As a freelance software developer, I've worked in finance, law, logistics, pharmaceuticals, cable TV, food sales, and probably a few more I'm not remembering off the top of my head over the years. I provide the best service to my clients when I understand the domain well enough to make suggestions that marry the capability of the computer and the web to their domain. It helps that I have repeat clients often, and referrals within the same industry so I can re-use knowledge from previous contracts, but often I'm working on software for a domain I have no prior knowledge for. So it's a high priority for me to be able to obtain a lot of information about the domain quickly.
Here are my tips:
1. Schedule time to ask questions. Domain experts' time is valuable, and you don't want to be interrupting their other work, so if you can build up a list of questions and schedule a 30 minute period to ask all your questions, that uses their time more effectively, and also gives them the opportunity to take the time to answer the questions you didn't ask. (OP doesn't appear to be a freelancer, but for any freelancers reading this, I don't bill for this time, which helps clients to feel they're getting something worthwhile from it).
2. Ignore "rank". The people on the bottom of the totem pole are often the people who know the most about the domain because they are actually working waist-deep in the domain. There have been cases where I have used my seniority to escalate problems or promote ideas from, say, an intern or junior, that were likely more valuable than the development work I was getting paid for. When you do this, be sure to give credit where it's due--people remember that sort of thing.
3. There comes a point somewhere in the 3-6 month mark at a job, where I start getting a lot of anxiety because I feel like I should understand the domain better than I do. This has never, in my experience, been anyone else's expectation. It's just impostor syndrome.
Here are my tips:
1. Schedule time to ask questions. Domain experts' time is valuable, and you don't want to be interrupting their other work, so if you can build up a list of questions and schedule a 30 minute period to ask all your questions, that uses their time more effectively, and also gives them the opportunity to take the time to answer the questions you didn't ask. (OP doesn't appear to be a freelancer, but for any freelancers reading this, I don't bill for this time, which helps clients to feel they're getting something worthwhile from it).
2. Ignore "rank". The people on the bottom of the totem pole are often the people who know the most about the domain because they are actually working waist-deep in the domain. There have been cases where I have used my seniority to escalate problems or promote ideas from, say, an intern or junior, that were likely more valuable than the development work I was getting paid for. When you do this, be sure to give credit where it's due--people remember that sort of thing.
3. There comes a point somewhere in the 3-6 month mark at a job, where I start getting a lot of anxiety because I feel like I should understand the domain better than I do. This has never, in my experience, been anyone else's expectation. It's just impostor syndrome.