Cal Evans has started up a new series of posts to his blog today, flipping things over from the usual developer-centric perspective most people take and looking at the client instead. In this first part of the series he looks at the first of six ways you can be a better client to your freelance developer.

You and you alone are the vision keeper for your project. You have to convey the problem that needs to be solved without specifying how it is to be solved. Work with your developer to make sure they understand you as you describe the problem. [...] Don't assume that the developer will understand industry jargon or acronyms. Just because it's clear to you doesn't mean that it is clear to them.

Communication is a huge key when dealing with any developers, freelance or not and Cal's suggests that not only is everything laid out clearly, but there's also no stone unturned on things like features and goals for the project.