Customer Service as Part of the Project Development Process
I've been developing enterprise software for many years. I've experienced different management styles, team structures and company cultures. I've realized that the companies that developed the best products and services are those that created connections with users, encouraged collaboration among different teams, and have a clear focus on serving their customers.
Early in my career, I used to think that my contribution to the business was applying my technical skills to the development of a project. The business analysts and project managers would work directly with the users to gather requirements, create work items, prioritize, and then include the development team in building the product.
However, everything changed when I had the opportunity to meet with the users. This experience helped me to understand the requirements from a different perspective. It gave me a sense of purpose and sparked my interest in the core business. It helps your team focus on the core features that are relevant and important for users, so your team can build the product with the right fit.
I found the following advantages:
- Requirements are gathered from the source, so notes are shared among teams
- There is an open conversation with users, and questions are raised early
- The development team has clear expectations and understands the relevance of the project
- Teams will have time to visualize the implementation and provide ideas and feedback to users
- Business and tech teams collaborate on the same problem, becoming allies instead of rivals
Your team should keep asking these questions before and during the development of the project.
What is the main purpose and business value of the project?
It will keep them focused and provide a clear direction on what the end goal is.
What are the most relevant features and specifications for the user?
Too little and the system will be useless; too many and the system will become hard to understand. Users will default to what they know if the system is not the right fit.
How can I create a superior solution to what users are using now?
The idea is not to recreate what they already do, but to really consider their processes and make a custom application that is exponentially better than what they have.
Aren't product and project managers the ones looking at the requirements?
Yes, and you too. Because when you work for a company or a project, you are not only using your analytical skills to build software but also to understand and improve the process. Project and product managers will provide information, but your direct interaction with the user will provide additional details.
What if the team cannot have access to the users?
The business teams that interact with users should be that bridge — sharing with the team their first-hand experiences and providing as much information as possible about the needs of the user and the relevance of the project. Corporations should bring teams together for constant training on the core business, so everyone speaks the same language and understands the customer's needs and wants.
Building a Customer Service Oriented Culture
Customer service in the development of projects means that your team will do all that's necessary to make sure that the customer is satisfied with the product during the development and after the delivery.
Your team should use all the resources available, including reaching out to other teams at all the different levels.
Having a friendly and healthy relationship with other teams by helping them succeed creates overall growth and success in the company. It opens channels of communication and flows of ideas, and reduces division.
Customer service is also about providing relevant and prompt information to your coworkers and other teams. Make sure that you encourage a culture of ownership and collaboration among teams. Constantly monitor team members that take time and resources from everyone else but don't reciprocate in the same way they request from others.
Create diverse teams so they can provide different points of view to the project; this will also prevent one team from monopolizing the outcome of the project.
Beware of the jerk superstar, the knowledge hoarder, the autocratic leader and the drama queen, because they will break your culture. Instead, focus on improving the technical, business and communication skills of the overall team.
There are no shortcuts for being passionate about the products that you develop. When building a team, instead of focusing only on the technical, it is crucial to find people with strong customer service skills.
Avoid talented engineers that don't really care about the industry or users. You will end up with an over-engineered and overpriced product that will serve as another crown jewel of the candidate's tech portfolio.
Instead, look for talented engineers that want to create value for customers. Whether it is a complex or simple solution, what matters is that they have a sense of service towards their users.
Summary
Having a customer service mindset when developing projects will lead you to a refined product that matches the wants and needs of your users. Involving the tech and business teams from the inception of a project will yield the most productive team. Creating a connection among the different departments generates new ideas and improves the final product. Specialization is important to build challenging products, but customer service is essential to build products that are the right fit for customers. As a final thought, think about the last time you experienced great customer service — and how you can provide the same to your users and customers.