Pitcher's Poker - Part 3

So the talent and skill of you and your team shone through and you won the pitch. Now what?

You have to write a specification. Write the specification as a set of stories. Get together as many of the customers as you can find. Who would be using this? Who's paying for it? Who will look at it before payment gets sign off. Get the customers to prioritize the list. What if the customer says "I don't need to prioritize the list, you've agreed to deliver all of it."?

Well, one thing you can do is prioritize the list for them. Do the best you can to read your customer's mind and then get them to comment on your prioritized list. But then, that's as far as you can go without getting their input. If they still won't agree to help you prioritize the list, then take up thy laptop and walk. In Pitcher's Poker, you can't negotiate meaningfully unless you're willing to fold. Yes, that's right. Tell them that it's been nice doing business with them, but you're a professional. This is information that you know you need from them in order to do your job properly. If they can't give it to you, you can't work with them.