The Key to a Successful Career
You need to learn to ask and listen
The Worst Way to Start a Project Is by Not Asking the Right Questions
Three years ago, my team had a project to build software for a company that sells home appliances, like washing machines, coffee makers, etc. We were supposed to create a solution to schedule and keep track of warranty issues, so I sent my project manager to gather information, and he came back with a design and a plan for our deliveries.
We worked hard for a month and then we made a presentation. I was proud of my team because we delivered on time, and it was perfect. We followed every requirement, to the detail.
So there I was at the presentation, showing the product to our client and his team. When it was over, he said: “It looks ok, but this is not what we asked for.”
I went white.
It turns out my project manager didn’t understand everything they were asking for, and instead of asking for more information, he jumped to conclusions and sent us on a wild goose chase.
I was mad.
My client was mad.
We lost an entire month’s work for his inability to ask the right questions. I had to listen to an angry customer, and that’s no fun. And what’s worst, we had to finish the work with no profit at all.
Back in the day, when I was a young programmer, there was this comic my friends used to tease me. It had this tree showing a progression of what the client wants vs. what we deliver.
It seems like our clients don’t know what they want, but the real thing is they don’t know how to express their ideas. We talk to them through a broken phone.
I believe it’s our job to understand our clients. It’s the only way to do an excellent job. We need to become like Sherlock Holmes and find the true meaning of their requirements.
Let me give you an example.
Last week I was with a customer who asked for a procedure to remove some accounting worksheet information because she made a mistake. That made no sense to me because you shouldn’t be able to do that in that software. It wasn’t part of the procedures the company gave us in the first place. It was easy for me to remove that information tough, and she was a manager, so I was supposed to do what she asked for, but it felt wrong. Instead, I asked her, “Have you tried to correct that information on the payment form?” and she said, “I didn’t know you could do that.”
I explained that modifying the source of information will update the worksheet, and it was better this way.
It was evident to me, but it wasn’t for her.
I believe this is the key to understand our clients: forget about the obvious. You must train yourself to make better questions, to understand them.
The Right Questions Mean Nothing if You Don’t Know How to Listen
My daughter loves Minecraft. One day she showed me her latest work, it was a beautiful home, made out of diamond blocks and flowers, and I said it was beautiful.
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“I am,” I said, “in fact, I’d love you to build me a house.”
“What kind of house do you want?” she asked, and I thought this was a good question.
“Something small, but don’t forget about the big windows.” She looked a bit confused, so I said, “I like to look outside.”
With no questions added, she went back to Minecraft and started to work on the project. I thought she made a mistake here, but I said nothing.
My daughter loves to build houses, and that’s a good thing because she usually gets lost when she goes out to explore, so she has to start over again in a new place.
I can hear the frustration in her voice when that happens. Last time she said, “I got lost again, dad. I went out to get some flowers, and now I can’t go back.” It’s sad, I know, but as soon as she starts building a new house, she’s happy again.
She’s seven years old, and thank’s to Google Maps, this won’t be an issue in real life when she grows up.
Besides my daughter’s poor sense of orientation, she’s learning that life can be frustrating sometimes, but you have to keep going. You have to keep building something for yourself.
And yes, I usually keep track of the coordinates to her houses. That way, I can send her back home, but sometimes I’m not at home when this happens, so she had to learn to move on.
She worked on my project for about ten minutes and then came back to me and asked:
“What kind of materials should I use on the walls?”
“I like wood,” I said, “maybe some spruce wood on the walls and use stone for the stairs.”
“What stairs?” she said, “I thought you wanted a small house.”
“Yes, I want a small two-story building with stone stairs.”
She was angry about what I just said, but she went back to Minecraft and kept building anyway.
Can you see what’s happening here? I was the client, and she was an inexperienced developer. I’ve been a developer myself for twenty years now, and I can tell you that I’ve seen this play too many times.
At some point, she came back and asked:
“What animals do you want for your house?”
“What animals?” I said, now it was me who was confused.
“I thought your house could use some animals because that way you’ll be happy.”
Well, spare me your psychological analysis, doctor Freud. I know I have issues.
“That sounds great,” I said, “get me a horse.”
“How many?” she asked.
“Just one.”
“How many trees should I use” she added.
“I want ten trees,” I said, thinking that my small two-story building had just become a ranch.
“Come on, dad,” she said, “I can’t place ten trees in a small house, you know?”
Touche.
She worked for two hours in the house, and then she gave me a tour.
Here you have it, my new house in Minecraft:
There was no tree, no wood walls, and no stone. I asked for a horse, and she gave me three. She built a second floor with a huge window, but it has banners as curtains because she thought they look beautiful, the problem is I can’t look outside.
You might say, “Listen, pal, that’s something you should expect from a seven-year-old kid,” and you are right. That’s precisely my point. In the last twenty years, I’ve worked with a lot of people. Must of them behave like a seven-year-old kid playing Minecraft.
Final Though
You are going to succeed. It’s going to be great, but you have to learn to listen to your customers and fulfill the project requirements.
Extra features are cool, but only if they don’t interfere with the requirements. For example, my daughter added a feature to my house that I didn’t ask for, but I thought it was terrific: a mailbox.
