Improving developer <-> client communication

At work, I’ve been developing an a semi-automated spreadsheet to help make life easier for the guys who need to manipulate a lot of data easily. I’ve been using a lot of VBA and some built-in Excel functions, and I’ve been working on the project for about six weeks now, on and off.

Over that time period, I’ve come to appreciate the level of understanding that the people I’m developing for have of what I’m doing: very little. But, the little understanding they do have has enabled me to build a sturdy communique with them.

At uni, we’re taught one of the major problems that face software developers is properly understanding what it is they’re being asked to develop. To that end, we’ve been told a few horror stories, where the developers meet with the clients, the clients say “we want an X, and we want it to do Y, Z and B”. Then, the developers go away for a long time and they come back with what they think X looks like, doing what they think Y, Z and B should look like. Usually they get it completely wrong and the clients are furious.

So, we are taught that one of the most important parts of software development is having an almost always open dialogue between the developers and the clients in order to ensure that what the developers are developing matches up with what the clients think they’re developing. Initially, the guys at work didn’t really understand that. I don’t blame them, because I even asked, “have you ever had anyone develop software for you before?” to which they replied simply, “no.”

So, my task was to try to educate them on how to properly interact with me when it came to developing software. I explained that they couldn’t simply say “we want a PQR”, leave me alone for two weeks, and have me come back with exactly what they were after. As they’re quite receptive people, they understood.

But, how do you deal with people who aren’t receptive? More specifically, how can you convince your boss, a non-technical person, that you need to allow for certain timeframes and certain communications when you are trying to create something new for someone? So far I’ve not had much luck with my boss. I explain to him the same things I explained to the others, but I don’t know if he gets it or not. He usually responds with a nod, says “OK”, and changes the subject. He’s a solutions-oriented man; he talks about solutions, final products, and results like they’re simply a matter of moving from A to B. I need to find some way of leveraging this type of thought process to my advantage, so I may communicate with him more effectively.