Sleepover Motels Property Management System

During the development of Sleepover Motel's custom property management system, they needed a consultant to act as an intermediary between them and the development firm they contracted in order to clarify requirements, developments and expectations.

I stepped in as a consultant with experience on both sides of the product development aisle to smooth the final runway to completing the product.

Speaking The Same Language

This is a notorious problem for anyone contracting developers to build a product for them. Software development is riddled with complex systems, lots of jargon and often shifting timelines depending on factors that are difficult to explain to people who are not working in the industry.

This isn't the fault of development agencies either, developing software is complicated to begin with without needing to translate on the go. The developers who are best at communication tend to be seniors and managers, whose time is also the most expensive, so it's a difficult problem to solve without a dedicated member of staff. This also turns into an expensive endeavour though, as the time commitment isn't full time. This makes it the ideal role to outsource to a contractor.

I helped clarify Sleepover's requests, requirements and frustrations to to the developers whilst also communicating to Sleepover the complexities the developers faced in clear terms translated from industry-specific language. This eased communications between the client and the developer, sped up development decisions and helped mitigate an already swollen budget and schedule.

How Things Run

My role was fundamentally about recording and reporting to both parties the requirements and expectations of each. This involved regular meetings with both to clarify expectations before reporting, recording and repeating. This process, though monotonous sounding, is crucial in maintaining timelines and budgets throughout the lifespan of any project.

This process also necessitates clear and concise reporting augmented by well-designed visual aides that assist in translating complex software concepts such as information flow, software architecture and database structure into digestible, actionable pieces of information.

What I Learned

I arrived relatively late in the development process in order to alleviate some of the built-up tension, and I saw this as a valuable opportunity to help steer a project back on course, not only to maintain timelines and expectations. This is a unique challenge in product ownership and clarified to me something I knew academically but had not yet experienced for myself: it is rare that any project is derailed by an errant developer or malicious project commissioner, but instead that projects are prone to drift from many small delays and miscommunications. It is important to identify this drift as quickly as possible, accept it for what it is, and move forward with a different strategy toward a finished product.