{"id":2058,"date":"2017-09-15T17:43:17","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T17:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionstreet.com\/blog\/?p=2058"},"modified":"2017-09-15T17:43:17","modified_gmt":"2017-09-15T17:43:17","slug":"following-directions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solutionstreet.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/15\/following-directions\/","title":{"rendered":"Following Directions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I remember back in 5th grade one of our first assignments in Mrs. Signet\u2019s class was on following directions. The worksheet she gave us looked something like this:<\/p>\n

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When I received this, I read the directions and I started to read through the list of items. I got to about number 7 when I noticed many of my classmates clapping, standing, waving, etc., and I thought I must be missing something, so I stopped reading and started doing number 1. After about ten minutes, only about two out of the 30 kids had turned in the sheet by just doing number 10 and nothing else; the rest of us failed this assignment. Mrs. Signet was also the teacher that in 1981 told me to learn how to type and learn how to use a computer; she was a very smart person.<\/p>\n

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In software development, and in particular, software consulting, following directions is a critical skill that can mean the difference between an extremely happy and satisfied customer and an extremely angry and unhappy customer. People frequently joke about how often software developers \u2018misinterpret\u2019 requirements thereby causing problems. In fact, there is a cartoon about this that I have had on the wall of my cube for many years.<\/p>\n

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This is funny when you are talking with friends, but not so much when you are living it on a project.<\/p>\n

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At Solution Street, we think one of the things that sets us apart from other consulting companies is our \u2018Great Communication\u2019. In fact, it is the main tagline on our website<\/a>: Great Engineers + Great Communication = Successful Projects. Part of \u2018Great Communication\u2019 is being careful listeners and following directions.<\/p>\n

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In software construction there are tons of ways to build software, from rapid prototyping to agile to robust waterfall. We think there is a \u2018right\u2019 approach for every project, but no \u2018one\u2019 right approach, so we approach each project with a tremendous amount of flexibility. However, we have some \u2018Guiding Principles\u2019 that we require all Solution Street consultants to follow. Most of these are to ensure we are following the customers\u2019 directions and being good listeners. Here are some of them:<\/p>\n

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