I've been thinking a fair bit recently about how small companies can best serve clients.
My conclusion is that its' all about keeping the client engaged throughout the project
- even if this means exposing development versions of code to the client.
I am a big fan of 'open' bug lists - i.e., bug lists which are accessible to the client
through an interface. In a previous company we used software called Serio -
now this was pretty good - over complex - bug pretty good!.
I've taken a look at Fog Bugz which is
excellent - and Joel Spolsky being
a total genius doesn't hurt! Joel recently (well fairly) wrote an article that
ANY developer working on community software (or social software which is the same
thing!) should read - very good stuff!
So anyway, what I would like (if anyone is listening) is integration of a web based
bug management system into Visual Studio.NET & the Source Control system - now
this might exist if it does, please let me know!
At another place I worked (BlackID - now sadly
engulfed by a larger company), they had a sort of intranet, npow they didn't really
develop the idea - but it was becoming something like Sharepoint
Portal - which is an excellent starting point for this type of system, nice
collaboration all that stuff...(oh, and you can develop .NET for it :-))...anyway,
some ideas...anyone else have some!