All too often, checking the README of a package yields only the none-too-specific "Build Instructions: Run configure, then run make." But what about when that doesn't work? In this article, the author discusses what to do when an automatic configuration script doesn't work -- and what you can do as a developer to keep failures to a minimum. After all, if your build process doesn't work, users are just as badly off as if your program doesn't work once it's built.