PointConcept

This post was originally written for sunlive.co.nz our local news source in the Bay of Plenty

It has been a busy time of late, which is good, but it means I have not been able to write for Sun Live, which isn’t good. Still, I hope this post will make up for it.
Because so much of my work  involves  business use of the web I hear lots of different stories about peoples experiences. One area which generates a lot of passion is web-site creation.
It’s a sad but true fact that the web-site creation sector is like any other business sector: it has it’s good developers and its total cowboys, and like any other sector it has its great clients and its nightmare clients.
A few different web developers asked me to write a post about the bad habits of both parties, who they always seem to be cleaning up after.

One of the main issues I have identified is that too many clients seeking to have a web-site have a limited understanding of what needs to happen and just what is involved. On the flip side, I have noticed many web developers who are unwilling to spend the time to inform the client and give a solid understanding of the process at the beginning of the development. This has the result that two months into the development neither party understands what the other one wants to achieve.: a total breakdown in communication.The client feels that they are getting “ripped off” and the developer tends to put the work to one side in favour of  more agreeable work. This is where I get called in in order to bring the development to completion.

Web developers should be giving their clients at least an hour to fully come to grips with what they hope to achieve and then give them a brief proposal based on the main points. If the client agrees, the detail should go in the agreement. If the client values what the developer is doing they should not then devalue it by insisting on lots of free work before they sign up.
Some firms go further and have a client liaison person. Their job is to look after the client and keep the developer working. There are pros and cons to this approach. If this person is an integral part of the development team it will work. If not, it’s often another layer of confusion.

It is imperative for the client to know what is being done and when it will be delivered. One of the complaints I hear  from client’s is “it’s past the date they told me and  they wont give me a new date”. It’s not good enough. It would be bad practice in any sector. Set a date and get it agreed in writing. I heard a story from one person whose developer had spent 7 months on a 2 month project and then turned around and said the site was out of date, it did not cater to social media! On the flip side the client must provide information to  the developer in a timely manner. Developers should give reasonable time scales for work and not exaggerate the time it takes. But also Clients need to understand what is involved and understand that developing a web site is nothing like writing a document in word. What may seem like a simple change may on one page may require changes to a database and other pages. All of which takes time. I sometimes have to educate one while telling the other to be realistic, to not try to charge 20 hours for work which only requires 3!

A good web-site costs money, like all things of quality. If  a client’s main deciding factor is the price then the outcome will reflect that. Client’s often push and push for more “extras” for free or offer s their brother-in-law’’s graphic’s to keep prices down! This is often where it starts to go wrong for many projects.

If you are a client looking for a development firm, check their portfolio, contact past clients and ask them how the work went, was it on time and did they find the developer professional to work with.
Get prepared for the meeting. I have created a check list and included the link below. If the developer is on the same track great, if not run away. They have just wasted theirs and your time. By being prepared you show the developer you are not another potentially bad client with a brother-in-law in the family. That will go a long way to creating a good relationship.

You can find the check list here.

I have been thinking about design and usability a lot lately. About keeping design simple and how we sometimes go for the flashy tool when a simpler one works better.

Take shaving, its a fairly simple repetitive task. At its simplest you need some lubricant (not soap) and a sharp edge. But we can improve on that, we have lubricant which really lubricates and at the same time makes your face come alive in the morning. Why stop at one blade? Have two and lubricant. No wait better yet have 3, no 4! that’s it…. for now.

Now  I have tried many variations of the ingredients for a good shave. The old Wilkinson sword classic, Gillette all sorts and lastly a 4 blade thing from Schick. I have tried foam, gell, King shave and water.  I have found that gell clogs the razors especially when you get to 4 blades. I have found that for me three blades with foam works best. I have used that combination for a few years. Then a recently tried a 4 blade razor. It seems that three blades is just right, there is enough space between the blades for the water to wash the hair out. I have thick course hair. But four just clogged up and reduced my shave experience. So now I am back at three.

The shaving companies need to convince us that “they” hold the new secret to the perfect shave. “The best yet” the “improved”. They have to do this as like most producers they are in a tug of war for our pennies. But this means that sometimes the designers come up with things which seem like a good idea and worked well in their lab. But does not work so well in practice. But hey they sold loads anyway.  Sometimes they will add something just because they can. Instead of saying we really have made this the best there is at doing this job, lets hold it up as an example and find something else to make money. More honest, and more useful.

Business tools are a bit like this. We are attracted to the new shiny software, the one which does it all. then we try to make it fir into our process. Rather than finding out what our process is and then looking for a tool which fits it. And looking for the simplest one which will require the easiest maintenance and is totally designed for just that job. A good engineer has the right size spanner for the job not a monkey wrench.

But it takes time to find those tools, which is why its always worth talking to someone who spends their time doing just that. Sit with them and work out what your process is. Then send them off to source the best tool for the job. Try it out implement it and get on with business. Or realize that you are already using the best tool and stay with it. If your consultant is loyal to you and not his commission he will tell you you have the best tool already.

I hear people talking about going on holiday with their family and then find them responding to email or popping up on twitter, even finding time to blog. I am going to make a suggestion here. Stop it. Go on holiday with you family and cut yourself off. Your family will like it and your brain will like it. It needs to rest sometimes and sleep is not the same thing.
Sometimes it is good to cut out the back ground noise and think about other things.
I just took a leave of absence from “online”, I still did mail and calls, but I totally reduced the amount of time I was on twitter, or rss, or blogs or another interaction. I had some home DIY projects I needed to do and some focused project work. And I wanted to reevaluate a few things.
What I discovered was that we can tell our selves we have balance, but really its an unbalanced view to start with. We are so used to the noise and bustle that we need to stop and listen to silence to actually see what is just noise and what is valid.
What I noticed is that I was consuming more than contributing. Which is not sending the right message about me.
But it also re-enforced my original decision to limit the number of people I follow. I don’t care about following thousands of people. Just people who say things of interest. Sure I may be missing some info but when I need it I can search.
And that is the main thing I have realized. Real time is all well and good but its not always the right time. I don’t need to know everything the second it happens, not unless it directly concerns me.

So give you mind a rest, take a break, a real break and have a good think. Your mind and your family will thank you.