As a seasoned web professional since 1995, I am always interested in hearing stories from individuals who have encountered challenges while working with a developer. I have led several sessions focusing on this topic and I always start by asking the audience what kinds of problems they have experienced in the past. Some of the common threads include:
• “My developer delivered something that was not exactly what I had in mind. I then had to pay them to change it to match my expectations.”
• “My developer missed the deadline.”
• “My developer has gone AWOL. They refuse to return my phone calls and emails.”
• “The costs are spiraling out of control with no end in site.”
• “My developer takes suggestions personally.”
• “My developer does not understand my industry.”
• “My developer does not have the core competencies to complete every aspect of my project.”
While the audience always has a good laugh at some of these responses, none of them surprise me. I have heard them all before. The good news is that many of these problems can be avoided up front with proper planning and expectation management.
Developers are a rare breed. Given the barriers pertaining to technical jargon, preconceived notions can ultimately create conflicting ideas of what the finished product should look like. Instructions and objectives can become cloudy – ultimately creating a loss of time, effort and money for the hiring party.
This presentation will cover Interviewing Your Potential Developer, Planning & Project Management, Using a Version Control System, and Bug Reporting. Ii will give the audience a reality check on how to go about working with a developer to get a project built on time and on budget.
Here is a brief list of some of the questions that will be answered in the presentation:
• What questions should I ask when interviewing a developer?
• What are the communication pitfalls that I should avoid?
• How can clients get involved in project management?
• What is version control and how does it benefit me?
• What is the best way to handle bug reporting?
The presentation will also delve deeper into questions that should be asked throughout the various phases of working with a developer, including:
• Will my project be billed as hourly or as a flat rate?
• Once my project launches, is there a maintenance fee?
• Where does my project rank with the other projects on your production schedule?
• Do you have the bandwidth to give my project the attention it deserves?
• What is your procedure when something goes wrong?
In addition to providing appropriate questions that should be addressed, the presentation will also involve examples of common answers and real life examples. It will include suggestions based on years of first hand experience from the developer’s point of view.