There are a number of times when you will write or say something that you think is very clear and concise. The problem is that it is not good enough for you to just write or say it you must ensure that your audience, whether they are a client or partner, actually understood what you said.

Two Examples of a Message not being Understood

This week I had two examples of this: one with a client and one with a partner.

The first one was a description to a client concerning what they had to complete for a task we were both working on. I was waiting for the client to finish his part so we could get the task done. When the client did not complete their portion we were sure that the client was just slow but what it turned out was that the client had misunderstood what we needed them to do and they had completed not what we needed them to do, but something entirely different. So they were wondering why we were taking so long to do our part.

It turned out to be a misunderstanding where we had not accurately articulated what we needed them to do. Luckily we had checked with them and were able to quickly correct the situation.

Development Partner misunderstanding

The other example was with one of our development partners. We were working on one of our clients online stores and the setting up of a brand filter function for their product display. One of the things we wanted was the ability for the online store user to select all brands as a filter. This would be a unique function that would allow our users to use a specific brand filter at the sub-category level instead of having to reelect another category to turn off the specific brand filter.

Our partner, after looking at the situation, determined that it was not possible to provide the all brands filter selection. This was disappointing but we trusted our partner and so we had to inform our client.

Found Solution but Did not Convey Proper Description

With the same partner we were also working on adding a few items to the search results pages on the same online store. During our testing we noticed that in the search results screen there was a default selection of all brands for the search function.

When we noticed that we sent a note to our partner wondering if the all brands function on the search results page could be used on the brand filter function for the product display pages. We waited a response from our partner.

What we got back was a response asking how we wanted to change the all brand function on the search results page? Now we were confused.

I thought for a couple of minutes and then realized that somehow we had confused our development partner with our all brands comment.

Determine How to Provide a Better Description

Now the first inclination would be to try and understand why the developer could not understand our request. But then we realized that we had not spent much time in formulating our request and it probably did not do a good job of describing the situation.

So we looked at our initial description and reworded it with a couple of additional examples and then asked our developer to send us back a description of what he understood it was that we described. It took a couple of additional chat session. Not only were we able to convey our description correctly but now our developer has been able to replicate the all brands function from the search results page to the product display pages.

Make Sure your Message is the Version you Want Heard

So when you re-communicating with your clients or partners make sure that what you say or write is understood the way you want it understood and not the way they understood. If you are not sure your message was understood then get the other party to convey your message back to you. This will make that you are communicating and your message is being understood.

So tell us how you ensure that your messages are properly heard. Do you have an example of when your message was not heard properly? How did you deal with the situation? Please share your experiences in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

There are a number if things that need to be done when taking over or restarting a custom application development project.

The first thing is determining whether any of the existing code is worth saving.

Is development team worth saving?

The second thing to do is determine whether the existing development team is salvageable. If the team is worth saving then they would be the better judge of whether the existing code is worth saving. They will have to deal with and maintain that code during the rest of the project.

Depending on the size of the new budget and the size of the project, a real hard stand is needed.

Is the code worth reusing?

Many times it can be easier and more efficient to start the coding from the beginning. Other times just keeping certain specific application sections or modules of code might be the better way to go.

New team – choose team players.

If you need to replace the development team then you are going to not only want to look for fast, efficient and experienced developers but you will also want to make sure they are team players and work well with others. A smaller cohesive team will get more done than a larger team that does not work well together.

Cheap is not always best.

One thing to remember is that it is not always cost effective to go for the cheaper developers. We have seen many times where the more expensive programmer is less expensive over all because they are fast, efficient and write very cleaner more error free code.

Determine requirements changes.

Once you have your team established now you will need to review the original project specs and compare them with what the client perceives are the expected requirements. You will also need to find out what has changed on the client side since the project was stopped and now resurrected. The differences will give you a good indication as to what needs to get done in order for this new project to be successful not only from your point of view, but more importantly, from the client’s point of view.

Create a prototype.

The next thing we like to do at tmhr consulting is build a simple prototype version of the application. This prototype should include just the basic functionality and allow you and the client to have something to review together. The power of having this prototype review is immeasurable. It will help your client understand what you and your team can accomplish, but more importantly it lets you test your understanding of the project and application requirements live with the prototype.

Document changes and differences. 

Once the initial demo is complete we document any changes or differences that are discovered.

This is a good time to review any scope creep issues that need to be discussed with the client. It is better to discuss those while the client is in discussion with you.

Next phase of prototype. 

Once you have completed your demo and discussed the discovery issues with your development team you now need to get them started on creating the next phase of the application. This next phase of the application should include any of the changes that were agreed upon after the first prototype session, plus any additional features/functions that can be accomplished within the time period between now and the next demo time period. The new features should allow the client to see the next phase of progression in the application and allow you to continue to test your development activities against the expectations of the client.

