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xhaltsalute
Starting Member
2 Posts |
 Posted - 06/28/2009 : 11:49:52 AM
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I hired someone from this message board and thousands of dollars later, we are in worse shape than when we began. |
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ultra1bob
Member
USA
283 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2009 : 3:18:56 PM
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quote:
[i]Originally posted by xhaltsalute[/i]
[br]
I hired someone from this message board and thousands of dollars later, we are in worse shape than when we began.
This problem may be trickier to solve then Barney wants, but perhaps there could be a favorite vendors/consultant directory.
The SEOM people know at least some of the better people we should give business to. I'm not sure how to do it without any liability for Stone Edge. Any ideas? |
SEOM version 5.912
Windows XP SP3
Access 2003, SP3 w/hotfix
Access 2007 build
Standard Edition SEOM |
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theblade24
New Member
19 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2009 : 9:39:15 PM
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Sorry to hear of your mis-fortune.
However, if that is indeed the case wouldn't it be wise to post the name of the person or company so others don't make the same mistake? |
GPS
Golf GPS
Sports Memorabilia |
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Barney Stone
Administrator
USA
6279 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 08:55:38 AM
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Everyone should be careful about posts like this. You really can't please all of your customers all of the time. Even the best programmers and consultants will end up with some dissatisfied customers. Sometimes it is the consultants fault, but not always. And people with complaints will always speak louder and have more impact in a forum than satisfied customers.
My recommendations?
- Ask for references, preferably merchants who have had work done that is similar in scope and functionality to the work you are planning.
- Start with one or two small projects before starting anything big and expensive. Get to know your consultant before making a major commitment to them.
- Spec out your work carefully. This can be difficult and time consuming, but it is the most important part of any large project. There is nothing worse for you or your consultant than getting 80% or 100% thru a project, only to discover that they did not understand what you wanted.
- "Oh, by the way, while you are working on it ..." Understand that changes and additions made after a project has been started will cost you more.
- Finally, understand that there is no correlation between the amount of time required for a project and the benefit you will get from it. Some things that seem like they should be very simple to implement can turn out to be very difficult, and sometimes you can add a nice new feature with just a few lines of code.
Hope that helps, |
Barney Stone, President
Stone Edge Technologies, Inc.
610-994-3699 ext. 111 |
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altaireon
Member
USA
247 Posts |
Posted - 09/24/2009 : 10:28:41 AM
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quote:
[i]Originally posted by Barney Stone[/i]
[br]Everyone should be careful about posts like this. You really can't please all of your customers all of the time. Even the best programmers and consultants will end up with some dissatisfied customers. Sometimes it is the consultants fault, but not always. And people with complaints will always speak louder and have more impact in a forum than satisfied customers.
My recommendations?
- Ask for references, preferably merchants who have had work done that is similar in scope and functionality to the work you are planning.
- Start with one or two small projects before starting anything big and expensive. Get to know your consultant before making a major commitment to them.
- Spec out your work carefully. This can be difficult and time consuming, but it is the most important part of any large project. There is nothing worse for you or your consultant than getting 80% or 100% thru a project, only to discover that they did not understand what you wanted.
- "Oh, by the way, while you are working on it ..." Understand that changes and additions made after a project has been started will cost you more.
- Finally, understand that there is no correlation between the amount of time required for a project and the benefit you will get from it. Some things that seem like they should be very simple to implement can turn out to be very difficult, and sometimes you can add a nice new feature with just a few lines of code.
Hope that helps,
Barney:
Sage advice and I concur with your recommendations.
If I might add: feature creep is always a problem on any project. Conceptually the idea might seem like a no brainer, but you may be too far along in the development cycle to be able to add the new feature without causing allot of delays or rewrites. Delays, rewrites, etc take more time and cost more money.
And if you do not think through your changes and it's affects carefully, you may wind up with a result that is less than desireable. You got what you asked for, but it does not work like you expected.
Spending the extra time and maybe money do the proper analysis and requirements gathering can go along way in preventing schedule delays and cost overruns. It can also give you a much clearer picture of the true cost and development scheudle. The result will likely be what you expected and the actual costs will be more inline with your budget. |
Tom Martin
Touche for Order Manager - The ultimate CRM
Communique for Order Manager - The ultimate reporting tool
Website: www.altaireon.com |
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Be wary of who you hire
