Getting an angry wet cat to purr: turning an unhealthy client relationship into a productive one

Donna Bungard

High demands, high anxiety clients are a reality of agency life. Their stresses, deadlines, and sometimes lack of understanding of the technology can create tension and take a project (or the client relationship) off track. Together we'll discuss common challenges and the strategies that satisfy the clients need while insulating your team; allowing them to be more effective. These strategies will include how to:

- Herding Cats: wrangle in out of control expectations

- Stop the Hissing: promote positive, team-focused communication styles

- Playing Well Together: encouraging multi-player team involvement without sidetracking the dev team

- Detaching the Claws from the Ceiling: being a calming voice while holding your ground and mitigating scope creep

- Grooming: performing a retrospective at important milestones that produce actionable improvements moving forward


Walk away with people-focused tactics that will help you improve your relationships with both the client and inside of your team.

https://design4drupal.org/sessions/uxproject-strategy/getting-angry-wet-cat-purr-turning-unhealthy-client-relationship

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