alone in my purchasing decisions: (a) need, (b) cost.
Now, when I go out for business or a party, certainly I wear some cologne, etc. So this solution was strictly targeted at my “off day” or “everyday” olfactory solution. Using a bit of my own Vision & Scope analysis, I came to the conclusion that I needed to purchase AXE Chocolate Body Spray. Nothing in the commercial had quite the effect on me as much as the part where the woman on the bus takes a bite out of chocolate boy’s butt. Something deep inside of me thought, “If this spray is going to help me encounter the kind of woman who might take a bite out of my ass simply because I smelled good, then hey, it’s worth a shot!” So I have to admit, I reversed-engineered my “business objectives” in making the purchase.
Business Opportunity:
Cliff has an opportunity to not smell, and in fact, smell good.
By not smelling, Cliff might be able to talk to strangers, make new friends, and perhaps even flirt.
Cliff may have lost opportunities in the past due to failure to smell really good.
Customer or Market Needs:
Strangers require the need to be able to go to the grocery or other establishments without encountering the smell of a man who has been on his livingroom floor in his pajamas for days staring at his computer.
Women currently have to deal with smelly men. We’re smelly, especially on off days, after workouts, or when we’re doing mundane tasks and believe we exist in our own private bubble while out and about. Through Cliff’s implementation of AXE Chocolate, women in the local community will experience substantial relief.
Objectives and Success Criteria:
BO-1: Stop offending strangers with body odor immediately (within 1 day of implementation).
BO-2: Increase the occurrences of having my ass chomped down on by a strange, but attractive woman by 1 within 4 weeks of implementation.
SC-1: Make small talk with 5 strangers within 2 weeks of implementation
SC-2: Do SC-1 both with and without showering to determine the extent of effectiveness.
SC-3: Ride the bus. Stand while on the bus.
Business Risks:
R-1: AXE Chocolate Body Spray might be more offensive that the smell of my body odor. Estimated likelihood: not. Estimated severity: $7 (complete loss). Mitigation: Find an attractive woman in the grocery, ask her to smell the spray, ask if she might be inclined to bite my butt. Alternate Mitigation: Try it. Stop using it upon witnessing entire rooms clearing when I enter.
R-2: Body spray may not overcome my halitosis via french press coffee, spinach quiche, cottage cheese, vegetable juice, and tuna. Estimated likelihood: likely. Estimated severity: $7 (complete loss). Mitigation: Brush teeth.
This exercise didn’t necessarily help me make a sound purchase decision. But, it’s the kind of thing my mind does constantly because I’m a business analyst nerd. It helps me remind myself of some important points in analysis, like the third bullet point of the Business Opportunity section above: identifying lost opportunity from not initiating a project. Or remembering the basics of Objectives and Critera: Objectives generally need to be measurable and time-based. Criteria represent efforts that need to be made, often external to the project implementation itself, to enable the measurements asked for in the Objectives.
This would be the first of four sections to a Vision/Scope document. Business Requirements, written at a high, non-technical level, and with some elicitation from stakeholders, become the battle cry or mantra to reverberate from the beginning to the completion of any project.
The average salary for a project manager is $96,000. The average salary for a senior application developer is $85,000. If a person is hired to do both jobs, does that person get a salary of $171,000? No. It’s a cost-cutting tactic, and in this market it’s easy to find a person willing to do anything or say they can do anything to get that job slot. We are asking our work force to be jacks of all trades, and master of none. As a result of our cutting, we really cut the “it” – the essential ingredient – out of IT.
Look at the job titles I’ve listed. Although the first two scream “multiple-hats,” you’re probably thinking “Database Application Developer” is a straightforward title, so you’ll be perplexed to learn that when I asked some colleagues to read the description of the job that accompanied it, when faced with three choices, “Project Manager”, “Systems Analyst”, and the actual title, most chose “Project Manager.”
