I found this cartoon the other day that I thought was pretty entertaining. I think everyone has at least felt like they were on a project like this (whether or not they really were).
I had to break this cartoon up by cell otherwise it wouldn’t fit in my page correctly, but you can find the original cartoon and other versions here:
http://www.projectcartoon.com/about/
There is definitely something to be said about perception and gaps in communication. It’s really easy for different people to interpret the same thing differently, which is why it’s always important to communicate not only efficiently but thoroughly, especially when working remotely. Much can be misconstrued in language alone, which is why whenever practical (or possible) I like to include images or diagrams to help communicate my questions or directives. Saying the same thing differently can also be helpful, but there is a fine line between thorough explanations and tedious discourse.
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| How the customer explained it |
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How the project leader understood it |
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| How the analyst designed it |
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| How the programmer wrote it |
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| How the business consultant described it |
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| How the project was documented |
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| What operations installed |
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| How the customer was billed |
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| How it was supported |
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| What the customer really needed |
