Prototyping - A project manager’s best friend
Monday, July 24th, 2006So, I’ve recently finished a project where we insisted on prototyping even though it sent the project a wee bit over budget (2 days as I recall). What were the results?
Frankly, it was a good move. By the time we got to the point of UAT the client had only usability suggestions to give. The key to this was constant feedback. He’d seen only a tiny part of the final product very early on in the project but at least he had an idea in his head what the thing he was commissioning was going to look like. The first couple of reviews would have been painful if I’d have approached things from a traditional perspective. Guess what? The client only wanted to change what he saw? “Surely not!” I hear you cry “They aren’t allowed to do that!” But under the agile banner they are and indeed, positively encouraged to do so. Funnily enough, once one accepts this fact, the project actually becomes easier – not harder. So the client makes changes early, based on what he sees and because it’s early, the developers can do it without it adding cost to the project.
UAT was a dream because of this process and there were no nasty surprises. So you see, Prototyping can really be a project manager’s best friend.
