Jason M. Hanley :: Custom Software Developer

We have two major oligopolies in Canada — the communication companies (Bell, Rogers, Shaw, and Telus) and the major banks (BMO, RBC, CIBC, and TD).

I’m routinely annoyed by both, but today I’m going to complain about the banks. In the US, banks compete with one another, and routinely offer no-fee, no-limit chequing accounts. The major banks here do not.*

I recently learned that the bank I deal with, RBC, offers their $10.95/month unlimited chequing account FOR FREE in the States. Have a look: US RBC Free Checking Account

Meanwhile, their Canadian division charges more than $130 a year for the same product!

Why do they do this? Because they can. They’re colluding with the other major banks to keep fees artificially high, and nobody has challenged them.

Aren’t these guys supposed to keep watch for this sort of thing?

* Yes, I know some of the “fringe” banks like PC Financial do, but there are a lot of drawbacks to these accounts. They have deposit wait times, and limited access to your money.

I just found out today that there’s a movie all about the debt/credit/finance crisis in the States. I think just about everyone knows that something bad is going on, but relatively few understand the size and scope of the problem. Hopefully this will help explain it to the masses.

Even here in Canada, where the federal government has been balancing the budget, and we have a trade surplus, our consumers are buried in debt. And things will likely get worse before they get better.

From the trailer: “This is America. We don’t do anything until something reaches a crisis.”

Check their website at: http://www.iousathemovie.com/

Today I experienced something I learned about in a Services Marketing course while doing my MBA at Laurier. It’s what’s called “Service Failure.” I’m sure you’ve all experienced it one time or another.

This is when a service business promises you a certain experience, then fails to deliver.

In this case, it was a not-to-be named local haircutting salon I’ve been going to for a year or so. I always make an appointment, arrive on time, and typically wait 10-15 minutes before being started on.

Anyone who knows me is aware of my strict adherence to deadlines and schedules and my general annoyance at people who don’t.

To me, making an appointment with someone is a promise that they will be available at the specified time, barring an unforeseen calamity.

Nonetheless, I put up with the 10-15 minute wait because most places aren’t much better.

Well, today I came in on time, as usual, and was told, “Just finishing up here. Have a seat and I’ll be with you shortly.” I sat down, texted a bit, watched the general goings on. Then I went outside, and started talking to my girlfriend on the phone.

After talking on the phone for a while I looked at my watch and noticed over half an hour had passed since I arrived. I looked in and my haircutter was still cutting the last person’s hair.

So I left. They called me later on and asked what happened. I explained to them a half hour wait was unacceptable and I wouldn’t be coming back. They offered a free haircut, but obviously it’s too late at that point.

This is a service failure handled incorrectly. You see, we also learned in the course about a “service recovery.” This is a failure that you turn around into something that makes the customer happy.

What they should have done is realize when I came in that they wouldn’t be able to get me started within a reasonable amount of time. Then, they should have offered to reschedule the appointment, and possibly offer compensation for the wasted visit. Or, even better, they could have called me earlier in the day to reschedule when they realized they were running behind. Better still, they could be more realistic about their scheduling so they actually finish their appointments on time.

If you own a service-based business, pay attention to the promises you make and what you deliver. Customers aren’t all that demanding. They don’t need their expectations exceeded - just met - consistently.

If anyone knows of any good hair cutting places within walking distance of Uptown Waterloo, let me know.

Scott Ambler has posted a follow-up on his previous article about fixed price software projects at http://www.ddj.com/architect/209602001.

As a quick summary, he gives five recommendations:

1. Give a ranged estimate (+/- a certain percentage or amount)
2. Do some upfront agile modeling (using people who will actually do the work)
3. If the customer still insists on a “precise” estimate, pad the number as much as possible to account for the risks
4. Fix the price, flex the scope (anything added requires removing something of equal effort)
5. Stage the funding, based on real deliverables (working software)

More to come on this topic…

I had been putting together some notes to write a short article about the difficulties with fixed-price software development, but Scott Ambler beat me to it. I just read his excellent piece, entitled “Is Fixed-Price Software Development Unethical?”

It’s sure to spark some controversy. As he mentions, both academia and industry have been trying to figure out how to do this for decades now, and haven’t had much success.

The important thing to note is that he is talking about projects where the scope, schedule and cost are all determined upfront. To the inexperienced, this seems completely reasonable, but anyone who’s done software development for long enough (10+ years) understands the problems with this approach:

1. It is impossible to define a 100% precise scope upfront.
2. The scope always changes. Frequently.
3. Even with a 100% precise, fixed scope, your estimate will likely only have order of magnitude accuracy.
4. Starting with a good estimate, the resources you assign to the project will make a huge difference. (The best software engineers are 10x more productive than average ones.)

These are the major factors (IMHO) that together cause a “perfect storm” of risk and uncertainty. Be sure to read Scott’s article for more points.

So what’s the solution? Do we just give up and stop developing software because it’s too difficult and risky? My next post will focus on better ways to approach software projects.