The Twelve Commandments of Software Consulting
- The client is paying you, not the other way around. That means you are temporarily their employee: you answer to them.
- You are a consultant, not a dial-up coder from a a body shop. You are supposed to provide advice, solicited or not - so do it.
- Be respectful to your clients. Assume that they may have people on staff who are as talented, but they may be unavailable. Hence you being requested.
- Don't talk down to non-technical clients, and don't use intimidating and baffling technical language. They want a business problem solved, not a lecture from Richard Feynman.
- Help your client team: other external consultants, and all internal people. They also want to solve the problem.
- You are a consultant: so consult. If a meeting is going south, speak up, and say your piece. It's why you are there. Be polite, not arrogant, but explain your position.
- Learn not to preach. Teach, don't browbeat.
- If you have made your arguments, but the clients want something done a certain way, get 'er done the way they want it, and do it well.
- NEVER denigrate clients or other consultants.
- Learn when not to accept a job. If you know you cannot adequately do a specific job, say so. None of us knows everything in IT.
- Corollary to #10: if you know a guy who can do the job, recommend him or her.
- Do not start consulting just 5 years out of school.
13. There are more than 12 Commandments of Software Consulting. :-)
