> Finally, customers are going to change their minds
There is actually a type of orgnaisation that does not change their mind. They have a vague idea upfront what they want. They ask for a plan and an estimate. They never actually think about what they want in detail. When the thing is delivered, if nothing goes wrong, nobody looks at it or thinks about it. If anything goes wrong, then they say, "You didn't deliver what I asked for" (a vague idea that doesn't break things ;-) ).
The biggest problem I've had with some groups is convincing them that changing their minds is actually crucial to the success of the project. It's funny because you'll have a whole bunch of other people who are trying to cover their asses by getting management to sign off on the plan, etc, etc. But I'm coming in and saying, "I want you to change your mind" because then they have to have a mind in the first place. It's surprisingly challenging. I find that if I don't succeed in that, then it's pretty difficult to succeed with an XP team.
There is actually a type of orgnaisation that does not change their mind. They have a vague idea upfront what they want. They ask for a plan and an estimate. They never actually think about what they want in detail. When the thing is delivered, if nothing goes wrong, nobody looks at it or thinks about it. If anything goes wrong, then they say, "You didn't deliver what I asked for" (a vague idea that doesn't break things ;-) ).
The biggest problem I've had with some groups is convincing them that changing their minds is actually crucial to the success of the project. It's funny because you'll have a whole bunch of other people who are trying to cover their asses by getting management to sign off on the plan, etc, etc. But I'm coming in and saying, "I want you to change your mind" because then they have to have a mind in the first place. It's surprisingly challenging. I find that if I don't succeed in that, then it's pretty difficult to succeed with an XP team.