Ted Roche wrote: > 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. > > Excellent advice, TR....thanks. And yes, my alcohol consumption is up as I told my doc during a recent routine visit, certainly moreso than prior to this crap. I find that a Captain and Coke with a lime is my preference. ;-)
-- Michael J. Babcock, MCP MB Software Solutions, LLC http://mbsoftwaresolutions.com http://fabmate.com "Work smarter, not harder, with MBSS custom software solutions!" _______________________________________________ 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.
