„Custom development is that murky world where a customer tells you what to build, and you say, ‘are you sure?’ and they say yes, and you make an absolutely beautiful spec, and say, ‘is this what you want?’ and they say yes, and you make them sign the spec in indelible ink, nay, blood, and they do, and then you build that thing they signed off on, promptly, precisely and exactly, and they see it and they are horrified and shocked, and you spend the rest of the week reading up on whether your E&O insurance is going to cover the legal fees for the lawsuit you’ve gotten yourself into or merely the settlement cost. Or, if you’re really lucky, the customer will smile wanly and put your code in a drawer and never use it again and never call you back.“
Joel on Software

Miks mulle see nii valulikult tuttav tundub? Kas mitte selle pärast, et seda juhtub ikka ja jälle. Kogemus ütleb, et proaktiivsus on karistatav. Ära räägi tellijale, et on võimalus teha kasutajale lihtsamalt, elegantsemalt, odavamalt. Sest tema on TELLIJA. Sina ei tea midagi. TELLIJA teab.
Naerata ja kummardu ette ja taha. Või veel parem uuri välja mida talle vaja on, tee asi odavalt, elegantselt ja kasutajamugavust silmas pidades valmis ning müü TELLIJALE kallilt maha…

OK. Asi pole päris nii hull. Jälle pean viitama Joel Spolsky kogemustele ja soovitustele selles vallas, mis seletavad kuidas selliseid olukordi vähendada. Jälle sellepärast, et Joel’i lood on lugemist ja õppimist väärt.