Software development diaries: why the customer isn’t always right

For outsiders, software development may seem difficult – of course – but relatively straightforward given the relevant training. Development partners are given the business problem or brief, the timeline, and the budget. From there, it’s happy coding… right?

Not so much. Software development is an inherently complex and nuanced task, and requires both experience and talent to achieve the desired outcomes. It also requires an in-depth understanding of the systems and processes needed to get to a certain point.

In the world of enterprise software development, there is more often than not a tussle between clients and development partners. Sometimes, clients want to keep certain elements in-house, while working with partners on selected projects. This approach can be problematic, on a number of levels.

For one, localised decision-making processes within the business often encumber in-house teams. The Finance department is fretting about budget, while the Marketing department is calling for delivery of something unrelated to the initial brief. The various departments usually have no understanding of the impact of their demands on the development process – which can lead to a great deal of confusion and unhappiness amongst internal development teams.

Added to this, in-house teams are often under-resourced, and pulled in many different directions. Because of the nature of their work, these teams often lack specialist knowledge – and are asked to deliver way beyond what they are actually capable of.

Link to article: http://memeburn.com/2016/05/software-development-diaries-customer-isnt-always-right/