The Corners of the Box
Al Richardson VP & Head of
Technology
Requirements? Let me share with you a short story. Currently R&R is working with a customer
that has an “interesting” set of requirements.
They would like a certain amount of power, a certain minimum breaking
strength, and they would like the cable to float. Let’s examine these items for a second. Power- copper works and copper sinks,
strength- steel works and steel sinks, floats- some insulation floats but I bet
there is a requirement for maximum size.
Yes, there is a max size requirement and now we are in a box. In
fact, we are deep in the corner of the box where the edges of the requirements
meet.
We have all heard that the customer is always right so we
labor away attempting to design the perfect design. Take it from me, the
customer is not always right and in many instances, the user had / has very
little input into the requirements. Sometimes what you see in a Request for
Quote or Request for Proposal doesn't make sense. Sometimes the partially
conflicting requirements may be as simple as min / max size versus min / max
strength. Sometimes they may be as
subtle as strength / size / hydrogen generation (that was a fun design.) Either
way, you can end up in the corner of the box with seemingly no way out.
There is a way out and you can do it without appearing
arrogant. Arrogant in this case is
defined as you knowing more about the customers’ needs and telling them
that. Most of the time you don’t know
which user requirements are really important and which are just there to fill
in a blank. How do you tell the difference?
The answer is simple, you ask.
You ask in a way that shows concern for the customer. Concern for the customers’ needs, time, and
money. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Either way you gain a better
understanding of the customer and the customer may have a greater respect for
your organization.
R&R is in that situation right now and we are working
with the customer. Will it work
out? Maybe, maybe not. Since we are engineers, nothing is
impossible. It just takes a little
longer and maybe costs more money to get out of that corner.
