Our Philosophy on Building Trust and Managing Client Expectations

Trust is foundational in our relationships with our clients. We aim to demonstrate to clients right from day one that we are using their budgets well, that we are responding to their needs, and that if any issues arise we will directly and transparently communicate with them.

As part of this philosophy, we do not obfuscate bad news or let it sit. Instead, we immediately discuss it with our team and inform the client.

We err on the side of over-communicating

For example, while we always aim to anticipate technical limitations in advance, sometimes we can encounter them unexpectedly on a project. When this happens, we communicate potential roadblocks to the client as soon as possible.

Similarly, when communicating an estimated timeline to a client, we always acknowledge any inherent uncertainties, and also reassure them that we will continue to communicate throughout the process. We recognize that the estimated amount of time a task will take and the estimated date of completion can be two very different things depending on other priorities that the client has. Again, we aim to communicate both of these things clearly and distinctly.

When new tasks come up that the client wants to prioritize, we discuss with them to figure out how they want to shuffle existing priorities, and then make sure they understand in what ways that affects previous timelines.

We don’t say “yes” if we can’t back it up

Saying “yes” to a client will help maintain the relationship in the short-term, but if we cannot deliver, it will almost guarantee the destruction of the relationship in the long-term.

We always want to under-promise and over-deliver, as this protects our team members from having to overwork themselves to meet expectations that should not have existed in the first place.

We believe that honesty, responsibility, and commitment to the work create a more healthy and productive work relationship than attempts at people-pleasing.

If we make a mistake, we acknowledge it

Misunderstandings and mistakes happen. When they do, we communicate about them immediately. We see them as an opportunity to further develop trust with both our clients and our co-workers.

Both building and maintaining trust with our clients is critically important. Once trust is established, we can more effectively guide clients to better decisions that result in better software and ultimately a more successful project.