Little by little the market goes Agile. Corporations discover the benefits of increasing contact with their clients not only in the initial phases but throughout the whole project. However, many still fail to comprehend what to say (and what not to say) to the client.
With over 15 years in IT business, our Co-founder Maciej Ossowski (fancing a buscuit in the picture below) has some pieces of advice to give on the topic. Although they might sound obvious there are still some project/product managers failing to grasp these concepts. Take a look:
- Speak your client's language: Which programming language to use? Are we using Scrum or Kanban? Which is the CMS of choice? Clients do not care what you choose to develop the product with some rare exceptions. Leave the heavy technical talking for your software house! This is exactly why the client hires you as a (team of) specialist(s): you have the know-how. Your client's main interest is to...
- Solve their problem: This is what matters. They have a problem or a demand that requires a solution. They also want to know if the project fits their budget and when/how it will be delivered. Last but not least, your clients want to be assured of a satisfactory RoI.
- Empathy: It is common knowledge that assessing a client's demand is no mere interview but rather a collaborative work of eliciting requirements. "Put yourself in your client' shoes". Exactly because they (might) lack the technical knowledge you possess they might not acknowledge the range of solutions to their problem. Therefore, do not focus on what they want but what can be done to deliver value and improve their product/service/routine.
Bearing these three concepts in mind will certainly help you to bring a smile to your client's face.
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