Understanding your client
The importance of building the right rapport between you and your client
Lean Discovery Series Part I
Laying the right foundations
Everyone knows the saying that you need a good foundation for everything you do. It sounds pretty logical if you take it literal — say building a house for example. If you build a structure without thinking about the soil or foundation it sits on, you will eventually run into problems. There might be temporary fixes here and there but just ask the architects of the Leaning Tower of Pisa how that went. In software and web development a solid foundation might translate into choosing the right code base, technologies or structure, but I’m not talking about that kind of foundation, but something very simple and human: Understanding your client and managing expectations.
Understanding each other
Understanding each other might sound simple and obvious, but it is something that is based on creating the right rapport and relationship between yourself and your client. At MAQE we don’t always use the term ‘client’; We prefer friends, partners, co-creators or co-conspirators instead. The first time I came across that notion was when Andreas, our co-founder and Creative Lead, CC’d me into an e-mail he was sending out to our client. Instead of addressing them formally, he just used: “Hi Friends,”
It all starts with small things, but it goes much further when it comes to really understanding our client’s requirements. Many software projects start off with lengthy documents, reports and memos full of technical jargon, which no one fully comprehends. This is followed by long and arduous meetings that never seem to end. At the end of the day, you kind of get an idea of what your client wants, but most of the time you’re just guessing or pretending to yourself that you know it. This is why it is so important to have a richer and more engaging discovery process.
The first day of Lean Discovery is all geared towards understanding the client, by bringing them into the office or by visiting theirs. We would start off by introducing ourselves, Lean Discovery and the concepts we want to apply and invite the clients to do the same. This is followed by a pitch from the clients about their ideas so that we get a rough overview of what they want us to develop. The beauty of getting your clients in, is that you quickly gain a sense of their personality. When you do workshops, have lunch and work together you become attuned to someone’s taste, interest and behaviour. This is crucial when dealing with people especially when you need to manage expectations. Everyone reacts differently to certain situations, especially when it comes to delivering uncomfortable news that requires compromise down the line.
It is here where the ability to analyse and empathise with people makes UX Designers so indispensable. A skill-set that we usually apply to help design better products, by putting ourselves into the user’s shoes, can become a handy asset when dealing with clients. In the end, if we did paid attention and figured out what really makes the client tick, we have laid down the appropriate foundation for a successful project.
Takeaways:
Lay the right foundation for a project by building rapport with your client
Really try to understand your clients by putting yourself in their shoes
Get clients in and work together face-to-face
Don’t treat them as clients, but more like friends
Use your people skills and analyse what makes the client tick
A UX designer’s empathy is the secret weapon for a successful discovery process
