Chicken Biryani

I have been working in software field for last 8 years. However, one thing that my experience taught me was importance of human angle in this whole business.

As a coder, as a project manager or as a business analyst or any role, you have to understand all stake holders carefully and you have to know them as you know your close friends. This is a critical success factor which none of the software engineering books teaches you.

Also, we run behind the technology and processing power and turn-around-time of various business processes on our systems, but we often neglect the human part. Stupid, it is not about technology. It is more about the people involved. It is more about staying one step ahead of these people and this can happen only when you know them as your friends.

The whole software business is very much perception based. The success of any project or any new enhancement depends on all stakeholders involved. I do not think there is any method which can clearly document all the aspects in writing of what user wants. And nobody can guarantee that user's mind will not change after sending that last requirement specification document in the e-mail.

I find requirement gathering similar to like asking somebody how you would like your chicken biryani to taste? Just try to answer it yourself and imagine how software guys make user's life difficult. However, a good chef knows how to make a good chicken biryani after asking may be 2-3 questions or just by knowing back ground of the client.

So, the trick is to be the chef one who knows how the chicken biryani should taste!!! Sooner you know this, higher you go otherwise your manager will keep writing 'work on customer satisfaction' in every appraisal report.