SimpleBusiness.org

Came across an interesting website a few weeks ago - Tony Marston’s Web Site. The site looks really simple, unappealing even, but has substantial content on software development and PHP development architecture.

I am surprised had not stumble across this site much earlier. Software development and PHP development architecture are subjects that I surf alot on, often boasting of having seen most of the important PHP sites. It just goes to show that the internet is full of couching tigers, hidden dragons.
The amount of information and content put into the site is impressive. Although I do not agree with some of the ideas and the way the ideas are presented, I respect the author for the tremendous effort that went into preparing the site.

In particular, I find this article at once a very accurate yet at the same time a rather defensive narration of the client-consultant relationship in software development. I am not saying that the clients are always right but that consultant may sometime be wrong. It is best not to have a know-it-all attitude.

Not all clients are as un-knowledgable of technology as depicted in Tony’s article. Most of the clients I dealt with are knowledgable and I learnt from them as much as they gained from my service.

It is true though that problems typically comes from client that think they know a lot but in fact don’t. Sometime we termed them unreasonable. These are the clients to avoid. Fortunately one can smell them easy enough - they exhibit the traits described in Tony’s article.

So my contention is that the article make an excellent read for consultants and provides good get back at client. But getting back at clients always get nowhere. If a consultant ever finds the need to deliver those arguments to a client, then the consultant had already chosen a wrong client to begin with.

Never fight a battle that should have been avoided.

For my clients, I say go read the article. It is an excellent insight into what a I think when you make certain requests.

For me, I hope there never be a need to deliver those arguments.