Most days will find me at the computer writing code and building interfaces. However, there are many days where I might be writing out a product specification or process document, documenting how a piece of software works, hanging out with friends, or taking a walk in the park (to think about work or not think about work).

There are also activities unique to the life of a freelancer: invoicing, writing up a bid, maintaining contacts either by going to professional events or just keeping up with friends and other business relationships.

Aside from all the media and programming skills, I think the most important skills that I have are people skills, a strong understanding of the software development process and broad knowledge of all the tools and techniques that go into the multimedia development.

My interactive media development skills help me get the job done but my people skills are really what gets me the work and makes my clients happy with me and my work. I do my best to make sure that my clients are comfortable and confident that the job is progressing well and will be done right, and that working with me is an enjoyable experience.

Understanding of the software development process, even those parts of the process not directly involved in my work helps me understand how my work fits into the whole and adds to the service that I can provide to the client.

I never assume that the client knows what they're doing or will do the right thing. An example is that I always insist that the client does some amount of testing and reviewing of the software that I provide. This is important because only then can I be assured that the client is actually looking at what I produce in a timely manner and that it meets their needs. Frequently the client doesn't know how to test software or go about having it tested or what to look for. Therefore I have to make sure to ask a lot of questions about how they are testing and be ready to advise them on how to give me better feedback. If I don't do this the client may come to me a few days before the contract is supposed to be doing to tell me that something isn't working, not working right or not working the way they expected it to work.

I feel it's important to have a broad knowledge of the tools and techniques in the multimedia development. It is too easy to get stuck into one tool or one process and end up building the wrong product or working harder than you need to get the same results.