If something as seemingly simple as ordering a chocolate car can be an absurd people problem, no wonder complex IT projects can be a calamity.
Once upon a time, there was a professional chocolate shop. It was an actual chocolate shop, full of products for many needs, and a staffed counter, where you could go and order. One fine day a customer arrived and asked if the shop could create a chocolate car. The shop chocolatier said: “Come by tomorrow and I will have it for you”.
The next day the customer arrived and was given a demo of the product: “Here is your chocolate car”. “Ah, very nice chocolate car. But please could the wheels turn.”The shop chocolatier a little annoyingly said: “Come by tomorrow and I will have it for you”.
The next day the customer arrived and was given a demo of the product: “Here is your chocolate car, see the wheels turn”. “Ah, very nice chocolate car. But please could the doors open.” The shop chocolatier annoyingly said: “Come by tomorrow and I will have it for you”.
The next day the customer arrived and was given a demo of the product: “Here is your chocolate car, see the wheels turn, see the doors open”. “Ah, very nice chocolate car. But please could it have a sunroof.” The shop chocolatier a little more annoyingly said: “Come by tomorrow and I will have it for you”.
The next day the customer arrived and was given a demo of the product: “Here is your chocolate car, see the wheels turn, see the doors open, see the sunroof”. Just as the shop chocolatier was going to get even more annoyed, the customer said: “thank you, no more updates”. Baffled the shop owner forgot all about steering, ABS, and passenger seats, and asked: “How would you like it packaged”. And the customer said “ah! No need, I’ll eat it right away” And so he did. The End.
Despite all the product demos and product development, the customer consumed the product in a heart beat – or probably two.
The Morale, as There is Always a Morale
The origin of this story is a two person sketch from my local youth work[link in Danish] in the tradition of Abbott and Costello’s “Who is on first base” – so it’s probably from the 1960’es. The sketch is usually acted with elaborate gesturing building up to the absurd punchline on the final day.
I was reminded about it recently – in a project where external reviewers kept coming back for more. More requests for bells and whistles that where not originally stated. While we did share the test approach initially, the feedback from the customer is coming towards the end of the project delivery.
All the extra effort seems absurd in contrast to communicating goals and collaborating up front. While each party might be trustworthy, it only takes one of them to extend trust and improve the relationship significantly. Extending trust would obviously defuse the absurdity of the exchange, and there would be no sketch. And we need the sketch to provide the backdrop to the morale:
- As a customer state your end goal clearly, don’t be a push-over
- As a development team, stop and ask. If it’s outside your usual range it’s ok to say no.
If something as simple as ordering a chocolate car can be an absurd people problem, no wonder complex IT projects can be a calamity.
Complexity is a Matter of Perspective 
It’s interesting in these situations to know who has what amount of power. Can the customer keep asking for tweaks indefinitely? What recourse does the supplier have to stop this? Can the supplier say no before the customer’s happy? What recourse does the customer have to stop this?
I don’t know if it’s an idion outside of English, but in English ‘chocolate teapot’ or ‘chocolate fireguard’ usually means something that’s useless. Except a chocolate teapot *can* be used to make tea, as long as you’re OK with the tea tasting a bit chocolatey and the teapot being single use: https://www.thenakedscientists.com/get-naked/experiments/how-useless-chocolate-teapot
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Thank’s Bob. I didn`t know about that idiom in English. In the original story, it is a very odd combination with no connotations.
Great elaborations wrt the context and powerplay – that is indeed the key!
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