Continue with prototype phases.

These development/prototype phases should continue throughout your development project whether you are doing custom application development, web development, mobile application development or mobile game development.

Your goal as the technical developer of the software must be constantly testing you and your developer’s understandings of what is needed and expected by the client.

Constantly test for differences and changes.

Custom application development must always include a means to continually test the development efforts against the expectations and needs of the client. This should always ensure that what is created at the end of the project is exactly what the client needs and expects.

Tell us about your approach.

Tell us about your experience with custom development projects. What would you say is the one most important aspect of a successful project? How do you make sure your projects are successful? Share your experiences in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

We finally have a handle on the Grievance application we have been developing for one of our clients. This project has been a lot tougher than it should have been but it seems as though we have run into every conceivable issue in trying to get this project completed.

Major custom application challenges

A small sample of some of the problems that we have had to resolve are:

• The client drops out of site for nine months for political reasons.
• The original programmer wrote too many rules into the application code and therefore made it a nightmare to use.
• The original programmer disappeared when the client stopped the project.
• The client made major requirements changes to the grievance application.
• The hosting company being used for the grievance application was not able to support the grievance application properly.
• It was found that the original code for the grievance application was not up to the task and needed fixing.

At tmhr consulting we took these issues as a challenge and we were successfully able to complete the presentation to the client of the successfully working grievance application.

Easy and simple to use grievance application

The grievance application took an existing solution that was so difficult to use that only the unit chair was willing to deal with it. The other users refused to use it. We made it simple to use, easy to report on and flexible enough to deal with the many changes required by the client. It was also easy enough to use that no supporting user manual was required.

Custom application solutions

We were able to respond to the client’s request to complete the grievance application, and find a replacement programmer. We documented and corrected the required application changes and we were able to find and replace the hosting company while also improving the quality of the hosting solution.

We were very pleased that our client was willing to work with us to successfully complete the grievance application.

What is your experience with getting custom applications developed? Have you been able to successfully get your applications developed and implemented?

Please share your experiences in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Yesterday one of our clients called us in a panic. They were called by a number of their clients because there was a warning on their website and they didn’t know what to do.

Their system had been hacked into and Google had placed a warning for users going to their site that it was not safe.

We were called in because we designed and developed their website and continue to provide support and maintenance for their website.

So the good thing was that we have an excellent hosting partner, STW Hosting.

What we did was review the files that had been changed in the past 14 days since our client just noticed an issue in the past couple of days.

Once we had an idea of what files had changed it was a simple though pain staking task of reviewing those files and determining which ones had been compromised.

STW Hosting was a real help and was able to get our client site under control. Now we still had a great deal of work that had to be done before we could contact Google and request that they remove the message from our client’s website. But without their help the required effort would have been much worse.

We would recommend using STW Hosting for hosting your website.

Have you had a situation where your website has been attacked? How did you deal with it? Was your hosting provider helpful? How? Please share your experience in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

There are some interesting things that we have learned these past couple of weeks about hiring the right developer for the right job.

Since we have been in the custom software development business we have worked with many developers.

One thing we have found over and over again is that it is more important to interview and hire the right person than it is to hire the right technical skills.

It is also a lot easier to determine technical skills than it is to determine the right people skills.

Recently we had to hire a number of developers for three different projects we were tasked to complete. As usual our time frames were short and there was not a lot of spare time if we hired the wrong person for each project.

So the first thing we did was find developers who said they could do the job. We were lucky enough to find a group of very strongly skilled developers and it was our job to reduce the large list down to a smaller more manageable size.

One of the things we did was attempt to setup interview times and many of the applicants were nice enough not to respond within a reasonable time frame and therefore were immediately eliminated from our final list of candidates.

Next we interviewed the final list of candidates and completely ignored their technical skills and continually asked non-technical questions about their recent projects, which one was their favourite, why it was their favourite, etc.

The other questions we asked were related to how they dealt with their clients, difficult situations, etc.

We told our candidates that we were looking for developers who were available, responsive and worked well with others. It was surprising to us some of the responses we received from these questions and requirements.

It was surprisingly easy for us to reduce our candidates down to two per position.

Once we did that we were having a real hard time determining which candidate we should choose. So we came up with a simple test that we thought would help us pick the right candidate.

We decided to take a piece of code related to the project that the candidate was going to be developing, give them a copy and ask then in their own words to critique the code and tell us:

• What was the code designed to do?
• What was good about it?
• What were any deficiencies in the code?
• How well was it documented?
• How would they improve the code?

I can tell you that we received some absolutely amazing response and those responses allowed us to easily choose and hire the right candidate.

What I can also tell you is that in one aspect we ended up hiring both candidates because both responses were just that good.

So when you are looking to hire a technical resource our suggestion would be to hire the right person first and the technical skills will follow.

