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Technology Project Red Flag

It's not uncommon for prospective clients to request fee quotes for projects they haven't thought through thoroughly.

And I don't mind that. Thinking things through thoroughly for and with our clients is part of our job as developers — arguably one of the most important parts of our job.

What I do "mind", in the sense that I consider it a red flag, is client resistance to proper discovery.

When clients communicate frustration and impatience in the face of questions designed to uncover all the pertinent business rules and requirements of their technology project, they're telling us things we should be paying very close attention to.

When they reply to our drill-down questions with responses like "You're making things more difficult than they need to be" or "I don't know; that doesn't matter; forget about that", they are speaking volumes.

Mainly, they're telling us they have unrealistic expectations which will almost certainly spell doom for the project and the business relationship.

Sure, some of us (developers), some of the time, when asked what time it is, will discourse on the inner workings of a clock.

But clients seeking technology solutions aren't asking us what time it is. They're asking us to build them a better clock.

So what's a developer to do when faced with such a project opportunity?

Decline graciously.