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I think it's important to point out that there is no one-size-fits-all solution
for working with uncooperative SMEs. I was on a contract writing design docs for
a server upgrade. The engineer was, in mild terms, arrogant. I tried wowing him
by being ultra-prepared and understanding everything he said, but that just made
him even shorter with me.
Eventually I realized was that this was a man who was working very hard for an
organization on things that were transparent to the user. Therefore, he was not
getting any credit/accolades for his long hours. So, I flattered him by asking
him lots of questions about what he was doing and saying how great it was.
Mostly, he just wanted to feel smart. This meant that I had to check my (not
insubstantial) ego at the door and allow him to explain things that I really
already understood.
I am certainly not recommending this for every case. I'm just using it as an
example of figuring out the reason why your SME is uncooperative and then using
it to your advantage.
-Gabrielle
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