Customer Buttlodgentitus- I want what I want when I say I want it.
I love delivering software projects on time. It is one of the highest goals we set as architects. Being able to give an accurate estimate comes from metrics measured from previous projects. When we are allowed to give estimates, we are usually always able to hit our deadlines.
There are some projects that we are on that we know we are not going to ever hit a deadline on, and we are never going to be asked for an estimate in order to try to hit a deadline. The customer simply tells us what they want and when they want it. They have no idea if the request is complex or simple in nature. They have no idea if we need to get more resources for the project. They have no idea about anything, except that they promised they would have it to someone else by a certain date. Quite often you find this type of behavior coming out of the sales force.
I wonder if these people go into Burger King, order a # 5, and finish the order by saying, and I would like that done in 60 seconds. Then do they proceed to ask every 10 seconds if the order is done? When they hit the 60 second mark do they start screaming at the top of their lungs "I told you I wanted that order in 60 seconds. If you don't have it to me in the next 15 seconds I want my money back and the order for free."?
Do they make an appointment with a builder to contract them to build a new house and go to the appointment with a crayon drawing of the house, and tell the builder they want it done in a week. When the builder says that is not possible, we would have to first do an architecture design, order the supplies, and building the house will take at least 3 months, do they tell him "fine, you can have the rest of the day to do the architecture, tomorrow to get the supplies, and 2 weeks to build the house.", and really expect it done?
When they go for a 15 minute oil change do they tell the cashier they only have 3 minutes to spare, so they need the oil change done in 2 minutes and expect it to happen?
I personally have never seen anything like this out in public, but I see it all the time in my line of work. Why when it comes to software do people think they can tell the person who is making it, how much time it should take? My theory is they have Buttlodgentitus. A severe problem that some how happens on the way to meet with us architects. On the way to the meeting some how their heads get very uncomfortably jammed where the sun does not shine. No matter what you say, they can't hear you. No matter what you draw, they can see it. They just give you their demands and leave without acknowledging anything you have tried to explain to them.
I don't know why this seems to be a such a big problem with the field of software development. But hopefully one day we will find a cure. It would be nice to be like a normal person who is supplying a service, and be able to do it in the time it takes to do it.
The only thing Buttlodgentitus leads to is missed deadlines, buggy code, unsatisfied customers, unsatisfied management, and unsatisfied developers.
There are some projects that we are on that we know we are not going to ever hit a deadline on, and we are never going to be asked for an estimate in order to try to hit a deadline. The customer simply tells us what they want and when they want it. They have no idea if the request is complex or simple in nature. They have no idea if we need to get more resources for the project. They have no idea about anything, except that they promised they would have it to someone else by a certain date. Quite often you find this type of behavior coming out of the sales force.
I wonder if these people go into Burger King, order a # 5, and finish the order by saying, and I would like that done in 60 seconds. Then do they proceed to ask every 10 seconds if the order is done? When they hit the 60 second mark do they start screaming at the top of their lungs "I told you I wanted that order in 60 seconds. If you don't have it to me in the next 15 seconds I want my money back and the order for free."?
Do they make an appointment with a builder to contract them to build a new house and go to the appointment with a crayon drawing of the house, and tell the builder they want it done in a week. When the builder says that is not possible, we would have to first do an architecture design, order the supplies, and building the house will take at least 3 months, do they tell him "fine, you can have the rest of the day to do the architecture, tomorrow to get the supplies, and 2 weeks to build the house.", and really expect it done?
When they go for a 15 minute oil change do they tell the cashier they only have 3 minutes to spare, so they need the oil change done in 2 minutes and expect it to happen?
I personally have never seen anything like this out in public, but I see it all the time in my line of work. Why when it comes to software do people think they can tell the person who is making it, how much time it should take? My theory is they have Buttlodgentitus. A severe problem that some how happens on the way to meet with us architects. On the way to the meeting some how their heads get very uncomfortably jammed where the sun does not shine. No matter what you say, they can't hear you. No matter what you draw, they can see it. They just give you their demands and leave without acknowledging anything you have tried to explain to them.
I don't know why this seems to be a such a big problem with the field of software development. But hopefully one day we will find a cure. It would be nice to be like a normal person who is supplying a service, and be able to do it in the time it takes to do it.
The only thing Buttlodgentitus leads to is missed deadlines, buggy code, unsatisfied customers, unsatisfied management, and unsatisfied developers.
posted by tadanderson at 3:56 PM
1 Comments:
just how did we get here in the software world? [i acknowledge this is just one of many factors]
[we] didn't learn early on in our careers to "just say no".
i've seen developers [going on 10 yrs in the field] agree to meeting ludicrous deadlines [knowingly]- supergo, fraud, politics, call it what you want- but to the effect that it just entrenches and supports the behaviour for making outrageous demands. the customer is never "educated" :) that's part of the pain we carry on today.
so in that sense, we can't really be surprised by it. but we can change that, although as long as there be YaySayers around, we're going to deal with this for some time yet.
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