So to save cost, we’ve begun to place more responsibility on a single person. If you give me three things to do, like develop computer code, analyze and define requirements, and maybe even help manage the expectations of a client, I may do all of those things pretty well. But if you let me come to work, spend an hour of my 8 learning, and then focusing on doing one thing, the breadth and depth of what I’m able to accomplish will increase dramatically. Back in the day of the Internet boom, I was typically encouraged by my boss to learn and read. In fact, that’s how I got into IT in the first place. The VP of the company I was working for walked up to me with a manual and said, “learn this.” But all I’ve heard for the past 5 years is “get it done.” And worse, only one opinion has started to matter when designing solutions, usually one based on position or title, and that title, unfortunately, isn’t often “customer.”
We’ve taken our eyes off the ball and fixated it closely on the dollar. Many of us probably believe the dollar is the ball. Who can blame us? Everyone is busy convincing each other that monetary shortage is the issue. But let me invite you back into the batter’s box, get your mind off the scoreboard, and retrain your eye to that hanging curveball:
“The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.” – Steve Jobs
The average salary for a junior programmer, fresh out of college, is $53,000. These are young, energetic people who ideally have the latest information and a lot of confidence, perhaps too much. Do we want these people to stop learning when they leave campus? The two sentences above contain two key concepts: cost-cutting and innovation. Which do we want our freshest, brightest minds to encounter? Do we simply want them to “get it done” for $53,000?
“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” – William Pollard
Innovation happens when a situation exists such that all ideas are welcome, but funneled and filtered through a guided alignment with business objectives. If you’ve got 20 developers focused on one idea and one goal constantly, innovation is dead. If those same developers get a half hour each morning to explore their solution domain – read articles, work through examples, explore new techniques – you end up with a team of well-informed people that can approach a problem collectively with greater breadth, with genuine excitement and positive attitude, and readiness to find a solution. But if they and their managers spend their morning trying to fill multiple roles, that energy is stifled. The result is a cost to the business. If you ask a programmer to be an analyst, you’re likely getting half the programmer and half the analyst. You’re also getting someone less likely to proactively contribute to the mission, and less likely to achieve a sense of ownership toward the company. I’ve seen so many developers become team leads or managers with nothing more than a modest increase or a title change. They soon learn the price of such cost-cutting. Well guess what?
“The cure for the United States is not cost-cutting. The cure for the United States is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.” – Cliff Adams (with a lot of help from Steve Jobs)
The following is an actual job description posted by Kforce Consulting of Cincinnati, Ohio. Vote – What job does the Real Job Description describe? Keep checking back. I’ll reveal the correct answer in a future blog. Please vote! I want a decent sample!
Responsibilities: Kforce Consulting is seeking a Database Application Developer for a contract to perm position in Cincinnati, OH. As a career professional, this person performs senior level database application design and development. This person will be responsible for managing the complete life-cycle of development projects. This person will define, develop, implement, and champion development standards and governances across departments.
Responsibilities:
Gather requirements, design, and architect database applications
Proven history of effectively managing a development project by minimizing scope creep, risks, and issues while adhering to a defined company project methodology
Deliver multiple small development projects on time and within budget
Manage complete software life-cycle for complex or high-risk components
Adheres and enforces standards for software development
Define, develop, implement, and champion development standards and governances across corporate departments
Mentoring of other employees both in IT and in the user community
Development of technical project plans
Ability to lead a team (3-5 people) of developers through all phases of the development life-cycle; project requirements, analysis, design, development, testing, and deployment.
Face-to-face works as well in development teams as it does in poker games. Last year I was part of a 20+ member team brought on to develop and launch a large website project. The managing members of the team claimed we were following an “Agile” methodology. Each morning we would gather and go over what each of us had done the day before and what we would be working on that day. Team members typically skipped disclosing obstacles by deftly saying, “I’m still working on feature x.” This is effectively a check in poker. I don’t have good cards and either the flop hasn’t been dealt or I’m probably going to fold if the turn card doesn’t help me.