Please tell us about your hiring secret. What do you do to ensure you hire the right person for the position?

It has been very interesting at tmhr consulting as we ramp up our mobile resources for our venture into mobile game development.

We are not the custom web development company to realize that we had to increase our mobile development skills.

We had an opportunity to get involved in mobile game development and we jumped right in because we saw it as a great opportunity to not only design and develop mobile games but also to further our knowledge of monetizing those games.

What has surprised us was that the more we learn about mobile games the more we learn about what mobile devices can do and how that knowledge can be translated into other mobile apps for our customers.

We have a number of mobile games being developed as we write this blog entry but we will keep the specifics of the games to ourselves for now.

Some of the game styles are:

• 360 shooter
• Space shooter
• Endless runner
• Zombie space shooter
• Tilt avoidance
• Etc.

Something else that we have been working on is a app to help prevent patients from taking or renewing the wrong prescription medication.

The app we are just in the design stage is an app to help in the kitchen and the grocery store. It should be very interesting once we start testing this app.

It is always interesting when we go into a new design and development field. There is always a tendency to just jump in and do what you can but we prefer to go it a little slower, build our team with not only a great skill set but with great people as well.

We are getting there and we feel that we are poised to take on any mobile game or app development project that comes our way.

Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime tell us what is your favourite mobile game and why you like it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

I just had a very difficult discussion with one of our development partners. He had called me because he wanted some advice and help with one of his customers. At first he was asking me to help him with this customer because he was having a very tough time trying to deal with his demeanor and demands.

When to Fire a Client

I talked to him for a little while to get him to calm down so we could have a conversation. He was quite upset. I asked him to explain what was going on, a little bit of history about the project and client and why he was having such a difficult time. It turned out that he had been trying to do a few favours for the client but it seemed as though every time he tried to help them out they just wanted more from him.

First Tip: Fire a client that does not value your time nor the value you bring to a project.

So the first thing I asked him to do was send me a copy of the some of the recent emails that have gone back and forth between himself and this customer. He was asking me if I would be willing to be the go between. I don’t mind helping him out because he has done a great job for us in the past. But I do not want to take on a client that is un-reasonable.

Second Tip: Fire a client that does not or is unwilling to understand how long tasks take to complete or is constantly asking for impossible completion dates that cannot be met.

Once I read through the email correspondence between the programmer and his customer I knew exactly what and who he was dealing with. I sent him a quick email and told him that I did not want to get involved with his customer and that he should fire that customer right away.

Third Tip: Fire a Client who does not listen or is not willing to work with you as equal partners.

How to Fire a Client

So what I did was explain to him how to fire a client. Here is what I told him:

• You must do the firing either in person or on the phone.
• Explain to them that this is just not a good fit between your two companies.
• You cannot continue to work for them because of that.
• Provide them with some alternative resources for the skill set they need.
• You need to be positive, professional and unemotional.
• Explain to them that you wish them luck in their endeavours and thank them for their time.
• If they become abusive, swear or unpleasant of any kind, initially tell them that it is not appropriate and if it continues your will be forced to hang up.
• If it continues, hang up.

Fire by Email as Last Resort

If you have to hang up, then and only then fire them by email. Use the same positive, professional and unemotional approach in your email.

You will know when it is Right

You will know almost immediately if you have done the right thing. Once you have completed the firing of the difficult client, you will notice that the large lump in the pit of your stomach is gone and you have huge sigh of relief.

I have fired a number of clients since we have been in business. It is not something I enjoy doing but sometimes it is very necessary for your well being and your company’s.

By the way I do even have one client whom I fired that still recommends me and has provided a referral since.

So have you ever had to fire a client yourself? Why? What did you do? How did it go?

There are a number of times when we have had to find and hire a graphical designer for a particular project. This can be difficult sometimes because it means that you have to hire someone site unseen. Normally we have a number of different resources to choose from that we have already worked with.

Recently we had to interview and hire a graphical artist because all the moral resources we work with we’re busy.

Number of Resources to Interview

So we did our research through a number of different sources and we had about 30 different graphic designers to interview. We knew that all the candidates were good at what they did, so we only had to concentrate on who they were and find the best resource for the team. The difficulty was that we could not interview the candidates in person.

Eliminate those with Incorrect Style

We did not have a lot of time so the first thing we did was go through all the resumes and portfolios and eliminate the ones whose portfolio did not match the design style that we knew the customer would be looking for.

Eliminate Expensive Resources

The second thing we did was go through the resumes and eliminate the ones that were too expensive. We had a limited budget and therefore we could not afford a really expensive resource. We had to eliminate some really excellent graphic designers but we could not afford a Ferrari priced resource.

Now we were left with about 8 really strong candidates that we thought could do the job for the price that would still allow us to a bit of a profit and have a happy customer.

