On 6/29/07, MB Software Solutions <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Bottom line: I hate coming up with a bid with some logical values. I > figured it this way (for example): 28 tables, and as TR said, a CRUD > set of operations for each--I use the same screen for Add/Edit, and a > "library" screen for Select/Retrieve, and a messagebox for "Are you sure > you want to delete this record?"--and then of course there are the data > entry screens, the business logic to ensure data validity in the > database, and finally all of the reports for every tidbit in the > database. Man, I feel like I could spend a solid 2-4 weeks just > spec-ing out the project.
Well, you can do that on your own dime. You can get the client to pay you for that. Or you can make a back-of-the-envelope estimate. Here's a suggestion: 28 CRUD table screens @ 4 hrs each = 112 hours 4 Business Process screens at 12 hrs each = 48 hours 4 tough reports @ 8 hours each = 32 hours 12 easy reports @ 2 hours each = 24 hours Setup, analysis, design, testing @ 20 % overhead = 44 hours Contingency (what they haven't told you yet) @ 20% = 52 hours Total = 312 hours. Fill in the numbers that smell right to you. Or, they can pay you for a week to come up with a more exact estimate. Two weeks for greater precision. Or just pay you the eight weeks up front and let you go to it. > It'd be nice if there was a simple formula > for deriving the cost, and that's what I thought FPA (function point > analysis) provided. ?? No, FPA is neither quick nor cheap. Its a way for large consulting companies to get you to pay for a lot of analysis and design up front, so they can then deliver a very expensive estimate with lots of pretty colored circles and arrows and graphs and paragraphs on the back. > I mean, it'd be great to just say "$15,000" for > every small project, and "$30,000" for every medium project and > "$50,000+" for anything above that, but I need to justify my bids > somehow (or so I think). You can say that. I know some of my competition says anything the client wants to hear in order to get in the door. Once you're in, you can establish your credibility, get the client to understand you have their best interests at heart and work with them to find the best solution to their problem, figuring out what it really costs. Works for them. As Ed had pointed out, this isn't like building deck, where the cost of parts are known, the time to assemble is known and the profit margin is easy to figure in there. > Hey, don't mind my comments/criticisms as anything personal---I'm just a > cranky bastard nowadays until I get this damn divorce over and done > with. I thought that was true about me, too. Turns out I'm just a cranky bastard. > I guess that with all the crap going on right now in my life, the > crap in the world with this terrible mess in Iraq, the other threats > etc. etc. etc., well, let's just say that the drug manufacturers are > probably making record profits nowadays. (I wonder if more and more > people are on some sort of anti-depressant or anxiety medication > nowadays or does it just feel that way because of the funk I'm in?) Tommy Rettig liked single-malt scotch. To each his own. -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
