Zennoposter templates why TR is so important?
Lots of users come to us with “please complete our project as soon as possible”, without making it clear what they want. The project making therefore drags on and on, the users begin to feel all jittery, though in reality they the only ones to blame…
Why are terms of reference so important when ordering a Zennoposter template?
Terms of reference, or TR, are something most users have feared and loathed from the days of yore. There is no time Tolouse in writing such twaddle… Ok, let’s strike a more serious note.
So who needs TR, anyway?
It is the user who needs TR in the first place, for it is only when writing TR in all details one understands what he or she really wants for us developers to do.
Why do we developers need TR?
See for yourself. Let us compare two different examples of TR, and try to figure out in which the project will be delivered quicker and according to the user instructions:
a) I want a configurable site.com parser — the number of pages, images etc. The result must look so and so. See the desired outcomes in attachment.
b) I want a site.com parser, when will it be ready?
As you can see, in the first case we only need to estimate the amount of work, time and cost before starting the project. Our correspondence with the second client may last for weeks (literally) without getting anywhere, the whole process bearing a strong resemblance to a game in which one has to persuade the customer into doing whatever the customer wants in the first place. If there are software developers in the audience, they’ll understand us perfectly. It is a known fact that the clearer the specifications are, the more easy to develop the project.
We want to emphasize the point that the projects with clear requirements are usually our priority, for the reasons stated above. It is a vital question to us, as there is no advance payment as a rule in most cases. But if you really want us to drop all the other projects and take up your assignment, we’ll be glad to cooperate. Bear in mind that such an urgency will add 25% or even 50% to the price, especially if it’s a weekend. Technical support is available at weekends, too.
Just for the record, not all the projects require detailed TR, sometimes a brief outline is quite sufficient. Besides, the ability of the clients to make themselves understood also matters. As for Skype, it is indeed very good software, but it does not suit our needs, without history saving option and without tickets. What’s more, when the number of users reaches 1000, we begin to get 500 messages per second. Game and glee, isn’t it? Unlike Skype, our website chat saves message and ticket support history, thus enabling us to answer more quickly.
Furthermore, we almost never turn down a project, except in some cases, usually due to the client’s unwillingness to go into details, or sheer absurdity of his demands.
Try to imagine TR as a possibility of putting your most audacious thoughts into action. Will it change your attitude, and how?
And in conclusion we’d like to say that we regard mutual understanding as an essential part of our relationship with the clients, and it is extremely important that it didn’t remind you of the picture below.
