Since the beginning of our business, more than half of the projects we have handled have involved finishing work after someone else - another employee, a freelancer or a company. Some of them were short-term tasks lasting a few weeks, while others required rebuilding and finalizing that took as long as 12-18 months. Success in such projects depended not only on the intensive work of the programmer leading the project, but also on the intervention of the management team, which often had to "help understand what is most important now and what really hurts this project."

When taking over a project for completion, we work with the CEO, COO, CTO, as well as Product Owners and testers. We noticed that the number of "difficult moments in the project" - such as not understanding what was most important to the customer at any given moment - depended on the person leading the project. Despite the high technical skills of the entire team, the success of the collaboration was determined by the human factor. Instead of analyzing why some "outliers" on this front, we began to look for how the best performers manage. The answer we found was surprisingly simple - it was about asking the right questions.

It wasn't about the details of individual embedded developers' skills or experience. What was important for the course of the project was the ability and courage to ask questions. Sometimes obvious, sometimes difficult and uncomfortable. Asking those questions that allowed us to discover the crux of the problem - from both a business and technical perspective - apparently facilitated collaboration. Although we initially dismissed the "soft side of power" as a potential source, we quickly learned that it is this aspect that is the foundation in "good design."
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Thus was born our "elixir" - that is, the UDCP framework on the basis of which we complete or rescue our clients' projects. What do we do at each stage of our process?

• UNDERSTAND - at this stage we analyze documentation and ask questions until we "fully" understand the problem and priorities - both from a business and technology perspective.
• CHECK - in this phase, we carefully examine what has already been done, verifying that the state of the product the business says corresponds to reality. Our experience in analysis, some simple metrics and a pinch of AI help us here.
• PLAN - this is where we determine what is most important to do at any given time, analyze the risks and plan the next steps. In our experience, there is always something that must be done quickly and be "robust." Core of the system operation.
• DEVELOP - Having the full picture, we proceed with development work, implementing changes and improvements.

Although the framework is still young and we are constantly refining it, we have already noticed tangible benefits from the first applications:

▶️ Better understanding of intent - a systematic approach makes it easier to detect real problems in the code and business.
▶️ Reduced time to finish projects - a streamlined process for getting projects on their feet and finishing them has allowed us to reduce work time by about 10% (relative to the original estimates, before the process was launched).

Additionally, it has brought us immeasurable but equally important benefits:
▶️ Better understanding of the project and the client results in fewer erroneous design decisions;
▶️ Fewer erroneous decisions means less lost time;
▶️ Less lost time translates into less frustration on both sides;
▶️ Less frustration ensures a better end result and builds healthier relationships - with both clients and employees.

Thanks to the structured, repeatable UCPD process, the efficiency of ongoing projects has increased. Communication within the team has improved (we better understand our common goal and our intentions). This framework is not just a tool, but a "philosophy" of customer service at GoodByte. With UCPD, we not only "better" save customer projects, but also build a deeper relationship with them.
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Is it easy and fun? Absolutely not. Clients listen to our questions with disbelief at first and don't open up right away. It sometimes takes several meetings before we catch common waves.
Is it worth it? In the long run, definitely yes.

At the end of the day, there are people on both sides in B2B relationships. Everyone has their own goals and intentions. Understanding them better reduces risk in a project. It helps both parties achieve what they have planned.
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At GoodByte, we believe that the bridge between technology and people is the foundation of any success.
If your embedded project needs rescue or development support, contact us.