[Sigia-l] FW: [Sigia-l]follow-up on Consult vs client side

[Sean Patrick Coon]

> Thanks so much to those who pointed me to links. I am curious though. In my
> reading, I came across a comment that "innies" don't work as much with
> business models or requirements. It seemed a little odd.
 
> From the outside looking in, it seems as though the business model would be
> constantly guiding the work. And as changes, upgrades, etc happen to the
> "system," requirements would be gathered to make the phase as efficient as
> possible. Am I envisioning the ideal? Or am I way off base?
> 
> - Jody

in theory and in well structured, successful "innies," you are absolutely
correct. requirements development, documentation and evolution drives phased
development of sites/applications/etc. and without a solid grasp of the
business model, failure would be rampant.

but a business model is an intangible if not finessed into business
requirements. and following suit, business requirements are pretty useless
if user-centered requirements are not taken into consideration. all of these
components must combine at some point to become functional requirements, and
convincing levels of "innie" management to spend time on developing such
documents, including, but not limited to, personas, mental models, use
cases, etc., can be a real challenge. it can come off as fluff work (no
diagramming, designing, coding = no work) to time crunching managers.

and politics can easily drive day-to-day in-house methodology. depending on
the whim of one VP or GM, you'll have a week for planning instead of a month
and you're without the agency (or "an" agency) to help you explain your case
(via a "proven" track record). and who are you to make a fuss in the first
place? you're an employee. see, it can get sticky.

i would say that you are right on base, but perhaps living in an ideal
world. =)

-sean

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sean patrick coon | m: 646-554-0271 | http://www.apperceptive.com