I recently bought an unlocked HTC Touch phone from eBay, because I wanted to experience Windows Mobile 6. The only domestic alternative at the moment is the T-Mobile Wing which is pretty bulky and doesn't have as much memory. It's working out fairly good so far. I love the small size, but a hardware keyboard would have been nice (vs. the stylus-driven keyboard).

 

At any rate, my previous phone (Cingular/AT&T 2125 with Windows Mobile 5) gave me one touch dialing on phone numbers contained in calendar entries. I used this feature extensively. Sadly, my new phone (which is powered by Windows Mobile 6) DOES NOT highlight phone numbers in calendar entries, forcing me to copy/paste the phone numbers into the phone dialer application. That's not easy to do...especially while driving (for the sake of argument, spare me the safe driving lecture). In fact, the phone number has to be in the body of the calendar entry in order to do even that. I typically put phone numbers in the Location section, so that I can refer to them more easily in calendar summary view.

Ironically, website addresses ARE highlighted in calendar entries, giving me one touch access to surf the web while cruising down the highway at 80mph. That's comforting. All joking aside, this makes zero sense to me. Why can't Microsoft get Windows Mobile right?

To many of you, it sounds like I am running the Pocket PC edition of Windows Mobile, while my old phone was obviously running the SmartPhone edition. I would normally agree with you, but with the release of Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft changed its OS versioning strategy. My understanding is that with WM6, the versions are now:

 

 

Am I to understand that I lose the capability to do something that is almost certainly a "professional" task (eg. calling people for scheduled appointments) when using the new Windows Mobile "Professional"? You have got to be kidding me. What other things do regular consumers get that "professionals" don't? Sadly, here is how the Windows Mobile 5 versions compare to the Windows Mobile 6 ones:

 

 

Another thing that bothers me is the little tiny "OK" button in the top right corner that I have to use instead of having a "back" button like you get in "Standard". How the heck was that missed? I realize that some "PocketPC" phones come with a physical "OK" button on the device, but not all (including my brand new HTC Touch) do. In order to keep myself from going insane, I used the Buttons utility to map the physical camera button (which my phone does have) to the OK/Close functionality, and just created a soft button on the HTC homepage applet that goes to the camera functionality. That works much better for my usage patterns, but doesn't excuse the bad UI design.

There are numerous other things that annoy me about WM6 "Professional" but I think you get the point. Doesn't Microsoft realize that people still use Windows Mobile devices primarily as a phone, and that seemless one handed operation is absolutely, positively, unequivocally ESSENTIAL to the product's success? Should I be penalized because I bought a more expensive phone with a stylus and a touch screen?

I wouldn't go so far as to say that their new version naming is false advertising, but they're riding pretty damn close to the line. The old PocketPC version felt like a retro-fit hack that is ill suited for one-handed operation. The old SmartPhone version was a much more elegant OS for phones. I was hoping that the name changes were more than just name changes. I had assumed (incorrectly, as it were) that Microsoft was consolidating the OS into a cohesive succession of functionality (kind of like how the Vista versions work...sort of). There are plenty of things that I like about WM6 over WM5. I was just hoping for a more "mobile ready" version of Windows Mobile. I've had PocketPC phones in the past and had moved to SmartPhones because of their easier one-handed use.

Trending this out, the smaller these "Professional" devices get, the more unusable they will become, as their interfaces are still highly dependent on interaction paradigms that were invented for full size PCs. I'm still searching for the logic behind this strategy. "Professional" should mean more...not different...and certainly not less. I hate to say it, but if Apple ever adds over-the-air synchronization with Microsoft Exchange to the iPhone (which is the current rumor), then I'll be very tempted to buy one. I know several Microsoft influentials who don't even have that requirement, and are jumping ship now. It's not too late to turn the tide, but Microsoft needs to re-think its Windows Mobile strategy...and quickly. My name is Jonathan Goodyear, and I am the angryCoder.

 

One of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches of all time was "Mr. Short-Term Memory". In it, actor Tom Hanks plays a man named Jeffrey Morrow who constantly forgets where he is and what he is talking about, to the mounting frustration of everyone around him. By the end of a five minute segment, everybody has lost patience with him and wants to strangle the man.

 

That pretty much sums up how I feel about vendors who ask me for more money, right after I just spent money on their products and/or services. One recent example is FTD.com. I went to the site and ordered flowers for Mother's Day. A couple hours after receiving my order confirmation via email, I got a second email with several offers to buy additional flowers. That ticked me off. Don't they keep track of the fact that I just ordered flowers from them? Do they think that I need more flowers a mere two hours later? If they valued me as a customer so much, then why did they wait until after I made my purchase to offer me promotional deals?

While I can somewhat excuse the folks at FTD as just having an overzealous marketing department, Monster.com is absolutely insane. Last year, they began pestering me to buy a package of job listings. They were offering four listings for the price of two, and I was hiring at the time, so I bit on the deal. I used two of my four job listings immediately to hire a developer and a director of sales. The other two job listings I banked for later.

Since I inked that deal, I have gotten at least one phone call from the Monster.com sales team every single month. It's always somebody different claiming that they are my new sales rep, and that they are just checking up on me to see if I need anything. Of course, if what they say is the truth, then it's a good thing that they run a job board, because their attrition rate is off the charts (and quite scheduled, I might add).

Seriously, though, why don't they just look at my account? I've got two more job listings left. I don't need any more right now. I get enough phone calls every day without having to field useless sales calls from vendors that have the answers they need on the computer screen right in front of them. My policy of always picking up the phone unless I'm with another client or otherwise indisposed (don't get me started on Mr. "I let all my calls go to voicemail" guy) causes me grief in this particular circumstance.

