Collective Wisdom from the Experts 135
• Arrive at meetings early if you need to plug in a laptop, set up projection
equipment, or hook up audio devices for your part of the presentation. If
not, come a few minutes early to find a chair, get coffee, and greet other
team members.
• Set a “policy” of no communication devices during meetings (BlackBerries,
laptops, and cell phones). If you’ve ever tried to speak while your tech-
nically adept software developers text or play games, you know that the
programmers are tuning you out.
• Agree to respect other project team members by refraining from run-
ning sidebar conversations, interrupting, or talking over someone who is
speaking.Third, create clear contracts with your customers, vendors, and subcontrac-
tors. The sales division will focus only on the final product to be delivered and
the final price your organization will receive. Be sure it also includes specifics
of how changes will be requested and approved, and what the charge for them
will be.
Try to set a process for how often and in what format the customer expects
to be contacted regarding your project. Will your customers be available for
questions? Will they be willing to provide end-users to test software features
as the development progresses?
Clear terms equal long friendships—no matter where in the project environ-
ment you look.