From the tenet of Agile methodology, we are to believe face-to-face conversation is “the most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team.” This is not entirely false, and certainly if one reviews the principles of the Agile Manifesto, one definitely comes away with some good thoughts. But the face-to-face issue requires that either the team lead or manager be ready to call the bluff and really delve into the work progress of the individual during this morning public forum, or that a documented planning or project structure be in place, or both. Otherwise, this morning gathering becomes a showcase in derivations on “Agile CYA” methodology.
Let’s understand the cost of this morning meeting first. I’ll assume 20 developers at the highest point in the project, multiplied by an average of $55 per hour with an average meeting time of 30 minutes. $550. If a project takes six months to develop, let’s go with 24 weeks, that’s $66,000. Let’s assume this is a website project for your local fast-food restaurant chain and you might begin to believe gas prices aren’t the only thing driving your $6 or $7 “value” meal. Let’s then assume someone is really having trouble or encountering obstacles. Are they going to disclose this to 19 other people plus the lead? This would require a good amount of self-confidence, a comfortable amount of personal savings, and, in some cases, the fear that they aren’t required by law to return to their home country of origin should this gig go down the tubes, a very real possibility. I could get evermore tangential on this.
A solid documentation process, even the most basic of approaches, such as defining and prioritizing use cases, or having a common understanding of the vision and scope of the project, can effectively reduce the need for these budget busters. I have always contended, in my typical extreme-and-hopefully-not-bromidic nature, that “a meeting is a sign of a failure,” and that perhaps “getting work done over talking about work” should have been included in this manifesto. My little tenet essentially says that if you haven’t created a concise plan in the first place, enough to be able to communicate the direction you’re going to others, then you’ve failed, and thus a meeting is required to get everybody down the same road again.
Giving a developer a concise script of tasks to accomplish which can accompany him or her to these morning meetings creates unspoken accountability, not to mention the presentation of a complex problem in the best form: a small series of easy tasks. You’ll be more likely to get an accurate report, your team morale will remain positive, and your meetings will not be required as frequently. And you’ll get work done.
“Flattop, long on the sides”
When I was very young, I went into a local barber shop to get a cut. When I was asked what kind of haircut I wanted, I told the man, “a flattop.” Of course, this is the military hairstyle, with the unique feature of the hair on the top of the head blown-dried to stand up and then cut flat. The barber started in on the job, beginning with the top. I had never gotten a flattop before, and as he proceeded, I became slightly uncomfortable with the drastic change. I had a thick head of hair, and he was mowing through it. So I said, “leave the sides long.” He stopped. I remember him nearly pleading with me to understand the nature of the style, but I insisted. He followed me out the door with a worried look behind his double bifocals, saying if I wanted it corrected later, he would do it for free, almost as if he was embarrassed to have been a part of such a stylistic debacle and wanted the opportunity to eliminate any trace of the occurrence. When I reached school, I realized I had made a bad choice. I laughed at myself, and eventually returned to the barber to finish the job.
The nature of the relationship
Let’s examine this relationship. We’re in a very vulnerable position in that barber’s chair, especially on our first encounter. In a very short amount of time and with very few words, we place a great deal of faith in another person to perform a job. Ultimately, the control in the situation is with the barber, who must perform the technical duties necessary to achieve any success whatsoever. He can’t shave all the hair off your head and somehow talk his way to success if you asked for a simple trim. Certainly you would regain some control in that drastic instance, or any other obvious mistake, and be able to ask for a refund.
The client carries some responsibility in this duet. Aside from payment, they must be able to either adequately communicate something specific they’re looking for, or place their trust entirely in the hands of the barber. They must be realistic and understand that quick requirements and high expectations can’t go together. When I get a cut, I usually say “just make me look professional” and let the barber make suggestions. I figure whatever their most comfortable doing with my head will result in the best outcome. I’ve been wrong about this.
