Web Development Client Litmus Test

Friday, 06.25.10 at 2:32 pm
Written by , Posted Under: Design,Opinion,Studio

20100625_clientWe take great comfort in the fact that our core competency is design, user experience and front end development. This is not to say that we could not also build large scale web applications – it’s just not advantageous for us to offer this part of the process as a service.

Most of the pain points in web development stem from the fact that interactive projects, of any scale, quickly become complex machines with many moving parts. Because of this, every person involved in the process of making, selling or marketing in this medium has to constantly balance education (client, co-worker, boss) with their day-to-day workload.

While recently discussing our best client stories, as well as the often therapeutic clientsfromhell.net, Eric let loose a little gem of advice:

Before you start a job with a new client, you should take them out to lunch in a restaurant with bad service. Just watch how they handle the situation.

I thought this was seemingly brilliant compatibility test. Best case is that you quickly observe the inherent communication patterns of the team, worst case is that you are no longer hungry.

I think that too often clients or teams get a bad rap for what they don’t know. One of the sharpest teams I worked with had just come off a redesign for one of the fastest payout betting sites we’ve ever worked with — they understood UX patterns cold but still treated backend unknowns with zero ego. The reality is that, by choosing to work with you, most clients have already acknowledged they know something — just not everything. When you’re building something new, you’re working with tiny, uncertain pieces. Some snap into place. Others undo the last four hours of work. The great clients aren’t the ones who know the most — they’re the ones who handle not knowing with respect.

Good clients have taught me more then I would ever consider I have taught them.

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