Once in a while we have these live debates of our government on television (remember I'm Dutch). It's a rare chance to see democracy in action. Party A states something. Party B is "in principle not negative in respect to the suggestion". Party C "can imagine an agreement with consideration of aspects that are currently not known, but could arise in the future, possibly, or not all." You watch this soap opera and you think they all agree. You thought wrong. Weeks later, they have the same discussion and you have the idea that they don't agree. Wrong. They do. Do they? And after four years of discussion we get a new government.

Links of Interest
Management And Meditation
Filter And Drainage - Trust Running Through The Team

Ever have this meeting where during the meeting you are quite sure that you know where the other guy is standing? That you exactly know what his opinion is? You walk out of the room, you drive home and you reflect on the meeting and can't remember an exact statement that supports your feeling? If you haven't, just do a software project and you will.

Get it signed!

It's very important that the stakeholders get the feedback from the designers, but it is in the same level of importance that the project manager gets the feedback that the stakeholders were happy (or unhappy) with what they saw. Don't forget, you, the software project manager are also a stakeholder, and you should also take care of your stakes. You have to make sure you make progress within the project. That small steps are taken in the right direction, and you got to have this feedback in a non disputable way. You just have to get it signed!

After some feedback to the stakeholders, let them sign that they agree on what they saw. That what they saw, takes care of their requirements. If they state "That's a nice design", your answer has to be "That's nice, please sign here." If people are forced to make a formal commitment to a piece of paper (or electronic equivalent of paper), they read more carefully before they commit, and after signing they stick longer to their statement. It's not a matter of cost, we will handle that in the next section, but it's a way of getting some stable points in an otherwise dynamic (or chaotic) environment.

Get it signed!

Of course, the procedure of what to sign should be in relation to the size of the project. It doesn't make sense to sign every paragraph, but don't wait until the end, when everything is ready. Get intermediate approvals.

In some weird way, most people are reluctant to put their commitment on paper. It's just a signature. But the request alone can be considered an insult. "My word should be good enough for you." Well, actually it shouldn't. Never trust a used car salesman who says "trust me". If you can't get in place a good approval structure, leave the project, go home, you loose in the end. Every one will bend and twist and everything will move consistently, with the exception of yourself. Remember, you are a stakeholder, so take care of your own stakes.

While you are in this process, just think of one thing: GET IT SIGNED!