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From engineering to consulting...On engineeringArtak OganesyanIlya Kochetov

JANUARY 1, 2015

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SUMMARY

There are many ways to engage with the client. Most of you spend time working on a part software project, in business analysis, coding, testing or even management. But there something else you could do to both improve the relationship with the customer, make the life for you and your team easier and better, break out of routine and to help deliver your project in smoother and more productive way:

CONSULT YOUR CUSTOMER

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WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?

WHAT DO WE HAVE THAT THEY DON’T

• We have more than 20 years of continuously developing, improving and optimizing our software development process and methods.

• We have processes and methodologies are mature and ever evolving in all areas, including business analysis, development, testing and support.

• We have hands-on knowledge of more tools and practices than most people even heard of.

• We have unmatched understanding of the IT projects complexity and pitfalls with a range of clients from new web gurus to green-screens dinosaurs.

• We have thousands of successfully delivered projects for all kind of customers: from tech-savvy software and internet companies and start-up, to conservative and old-fashioned banking and insurance people, to funky entertainment and youth fashion people, to mammoth oil & gas and government companies.

IT’S TIME TO SHARE

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WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?

• Solving problems with using outdated or obsolete software development processes

• Solving problems with low IT maturity level leading to overheads and wasted effort

• Solving problems with no or little experience of specific kinds of products or technologies and are unable to pick the right one or are not even aware of their existence

• Solving problems with inadequate understanding of importance of software development process

• Solving problems with miscommunication and misunderstanding between the customers and development team, or customer business and IT

WHEN DO THEY NEED WHAT WE HAVE WHAT THEY DON’T

IT’S YOUR GOLDEN TICKETTO CONSULTANCY

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WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT: EVOLUTION

• Software development is evolving at amazingly fast rate. It is almost impossible to keep up unless you are constantly trying to be on top of the current trends and best practices

• Companies not in software development business do not have time and resources to invest in staying up-to-date. For them innovation usually has to come from external consulting and sometimes from new people coming on board, not from internal IT teams. Your past

• Stagnation in even the best teams and products is a sure way to obsoletion and decay the only way to keep up is to move forward and improve.

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WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT: RELATIONSHIP

• Top-down consulting is never easy: to listen to an advice, even a good one. External consultancy coming to you with a list of suggestions for a perceived issue would not be able to gain enough traction if there is no established trust.

• Consulting from the trenches is better: If you already have the customer trust they will be more willing to listen even if they do not yet appreciate the problem themselves

• Successfully implemented suggestions are creating a strong foundation for the partnership which will be more efficient and fulfilling for both parties

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CASE TO THE POINT: SOFTWARE TESTING

• EPAM has one of the most mature software testing practices in the world, which include automated testing and load testing which are almost never

• Most companies have functional testing practices which are below average

• By educating our customers about software testing we could reduce the number of conflict situations, speed-up user acceptance testing, receive better and more informative feedback

• Our customers will gain better understanding of the software development process it and its results and will be able to manage their expectations better

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CASE TO THE POINT: ODC PROJECTS

• NDC/ODC engagements are the lifeblood of EPAM. They have their own unique set of challenges but they are ideal for ‘consulting from the trenches’ approach.

• We have examples of small teams with 3-5 members growing to the 50-100 people strong ODC relationship which last for years due to the fact that we actively advised our customer on their IT strategy

• Good relationship is important not just for getting new projects but also for keeping existing ones alive. If the customer don’t trust us to do a great job they will start to look for alternatives and in general will make our lives more difficult

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WHAT COULD WE OFFER?

THERE IS A TON OF THINGS WE KNOW BETTER THAN MOST

• SDP Hygiene: Filling timesheets like brushing your teeth• Collecting Metrics: We know how to quantify project status• Requirements and change request management to make sure that they don’t become

disruptive mess• Cost allocation: How much did this feature did really cost? And who should pay for it?• Documentation: We can teach the customer how to write docs which will be not be

obsolete overnight• Continuous integration: We have the tools and we are not afraid to use them. • Repositories and Distribution centers: We know how to make sure that the code is

always available and always works• Code reviews and automatic code quality metrics: we can prove that our code is

better than yours• Better processes all around: from functional testing to business analysis we have a lot

to offer. See if you could find something yourself

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AND THIS HAPPENS RIGHT HERE AND NOW

• Continuous Integration• Project tracking Jira set-up• Resources cost allocation and reporting

set-up• Change Management portal• Status Dashboards• Full QA Automation• Audit of IT infrastructure• Code Repository set-up• Performance testing• Automatic reports• Best practices advice

• Estimations methods advice and trainings• Agile trainings and implantation• Work model transformation• IT department structure advice and

consultations• Timesheets and time reporting advice• Working together with ‘business’

consultants

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AND THIS HAPPENS RIGHT HERE AND NOW

COULD YOUR CUSTOMER BE NEXT?

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• At some point just typing one line of code after another will not cut it.

• To move forward and challenge your current situation and start expanding your area of expertise

• The way to better yourself IS NOT just through learning a new framework or a new programming language

• Communication skills are as important as anything else if you want to be a team leader, an architect or even move to the management career path. A lot of problems could be best solved by a simple talk between the parties

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT: YOUR CAREER

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WHERE TO START? SOME ADVICE

Be concise – explain exactly what is the problem, why it is a problem and what do you propose to do about it.

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Come well prepared – if you want to propose something do some homework. Research and bring hard facts, figures, and examples from other companies

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Evaluate feedback carefully to see if you need to approach from another angle, provide more compelling arguments or even drop the issue altogether

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Don’t be afraid to ask EPAM community most issues already popped up at least a couple of times and you could get useful insight from these cases

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It’s better to move forward in small steps. Try to suggest gradual path to innovation, instead of a ‘big-bang’ approach

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Never push the issue too hard – if the customer is not ready to listen now, it is best to find another time.

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Consider applying for the Mentoring program if you need additional advice7

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• Improve your market value

• Brag about it during your next assessment

• Looks good on CV

• Try something new on your project

• Break out of boring routine

• Next step on your career advancement path

• Improve your communication skills

• Better understand your customers

• More meaningful engagements

• Challenging and meaningful work every day

WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOU?

[THE CAKE IS A LIE]

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WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT: EFFICIENCY

Visible progress (e.g. coding)

Planning and management process

From Steve McConnell’s ‘Professional Software Development’

Lucky projectsfinish here

Unlucky projects are stuck here

Thrashing(unplanned work and other wasted effort)

100%

0%

Percentageof Effort

Time