Mohamed Idris

Posted on Jan 19

Delivering Simple Solutions That Clients Love

#career #webdev #learning

Overview

As developers, we often face the dilemma of choosing between complex, well-architected solutions and simple, fast fixes. This guide emphasizes the value of providing quick, simple solutions in real-world business situations, where speed and cost-effectiveness can outweigh perfection. It highlights how to deliver such solutions effectively and how to present them to clients and project managers.

1. Why Simple Solutions Can Be Better (Business Perspective)

Business Advantages of Simplicity:

Speed: Fast solutions deliver immediate value.
Cost-effectiveness: Less developer time equals lower costs.
Immediate Impact: Quick fixes can resolve urgent issues and unblock processes.
Client Satisfaction: Quick fixes build trust and keep clients happy.

When It’s Okay to Use "Weird" Solutions:

During fixed project phases (UAT, post go-live)
When the client has a low budget
When facing blockers (e.g., a broken checkout process)
When working under tight deadlines (e.g., Black Friday)
When the solution is temporary but effective

"Sometimes 'Perfect' that arrives late is worse than 'Okay' that arrives now."

2. How to Present Simple Solutions to the Project Manager

As a developer, you often communicate your solutions through the Project Manager (PM). Here’s how to present simple solutions effectively:

Key Messaging for PMs:

Frame it as a "strategic shortcut."
Clarify the trade-offs and limitations.
Support with evidence (e.g., logs, metrics).
Propose follow-up improvements for the future.

Tips for Communicating to PMs:

Be concise and clear.
Focus on what the solution does, not just how it works.
Be transparent about the solution’s limitations.

Example Message to PM:

"The product import fails due to a timeout at 60s. Instead of spending hours optimizing, we can increase the Nginx timeout to 300s and resolve it now. We can follow up with a proper optimization."

3. How to Make the Client Feel the Simple Solution Was a Success

Even if the solution is temporary, you can make the client feel confident about it:

How to Present a Simple Solution as a Success:

Show clear before/after improvements.
Document the fix clearly (don’t apologize).
Ensure there are no negative side effects.
Propose follow-up actions for a more permanent solution.

"You’re not just delivering a workaround — you’re delivering trust."

4. Real-World Example: The Import Issue

Scenario: A client’s product import process fails randomly.

Developer instinct: Refactor the import process, optimize payload, etc.

Investigation result: The issue is a 60-second timeout from Nginx.

Fix: Increase the Nginx fastcgi_read_timeout to 300 seconds.

Outcome:

Fix applied in 15 minutes.
Import works.
Client is happy, and further optimizations are suggested for later.

Conclusion

By prioritizing value over complexity, developers can become trusted advisors. Thinking outside the box doesn’t mean cutting corners but finding smart trade-offs to deliver results quickly and efficiently, ensuring client satisfaction and business success.

Developer Quiz: Thinking Simple First

Question 1:
A client’s contact form throws a 504 Gateway Timeout error. What’s your first move?

A. Debug the PHP codebase line by line
B. Add logging and retry logic
C. Check timeout settings and logs to confirm if the issue is due to a timeout before adjusting them

Explanation: Inspect logs and confirm whether a timeout is the cause. Adjust timeout settings if needed.

Question 2:
A client asks you to make their layered navigation faster. Which solution makes more business sense short-term?

A. Rewrite the ElasticSearch queries
B. Add simple caching for the filter block HTML
C. Rebuild the navigation in React

Question 3:
When offering a simple solution, which of these is most important?

A. Impress the client with technical details
B. Emphasize it’s a quick win but part of a longer strategy
C. Downplay any tradeoffs to get it approved

Valuable takeaways from Scandiweb

Top comments (1)

Mohamed Idris • Jan 19

Quick Quiz:

A client says their contact form throws a 504 Gateway Timeout error. What’s your first move?

A. Add logging and retry logic
B. Debug the PHP codebase line by line
C. Check timeout settings and logs to confirm if the issue is due to a timeout before adjusting them

(Best to first confirm if a timeout is the issue before making any adjustments.)

A client reports that their product import is failing randomly. A quick investigation shows the process fails due to a 60-second timeout. Which action demonstrates the simplicity-first principle taught in this guide?

A. Rebuild the import as a background async process using a custom module
B. Increase the Nginx timeout to prevent the process from failing
C. Refactor the Magento import module for better long-term performance

(A simple, quick fix is to adjust the timeout setting first before considering a long-term solution.)

When offering a simple solution, which of these is most important?

A. Impress the client with technical details
B. Emphasize it’s a quick win but part of a longer strategy
C. Downplay any tradeoffs to get it approved

(It’s important to communicate that the solution is part of a bigger plan, even if it’s temporary.)

When proposing a simple but non-scalable solution to your PM, what is the most appropriate way to communicate it?

A. “I’ve found a quick workaround — it solves the issue and unblocks us, though it’s not scalable long term.”
B. “I applied a hack. It should work for now.”
C. “This fix may not last, but let’s try it anyway.”
D. “This solution isn’t great, but we’ll deal with it later.”

(Being transparent with the PM is key, explaining it’s a quick fix and clarifying its limitations.)

Simple fixes are sometimes preferred when they deliver value quickly and unblock the client, even if they are not long-term solutions.

True
False

(This is a true statement – sometimes delivering quick value is more important than perfection in urgent situations.)

In which of the following situations is it most appropriate to apply a “weird” or temporary solution?

A. The client’s checkout is broken on Black Friday and needs a quick fix
B. The team wants to explore a new coding pattern
C. The client has no deadline and plenty of budget
D. There’s a minor UI bug that only appears on Internet Explorer

(In critical situations like Black Friday, quick fixes are necessary to avoid losing business.)

Hope this helps clarify the key points!