I'm reading these successive posts and am really at a loss. Who is claiming ownership at the very beginning for a given project? Who is ultimately managing expectations overall? And, what kind of project manager doesn't build in Q&A in a budget and schedule? Oh! I can answer that last one easily. Anyone who claims the title of project manager but really isn't or else a really crappy project manager. The person who claims original ownership has a responsibility to communicate with all parties concerned, sales, project management, design, development, programming, in one way or another. Sales people have to be educated to understand what must be included in any project for it to be successful and then communicate that to the clients. In cases like this, I'd venture to say that the client is blameless. Clients have to be educated about the process of producing this product they're contracting for. That includes making sure they understand the entire process and that Q&A is an integral part of every project and protects their investment. If it is presented as such, they will accept it as part of the schedule and cost. There is a responsibility to manage client expectations. Some of the worst experiences I've had as a client have been with fragmented sales and account management operations, e.g. Screaming Media, where the only thing that mattered was the signature on the contract and the check every month. It's nearly three years and I am still bad mouthing them and probably always will. It should not take 8 months to set filters when the client has supplied everything. But, before that, they should have made sure my boss had a better understanding of how limited their offerings were at the time and that it really wouldn't work for us. But, ultimately, it is the responsibility of everyone involved in any given project to do everything s/he can to ensure success. Passing the buck won't do it. And, shoddy client management won't do it. And, sloppy project management won't do it. And, if you are in a position where there is no cooperation or concern for the quality of the project, walk away and save your professional reputation. Minimize the bullshit factor. Lydia Sugarman -- Managing Partner Private Label InterActive "Markets are conversations."(c)Cluetrain Manifesto Intelligent eMail Communications Solutions P: 212.533.3456 __________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a blank message with unsubscribe in the subject to webproducers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To access our webform (instead of sending e-mail) for popular commands including subscribe, unsubscribe, digest, and vacation visit www.WebProducers.org. You can also access the list archive at the website. Questions and comments are welcome just e-mail me, morry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx