The Importance of Communication By Jacaranda Bill Rent a Coder Coder When I first started taking projects on RAC, I passed through a typical period of lurking; poking around and looking at all the details for various projects. I was even reading the comments from coders to buyers and vice versa, in their online resumes. It seems to me that there was a word that was present in most of the comments: "Excellent Communication", "Good Communication", "Communication is superb". It is clear that many people were evaluating someone by his/her communication skills. Being a hardcore coder for many years I always believed that I must be judged by the final outcome of the project. In RAC, I discovered that this is partially true. A great implementation of a project will make the buyer accept the project 100% but if the communication is pour during the development of the project, neither the buyer nor the coder would like to cooperate again. Good communication will ensure repeating work between the same buyer and coder. I strongly believe that the secret of successfull projects is "Communication"! If the buyer and the coder can communicate well, the project is only a matter of time to finish. Communication doesn't only mean that both parties have to speak the same language. It means more than that. It has to do with the wealth of information that is exchanged between them. Communication must be fluent, clear and enriched with meaningful information. Many projects have failed to be completed and went to arbitration because the buyer and coder failed to communicate efficiently. Here is an example from my own personal experience. During the development of a project, the buyer was constantly sending me short, cryptic e-mails. I always had to reply back and clarify even minor details. Chatting with him online wasn't proved useful either. He didn't really know what he wanted. Sometimes, when he replied to my long e-mails it was hard to read his replies because he didn't even use paragraphs to separate my text from his. When I finished the project, I got a 10 and a nice comment but only I, knew how hard it was to complete it. It was a nightmare. Most of my time on the project was spent trying to communicate with him. I estimated that I spent double the time that it was worth for this project. Do you think that this was an extreme example? Think again. It is very possible to happen to you if you fail to communicate. Buyers must clearly specify their needs before they post a project. You don't have to be a system analyst in order to do this efficiently. Write as many details as you can and give examples. Coders are not magicians. They can't guess what you want. During the development, constantly comment on the work. Always check the various steps and make sure that you are moving into the correct direction. Praise the coder if he finishes a nice tricky part of the project. Most coders are take pride in their work. Reward them if they take the extra mile for you. Coders must have patience. Buyers aren't always experts in technical terms. Don't use technical lingoes to show off. It is better to explain things in simple words, one step at a time. In the long run this is going to save you time. If the buyer has a strong technical background about the project then you can use the appropriate terminology. During the development, keep a constant communication flow. Be sensitive about the buyers needs. Don't keep him in the dark about what you are doing. It is always a good idea to send daily short reports even for the smaller projects. This will assure that you are on the right track. A successful project completion depends on many factors. "Communication" is the most important one. You can't go wrong if you make a lot of effort to communicate the best you can.