Common goal – the successful interaction, like a work of art
The common goal between the barber and the client might be succinctly stated as a quick, satisfactory haircut at a fair value to the customer and a rate which makes the effort worth the barber’s time. I prefer to phrase it more simply as being a golden exchange. Working together, the barber and the client are attempting to create a situation, so that both want to repeat it in the future. Not only do we want to achieve the objective, but we want to enjoy the process. Aside from this golden path, there are other ancillary paths. The customer might not have enough funds, or the price may be too high. Sometimes this end is satisfactory to both sides.
In terms of the end game, rarely is payment not delivered. Even if you’re disappointed, you usually pay and choose not to return. You might tip less or not at all. You might get upset. The barber might refund your money, or offer some other means to rectify the instance. In any of these negative situations, there is feeling of disappointment, which is mutual. Of course, going above and beyond on both sides lends to the likelihood that the exchange will happen again. The barber may give you some styling or engage in interesting conversation. You might be engaging yourself, making the barber’s job more enjoyable. I can’t tell you how many “cheating boyfriend” stories I’ve sat through.
Creative, complex nature of IT projects
In information technology, 80% of the mistakes found in system testing are made in the requirements definition phase of the program. And finding a requirements problem during a quality assurance process is 19 times more expensive than finding it at the inception of a project. As in our metaphor, if the elicitation and conveyance of information is successful, things go a lot better. The product looks more like the original vision. The functional aspects are complete. The testing and quality assurance for our haircut is our look in the mirror. Are the expectations met? While people may attribute most of the successful outcome to the technical abilities of those doing the work, without clear communication of the vision, the outcome is in doubt, the ability is useless.
I was on a team of greater than twenty senior-level developers from October to December of 2007. The budget for the project was $300,000. The project cost has reached nearly $2,000,000. 94 pages of useful, but poorly organized documentation did nothing to help stop the bleeding. The lack of understanding or appreciation for a process by which to convey the information to the development team was the problem. Worse, the contractual agreement with the client was such that they had to eat the difference. This translates to me visiting the barber for a $12 haircut, and the barber doing such a poor job of eliciting what I wanted that it cost him $80 to fix it somehow. I hate to think of what kind of cut I’d have ended up with in that scenario.
Unspoken expectations
One of the major issues found in this important communication is what I’ll refer to as the unspoken expectation. These are things a customer will expect as a natural by-product of the service. I expect my sideburns trimmed, or at least to be asked about them. When I click an underlined piece of information on a webpage, I expect to be taken somewhere. It is the responsibility of the barber to elicit those unknowns as much as possible, being in the forum, he can benefit the customer with the asset of his experience. As a business analyst, I need to understand the people involved and how they will need to interact with the system, the technology platforms, even their attitudes toward the proposed changes so I can bring my experience to the table.
Limit trust factor to ability to execute, past performance To a certain extent, a person’s qualifications, certifications, licenses, as well as the décor of the establishments we frequent, contribute to our ability to trust a person to do a job. Yet, haircuts in salons and website projects in office buildings have both failed more than a few times. For technology projects with major dollars at play – measurable, written requirements that point to specific results move the factors of risk and trust to a digestible level. While the damage done from a bad $12 haircut can be resolved in a week’s time, the damage done from poorly initiated IT projects can take a lot longer to resolve, and can perhaps cause an entire economy to become paralyzed. Ironically, when I hear the debate over whether we’re in a recession or depression, I attribute some of the reason that we’re anywhere to irresponsibility in the software industry, and immediately ask what the requirements for a recession or a depression are.
Conclude
Khalil Gibran’s Prophet tells us of Buying and Selling, saying, “It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied. Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice, it will but lead some to greed and others to hunger.” If you have customers, make sure you’re the good barber who opens those lines of communication, educating your customer in order to educate and prepare yourself to do the good work that will lead to such a golden exchange. As a customer, we have a responsibility to promote a good transaction by additionally informing our vendors about our needs, both what we know, and what we don’t know. Bring a sense of love and kindly justice to the cooperative process and you’ll find that next opportunity for the golden exchange. It’s called “repeat business.”
The Blog of Cliff Adams 