Understanding the client

摘要

It's no secret that successful engineering is about people, not just engineering solutions. Often the best engineering solution places second to the best client relationship, and often the real reason projects stumble is more about relationship issues than technical competence. Yet for the most part, firms don't properly focus on the issues involved in collaborative client relationships, sticking to a traditional technical approach in winning work and managing the job when it's won. I'm not saying the technical focus is not important - it is still crucial - but it is not enough. We need a client relationship focus too, which means building a process that takes the gamble out of relationships. This can be done by taking two important steps.