Incidentally (and to break off on a tangent for a minute), I'm not all that thrilled with the results that I get from Monster.com anyway. Most of my new hires end up being brokered through personal references (directly or indirectly). A friend of mine, Rob Howard (CEO of Telligent Systems which makes Community Server), just launched jobburner.com, which promises to use more intelligent algorithms to match employers with job candidates. I'm confident that his sales team won't bother me needlessly, so I'll be giving that service a try as well.

You might think that I just have a problem with salespeople. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I'll admit that in the past, I have expressed a level of disdain for high pressure sales tactics, but these days I spend a lot of time listening to pitches for new products and services, many of which I buy. I also have a sales team and I do a bit of sales work myself, calling up old clients that I haven't heard from in awhile to find out how things are going. The difference is that I pay attention to what my clients say and do. For instance, if a client says that they'll be starting a new project in four months, I don't call them every month in the interim. I know they don't need us yet, so I don't waste their time. I also don't ask those clients of ours who have purchased pre-paid consulting hours if they want to buy more while they still have some hours left unused. A little tact goes a long way.

My name is Jonathan Goodyear, and I am the angryCoder.

First of all, let me say that it's good to be back in the saddle again at angryCoder.com. I've been away and distracted for far to long. I don't want to dwell on it, though, so let's dig right into what's aggravating me at the moment.

As the title of this article suggests, I have indeed come to the conclusion that most software developers suck at consulting. I've been running my consulting company, ASPSOFT, for quite some time now, so I'm in a pretty good position to make such a statement. After all, I'm the guy that's in charge of hand picking the people that come to work for me, and it's a damn hard job.

 

Most people who apply for consulting positions have absolutely no idea what constitutes a good consultant. They think that just because they are a good software developer, that somehow qualifies them to be a consultant. Sadly, that's not even close to being a correct assumption.

Sure, good software development skills are necessary, which is why I have devised a highly proprietary mechanism for ferreting out those with the requisite technical qualifications. There is so much more to the equation, though. I could probably write an entire book on the subject, but I'm going to list a few of the things that good consultants do that ordinary software developers rarely do.

Listen to (and do) what the client wants.
It sounds so logical and so friggin' easy to me, but I'm constantly amazed at how most software developers don't listen to what their client says and do what they're told to do. Sure, they hear the words coming out of the client's mouth. They read the specifications; But when it comes down to actually doing the work, they do things the way they want to do them, rather than the way the client wants them done.

For instance, a client wants a software developer to begin coding on a project immediately. The developer has advised the client of the dangers of beginning too quickly, and that a better approach would be to spend some additional time on the design process. The client agrees that this would be best in a perfect world, but they don't have enough money for an extended design cycle. They want to begin now.

At this point, if you locked most software developers in a room and left them to their own devices, they wouldn't begin coding. Instead, they would proceed with the extended design as if the client hadn't said a thing. If you're a software developer who has never had to manage other developers, you're probably saying to yourself "No, I wouldn't do that." But those of you who have ever had to manage software developers in a consulting engagement are probably nodding your heads.

It's a rare breed of software developer that can go against their native instincts after having instructed the client of the error of their ways and still been told to proceed. At the end of the day, it's the client's money, so you need to do what they instruct you to do. You have to resist the temptation to over-engineer a solution and blow through a client's budget.

Care about the client and their projects.
If a software developer is only doing their job to get a paycheck, then consulting is certainly not for them. When I'm working for a client, I immerse myself in their hopes and dreams for their projects. I get physically ill at the notion of any one of them failing. I do what it takes to make the client happy. That includes working extra hours to make deadlines and answering client phone calls during the evening and on weekends (among other things).

Of course, caring for clients isn't completely altruistic. Clients appreciate a consultant who cares and goes the extra mile for them when the going gets tough. They keep people like that around, because they're hard to come by (at any price). I have nicknamed one particular consultant of mine "consulting cocaine" because his clients just can't get enough of him. But you can't fake it. If a software developer doesn't really care, clients will see right through the facade. Clients want someone who is hard working, reliable and trustworthy; Not someone with a union worker attitude that's just in it for the money and themselves.

Communicate amazingly well.
I learned a very long time ago that a good consultant must have fantastic verbal and written communications skills to succeed. Unfortunately, many software developers lack higher education, so their writing skills are, well, limited. They also usually come from "socially challenging" backgrounds, often leading to awkwardness around clients. Needless to say, even though most of the work that my company does is handled remotely, I make it a point to have both a phone and in-person interview before making a hire. I also include an essay question as part of the technical skills test. Impeccable phone, in-person and email decorum are of the utmost importance. Some of the email that I get from software developers is, quite frankly, embarrassing. A true consultant conducts himself in a more professional manner by doing things like re-reading and spell checking emails before sending them. You can't catch every error, but you can certainly put in the effort to try.

I have also found that software developers who take the initiative to speak at local as well as larger industry events make better consultants. The experience of presenting their ideas in a way that is coherent to others is a good exercise. It builds their confidence, too. If I'm interviewing a job candidate and they don't want to do public speaking, it's an immediate "no hire" decision.

Over the course of the past several years, I have had the opportunity to hire and work with many software developers. Some were better consultants than others. I've become pretty good at spotting the software developers who possess the ability to make the transition, though, and I'm exceedingly happy with the incredible team that I have assembled. The primary purpose of this article is not recruiting in nature, but if you do feel that you are ready to be a true consultant, I encourage you to contact us, as we are always looking for great talent to join our team.

My name is Jonathan Goodyear, and I am the angryCoder.