JeevesBond — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:27:27 +0000

It's interesting to see everyone's methods. I use Basecamp to control timelines etc. Like the idea of having a Wiki for spec writing, that's a good one. Maybe you could just get an e-mail to show client agreement? That should be enough.

Am wanting to switch to Trac: it's Open Source (so free in both senses of the word), is built for software development, has a wiki. The only problem is that it's a bit hard to install and has lots of dependencies (Python, SVN etc.)

andy206uk — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:54:32 +0000

I take the specification from the customer by email/phone/meeting etc then write it up in a simple to understand format. Once it's done and the customer is happy with it I send it to the customer and they have to print, sign and return it to me by fax or post. Once that's done the spec is locked and can't be changed (unless of course they are willing to pay more money for me to revisit the spec and the extra development work).

I used to be really flexible, but I got taken advantage of too many times so I implemented this really rigid method.

pr0gr4mm3r — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:17:16 +0000

Ah, yes. Forgot face-to-face meetings. I've only had a few of those because most client find me over the Internet.

timjpriebe — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 15:42:43 +0000

Don't forget face-to-face meetings. That's my standard way.

And personally, I try to make sure the specs are all part of the contract and are pretty clearly spelled out.