Customer Related Risks

This risk is based on customer all customers are not created equal. Herron and Pressman define this issue when they state.

Customers have various requirements some are known what they want; others know what they do not want.  Some know what they want others know what they do not want.   Some customers are willing to sweat the details, whereas others are satisfied with vague promises.

Customers have various personalities some enjoy being customers the tension the negotiation and the psychological rewards of a good product and others would prefer not to be customers at all some will happily accept almost anything which is delivered and make the very best of a poor product and others will complain bitterly when quality is lacking some will show their appreciation when quality is good a few will complain no matter what.

Customers also have varied related with their suppliers in those some know producer and the product well and others may be faceless communicating with the producer only through written correspondence and a few hurried telephone calls.

Customers are often contradictory they really want everything yesterday for free.  And often, the producer is caught between the customer own contradictions.

A bad customer represents a significant threat to the project plan and a substantial risk for the project manager. A bad customer can have a profound impact on a software team's ability to complete a project on time and within budget.