Herding the cats.
[ Posted by Dan on March 03, 2002 | 0 Comments ]

Web application/site development can be a long and multi-faceted process involving one or many people. If you know this already (newbie!), or are eager to learn more (masochist!), then you might want to look into 'Web ReDesign: Workflow that Works'. I picked it up a few days ago (45 well spent dollars at Barnes and Noble) and am happy to see it validating many of the work processes I have been involved with for the last two years. One point made has a particular resonance with me so far...

Having only one response to [a] Client Survey is particularly important because when working with several individuals you will get several opinions. The client, as a unit, must be aligned with common goals.

I have seen this in the wild, several times, in several different ways. Often, direction comes from all angles with no one person clearly in charge (and CYA activity is more important then ever). Sometimes there is one stakeholder, but they can't make up their own mind and attempt to make everyone they talk to happy. This is almost worse than getting it from all sides. Every once in a while, a client comes along who is on target, but they are usually other consultants ;^)

 

Comment posting has been turned off because I don't have enough time and will to deal with the constant comment spamming. I'm very sorry and will fix this sometime soon (soon = before 2004 ends).