As an IT professional you must have come across many hurdles, learn new things along the way in every single project.  Some projects  seemed like piece of cake, whereas, some needed  a lot of research and studies. Time when clients came with requirements that are within the scope and sometimes they were not! I have heard it multiple times, when a client say,” Guys! I do not want you to tell me it is impossible, I need a solution to the problem”. The client is right! After all, you are going to make it happen and do all the work. He has all the right as a paying client and wants results! 

These are the three things that your clients want from you:

 1. Bring solutions to problems, they are already aware of the problem

Often time clients are asking what you can do for them. They are investing their time and money in the resources. You are their resource and you get paid to help them figure out solution to problem and not tell them what the problem is! Usually, we are habituated saying  the problem, not exactly giving solution to the problem. It is always wise to inform client what is doable vs. what is not! Perhaps, give them options to achievable things. They are not looking for what you cannot do, they are looking for how you can make it all happen regardless of the requirement. You are hired to find a solution for them and not for them to come up with a solution. In fact,  you are the one who is doing the work and it’s all up to bring an appropriate solution.

2. You care about their business as much as they do.

It might be another project for you, but for your client, it is about their money, time and probably lifetime effort. You might just be working 7-8 hours a day try to make your living, you do what needs to be done. In an estimated time you are done with the project you are assigned to, but the expectations of clients are quite different! For them it is not just one project, it might be their start-up or their dreams. As humans, we crave for attention, someone to care about our feelings, that includes their business or anything that comes up with it. So, understand what are they expecting.

3. They do not want you to say “Yes” to everything

The clients always want you to complete two weeks sprint and all the tasks that you initially committed to. However, nothing is frustrating to a client who patiently waited for a site to go live and its not tested or have bugs. It’s okay to tell the client sometimes there will be delay on the delivery by a day or two instead of giving them a product with bugs when its ready to go live. If it’s not finished, it’s okay to tell, it might take additional day or two. For a business, it’s about pride and committed date to the end users, but nothing is more embarrassing as a site that is dysfunctional or has many bugs.

 As a development team, you ought to ask all the questions in the beginning and have a clear picture of the project. The client wants you to see through the project when the project is initiated, not when the project is running. Design is a solution to the problem, as a designer, you should always have a solution to the problem, bring your creative expertise. Furthermore, communicate with the client, take ownership and tell them what is achievable in the given time.