I'm with you Mike. Partnership between the custome...

2008-02-17T08:30:00.000-05:00

I'm with you Mike. Partnership between the customer and the provider is essential. The more we work together and the more we do so as partners with mutual goals (and shared perspective), the better the results.

One of the ways engineers can accomplish this is t...

2008-02-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

One of the ways engineers can accomplish this is to engage the customer, or find someone who represents that voice.

One of the things I've found while working directly with clients and customers, as opposed to working directly with product designers, is you begin to sense the types of things that will work and will not work.

You do your best to send your message up the chain, but its not always heard. It's one of those times when your voice is heard, you'll hear nothing about it since the customer is happy. When it isn't...you're sitting back a year later shaking your head thinking "I told you so".

The concept is inherantly more complex than it's made out to be, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be followed.

As more and more companies move to SAAS products, it becomes even more important for those developing those services to interface directly with those implementing the service. If that means working with an end customer, great! If that means working with the engineers who help end customers to get the service working, that's great too! It provides a dose of perspective that can only be attained by feeling any pain that the design has given the service consumer.

Comments on Software Architecture: Think Bigger!

I'm with you Mike. Partnership between the custome...

One of the ways engineers can accomplish this is t...