Don’t Be an Orthodox

Lately I had a chance to observe a discussion about using agile methods. The problem which started the discussion was how to apply agile when we work in a fixed budged scenario. It wasn’t much later when I heard arguments like:

You can’t estimate effort needed to complete something which is done during nth iteration. It’s a fiction. Does client want a fiction? I don’t think so. You can explain it.

Then another great idea followed:

When the client changes requirements after they were approved we change the price. You shouldn’t be tricked. If you are it’s better to find other clients.

Nice. So simple. Your methodology tells you to work exactly that way so you do it. And when your client doesn’t accept that, sorry, you just leave. They aren’t worth to waste your time.

Oh, on the side note I think it’s time to declare which side I’m with. Neither against nor for agile. I just try to find the most reasonable way out in every situation.

Coming back to the discussion. Yes, the clients quite often want “the fiction.” They want to spend specified amount of money for specified amount of features. A surprise? It shouldn’t be. At least as far as you deal with people who doesn’t spend their own money.

And if your answer to scope creep is to leave the customer I wouldn’t invest my money in your company. Yes it can work that way and it can even bring money, but telling the customer they’re wrong isn’t the best strategy I’ve ever seen. Neither is rejecting to adjust your approach to the environment you work in.

Don’t be an orthodox. When something doesn’t suit your vision of software development and project management it doesn’t automatically mean it’s wrong. If you believe in your methodology go, convince the customer to use it. But don’t cry when they say they want it other way. They pay, they decide.

We are usually closed in our small niches. We usually don’t see all sorts of choices around. And we believe we know better. Until we see we don’t. For me the eye opener was moving to another company with different team, different processes, different products, different clients, different everything. And now I can’t say that one or another approach is better. They’re just different.