Causes of Website Frustration

Developers and clients both come to a project with different values. The gap between what the developer values and what a client values can be quite wide. Not recognizing these differences can result in more miscommunication and exacerbate the negative relational dynamics. For example, normal people (in contrast to us developers) don't really value a well coded DHTML cascading menu. They don't appreciate the eight hours spent making a navigation feature work in Internet Explorer 6.0, Firefox and Safari. They do value good interaction, good listening, and clear communication. They'll remember the flavor of their interaction with you, not the subtle coordination of complementary color palettes used in the navigation system. They'll remember the agonizing meetings and missed schedules, not the cool flash presentation. The things that we developers value, such as quality in design and programming, are not the things that clients can see, understand, or measure. If they were to view the source HTML they could not discern whether the syntax was cross browser compatible or not. Meetings, documents, and conference calls are the interactions that our clients are going to remember. How we communicated with them, listened to them, and carefully explained things to them are the things they will value.

Because of the realities of interpersonal dynamics, web projects can easily get off on the wrong foot. Each missed expectation and miscommunication adds to an increasingly sour experience. In the end, the developer can likely end up hundreds of hours over budget and the client can still be displeased. Nobody wins.

The relational dynamics that occur between the developer and the client during the development of a web site can be just as important to the client's ultimate satisfaction as the resulting website itself. When we understand the need of managing the client relationship in addition to managing the project we can begin to improve the overall experience.

Fixing the problems
Many talented, skilled, and technically competent web development companies fail to become successful. Developing sites that meet the goals set out for them while managing the subtleties of a client's expectations is very difficult. Clients need to appreciate the difficulties the developer faces in meeting their needs. But is up the developer to communicate the subtleties and intricacies of information design, database interactions, and navigation systems in a way the client will value.

The key to solving these issues is not in better technology. The key is in the development process. The missing piece is a process that will effectively communicate the complexities of information design between developers and their clients. A solid and effective communication process can help manage client expectations and improve interactions, transforming each point where projects tend to spiral downward, into an opportunity to spiral upward. Without a cohesive process that addresses the problems of communication, expectations and interaction in a way the client can understand, the problems inherent in web development will spiral downward.

The solution to these managing relational dynamics is actually quite simple, but its impact is dramatic. Grayscreen prototyping is a simple HTML-based approach to modeling, documenting, and specifying websites during the initial stages of the development process. Working through a grayscreen prototype prior to design and development allows for effective communication with clients thereby overcoming the many barriers inherent to web development. This process changes the development experience completely. It communicates the technical and structural complexities of web development, and improves the relational dynamics between developers and their clients.

The role of the producer
The strength of a process like grayscreen prototyping is its ability to communicate about information design, and content and functionality of a proposed web site. While the process itself helps overcome many barriers, the role of the producer on the development team is critical to the process running smoothly.

The producer is responsible for translating, communicating, and educating the client about the project using the grayscreen prototype as the communications tool. This is an important role and a challenging task. We have found that it is important for a producer to have a good grasp of the underlying technology (enough to translate and educate), but not so much that they assume knowledge that the client may not have. Such a producer will be able to explain the technical issues in a way that is highly relevant and understandable to the client.

Being aware of some of the potential problems when developing a website is the first step in avoiding them. By using a process like grayscreening, that overcomes these barriers, we can turn potential negative experiences into positive ones. The results will be successful websites that meet the needs of our clients.