Uncovering Deeper Client Needs to Improve Software Project Success

In software development, it’s easy to focus on the immediate requests and surface needs expressed by customers.

You want feature X added, this part of the UI redesigned, a new integration with another app. But taking a deeper look at the underlying or future needs driving those surface requests can lead to much more successful projects.

Many times, customers ask for something because they believe it will solve a deeper problem they have. But their proposed solution may not actually be the best way to address that underlying problem. As experts in technology and what’s possible, we need to dig into what’s driving those feature requests.

Some questions to uncover the deeper needs:

• What problem are you trying to solve with this new feature?

• How would accomplishing X improve your overall workflow or experience?

• What’s the end goal you have in mind for users?

Only by understanding the root goals and needs can we can propose the right solutions. The customer may ask for an invasive tracking feature when what they really want is better visibility into usage metrics. It takes collaboration and asking the right questions to get at the heart of what’s driving those surface-level asks.

Setting ROI Metrics for Mutual Accountability

Even after uncovering the core needs, software projects can still go astray if the goals are fuzzy. Another key but often overlooked part is setting quantifiable ROI metrics for success upfront. This should be done during requirements elicitation by talking to the actual users who will leverage the features. Getting their perspectives can reveal additional metrics tied to real-world usage and workflows. Overall, setting objective ROI metrics allows both the customer and development team to be accountable to concrete outcomes.

Some example ROI metrics:

• Reducing customer support tickets by 15%

• Increasing conversion rate on landing pages by 20%

• Decreasing time spent on task X by 30%

• Revenue increase by 20% after the implementation

Whatever the metrics, they should tie directly back to those core customer needs revealed earlier. And they should be measurable during and after the development process. This gives a bullseye for the team to aim for and a way to empirically validate that the solution is achieving real-world impact.

Making the deep needs and intended outcomes transparent ensures everyone is on the same page. This leads to building the right solutions measured against the right goals - the secret sauce for successful software experiences.