Understanding what you're buying

Andy Clemenko: But it's also Jenkins, GitLab, and all of these things. Take the project I'm on now, for example. We need version control, and we need a CI system. So, I asked the client, "What have you got?" They're like, "Well, this team over there has—" I ask, "Do you have a central?" They respond by saying, "No, we don't have a central." They may then ask, "But can we stand up on our own?" But that's not really their job. What's going to end up happening then is you'll need to go to another team and ask them, "Do you understand what you're buying?"

A classic example is that you buy a car and drive it off a lot, but 200 miles later, you scratch your head because the vehicle's stopped working. You didn't realize you have to put gas into it, or that you have to change the tires, put oil into it, and clean the car, along...