An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. — Niels Bohr

Early in my consulting career, I experienced losing a client in mid project.  While I’d love to blame the client and some hideous set of working conditions, it was most definitely my mistake.

The mistake: when I was brought on to replace the old technical lead, I didn’t insist on resetting the delivery schedule.  I mumbled something about it being “aggressive”, but ultimately accepted it as it was.

I also knew Brooks’ Law most likely made the schedule a fiction.

Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
– Frederick P. Brooks, Jr. The Mythical Man Month. 1995. Addison-Wesley

For some reason, the law is usually invoked on larger projects, but it affects projects of all sizes, including this particular two person one.   In a nutshell, it stems from the fact that the new person on a team takes time to come up to speed.  He must learn the requirements, design, code and process (especially if he is to lead the team).  Others on the team must also take time out of their schedule to educate the new guy.  So the schedule slips some more.

But my mistake wasn’t ignoring Brooks’ Law.  It was more insidious.  I failed to live up to my responsibility to the client to inform him as soon as I knew of the problem — way back when he considered hiring me.

This was one of the first clients I landed. It was a big one.  I did not want to be the messenger bearing bad news. Not right out of the gates.  Surely, if I tell them something they don’t want to hear before I’ve established any credibility, they might … umm … not hire me.

So I kept my mouth shut, got hired, went to work and hoped for the best.

Hope is not a strategy — Hillary Clinton

As we cleared each milestone, I reset the schedule for the next set of features.  Unfortunately, what the client saw was the schedule slipping a bit more each time.

So they hired a new guy and let me go.

Moral — always, always, always raise concerns early.  Even if it means I won’t get the job (which certainly beats disappointing the client and losing them later).

Meanwhile, I’m a mistake or two closer to being an expert.