Maker-Client Communication

Project & Team Management

Answering Client Questions – 5 Alternatives to “I Don’t Know”

Consulting time is expensive, and clients expect an answer. Here's how to always answer a client's question, even if you don't know the answer.

Project & Team Management

Visualizing Project Scale, Risk, and Options

We discuss scale, risk, and alternatives continually throughout a project. Having a visual representation of the conversation points can be very useful.

Project & Team Management

Software as a Journey – My Favorite Development Metaphor

It’s my job to look at every leg of the software journey and point out potential problems as well as solutions. So when I give a customer an estimate, I’m reasonably confident that

Business Practices

Anticipating Your Clients’ Needs

Taking the time to anticipate future needs and putting yourself in a position act on them shows that you give a shit and have their best interests in mind.

Project & Team Management

Customers – Out of Sight, But Still in Mind

Your customer should be engaged, whether off-site or on. Keep communication channels open, and don't be afraid to reach out.

Project & Team Management

What Rambling in Meetings Says about Your Team

By watching ourselves and colleagues for rambling in meetings, we can find and address causes of uncertainty in our project and reduce risk.

Project & Team Management

A Checklist for Great Feature Requirements

4 guidelines for writing story requirements that won't make your engineers want to pull their hair out.

UX/Design Techniques

3 Ways a Whiteboard Can Improve Communication & Participation

When you grab a marker and head for the whiteboard, the room dynamics change for the better.

Project & Team Management

Working with Remote Software Teams

To make sure remote software teams get and stay on the same page, we've created an approach for effective collaboration and communication.

Project & Team Management

Shared Understanding: Building Languages and Communities Around Software

A look at how language and community can promote better understanding and shared vision between makers and their clients.

Project & Team Management

Using Storytelling to Convey Complicated Ideas

Storytelling is a great way to communicate complicated ideas in a natural way.

Business Practices

Dealing with Bad Behavior and Broken Communication in Teams

Technical professionals may rely on their technical knowledge to support their careers. Learning this dialog framework could boost their careers.