Skype Chat Interview

The next thing we did was setup Skype chats with the designers one at a time. Our goal was to find the resource that was available, responsive and worked well with others. We talked to them about their latest projects, what they were doing in the project and what they liked and didn’t like in the project. Once a candidate started to talk about their project activities it was easier to get them to open up and talk more about their activities.

After the chat sessions with the final candidates we were able to narrow our choice down to two candidates and just had to choose one.

Criteria to Find Winner
There were a couple of things that we used to determine the winning candidates:

• How fast they were able to answer our chat questions.
• How accurately they answered our questions.
• The level of respect and loyalty they showed for their customers.
• How they were able to show that they were a team player.

Waiting for Project to Start

The project has not started yet but we now have another great resource for graphical design for any other future projects.

So have you ever had to quickly hire a resource for a project? How did you do it? What went right? What went wrong? Please share your experience in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

It is interesting that at this time we are still having to make graphic designers understand that website designs created in Photoshop or inDesign or Quark etc. might not look exactly the same on the web.

The graphic design process is very complex and creates specific designs to solve very specific problems. But many times the graphic designers come from a print environment and they don’t always understand all the differences that a web environment presents.

The look and feel of a design does not always translate into proper or efficient usability on a website.

Sometimes a great looking design will not translate well on the web and therefore the needed changes must be communicated to the designer along with the reason for those changes.

On the other hand, many programmers do not see the need nor understand why it is important to make sure the design is applied to the website as closely as possible. At times, there will be situations when the programmer will not see the differences between the actual design and how it has been presented on the website.

So when you are dealing with an issue where the graphic designer is complaining about why the web page display does not match the design documents and the programmer is complaining because the design does not translate well to the website you will understand why they both need to be listened to and communicated with while you help them work out the differences.

When this happens the easiest and simplest way to get clarification is to explain this differences between the design documents and the website pages. Sometimes the programmer has looked at the web pages so many times that they truly cannot see the differences. Other times, the programmer might see the differences but understand why they are so important.

One of the tools to use when this happens is something as simple as a copy of the web page and a copy of the web page design and a description of the differences that need to be addressed.

The other issue the designers need to understand is that the designer is usually only dealing with one vendor like Adobe or Quark.

But the web developer has to deal with not only the different programming languages but the have to also deal with the differences between browser vendors, operating system vendors, different versions of browsers, and different settings and add-ons for those browsers.

The bottom line is that most of the issues that graphic designers have with programmers and vice versa are issues that can be resolved through communication, because the graphic designer and the programmer might as well be talking in a different language because they are worried about different issues and they use different terminology.

The graphic designer is worried about fonts, colours, focal points, content and making sure all the objects are positioned appropriately.

The programmer is worried about coding, CSS, Java Script, object positioning , content implementation and display, browsers , etc.

It is therefore understandable that they would find it hard to communicate their requirements to one another.

If Language Is The Challenge, Translation Is The Solution.

One of the most important roles a good project manager can play is that of translator. The project manager understands both the language of the web and of design and should be able to translate back and forth.

Having a project manager running the development process will ensure that even though the designer and the programmer may not understand each other’s language or processes, common ground can always be maintained and the project will both move forward and the results produced will be optimal.

Have you run into this problem before? If so, how did you solve it? Please share your experience in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

There are a lot of things that need to be done when you are running your own business. The problem is that there are not usually a lot of people to get everything done except yourself.

If you want your business to grow you need to learn how to outsource or delegate tasks to others that you trust. You usually cannot afford to hire someone at the beginning.

In running your own business you are usually used to getting others to do work for you:

• Vendors get product or services to you or your customers.
• Partners get things done for you and your customers.
• Getting customers to agree to your ideas.

We understand that we need to get an accountant to do our books and our taxes but it is the other things that take up so much time and take us away from running our business that we need to take a look at outsourcing.

Tasks to consider outsourcing might be:

• Organizing paperwork
• Organizing your records and business papers
• Sending email campaigns
• Submitting blog entries
• Helping with social media and other marketing
• Making sales calls
• Organizing events
• Lead generation
• Website content changes
• Managing projects
• Clean your office

As the owner of your business you need to take a look at the tasks you can get done by someone else for less money than you can earn during that same time.

So if you can earn $100 an hour on average and you can get many of your extra tasks done by someone else for $30 or less an hour then it will pay you the difference to have those tasks outsourced.

Take a look at all things you now spend your time on to run your business and if they are not doing anything to grow or expand your business then you should be looking to outsource those tasks.

Of course the natural fear is that as you outsource your tasks you will loose control. But what this does is allow you to spend your time reviewing the work and looking for problems, missing items, etc. The review should take you much less time and it should allow you to catch problems that you might have missed if you also had to complete the task.

What tasks have you outsourced? Did you experience any problems when you first outsourced your tasks?