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I'm a junior software developer and I have been working alongside a client for the past 9 months, normally they always respond quickly(within 5 minutes), however the last week or so they've not been replying to any emails or calls.

I've mentioned this to my supervisors and that I can't really continue without their input, what would be the best course of action?

Tfish
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    What did your superiors say? –  Feb 28 '17 at 10:56
  • That I should just keep trying to call, which I have done, I just feel like if they've not picked up after calling them 10 times then they won't pick up on the 11th call – Tfish Feb 28 '17 at 11:16
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    So then the answer is obvious. Report this back to your superiors and ask if there's anything else they want you to work on. They'd probably ask you to inform the customer that their project is on hold until they respond. –  Feb 28 '17 at 11:18
  • I have asked about any other work but they said it was all being worked on by other developers. – Tfish Feb 28 '17 at 11:25
  • How you communicate with the customer depends on how your superiors want to deal with it. We can't tell you what to do if you've run out of work in the meantime. –  Feb 28 '17 at 11:33
  • What answer do you expect to find here? You can have a look at "What can I do at work when I have no work?" but your workload is something you have to work out with your manager. – Lilienthal Feb 28 '17 at 12:10
  • You could also potentially contact your client's supervisor to say that you haven't been able to get in touch with them. BUT, only do this with the permission of your own supervisor. – David K Feb 28 '17 at 13:20

2 Answers2

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The best course of action would be to talk to your supervisors, but you've already done that. So pretty much you do whatever your supervisor says you should do now. If they don't say anything, keep reminding them that you can't continue without this client's input. Or ask them what other task you can pick up.

Erik
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There isn't really more you can do than raise the issue with your boss.

Depending on the size of your place, perhaps this could even be a matter for an account manager, as it perhaps could involve the overall client relationship.

It's your responsibility to extract required information from the client, not handle the relationship itself.

morsor
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  • Morsor what is the difference between an account and project manager? I am a project manager, but I always get confused over who directly talks to the client, the PM or the AM – bobo2000 Feb 28 '17 at 11:48
  • @bobo2000 As I see it, a project manager is responsible for delivery of a specific product or service - whereas an account manager is responsible for the entire client relationship. In some places, these roles may be handled by the same person - but generally a project manager meets with the client regarding actual project progress while an account manager meets the client for more general discussions. If a project is running along smoothly, an account manager may not be involved at all until legal/contractual problems arise. – morsor Feb 28 '17 at 11:57
  • Instead of the client talking to the project manager for an update on the status of the project, can they go through the account manager who then asks the project manager? – bobo2000 Feb 28 '17 at 12:04
  • Whom to ask, depends on who is asking - and for what. If a senior person at the client wants an update (budget, deadlines), they will typically ask the account manager and perhaps don't even know the project manager. If the client wants a more technical update, they'll need to get hold of the project manager. However, the more formal (or strained) the client relationship is, the more often the account manager is used as the single point of contact for the client. – morsor Feb 28 '17 at 12:10
  • Ok great, I don't really like dealing with clients as a PM. – bobo2000 Feb 28 '17 at 13:36