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RE: Questions - Going from Hourly to Per Project Basis
Subject:RE: Questions - Going from Hourly to Per Project Basis From:MList -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 2 Oct 2003 10:19:45 -0400
Sharon Burton-Hardin [mailto:sharon -at- anthrobytes -dot- com] described:
[...]
> A bill towards cost makes clients happy because they know
> that the most the
> project is going to cost is X. We bill hourly towards that.
> Problems can
> show up early because we can all see that we are eating up
> hours and not
> moving along. That let's us all see what the problem might be
> and correct
> it. It may be us and it may be them but we can see the
> numbers and know
> there is a problem. All the stuff I said about change orders
> stands in these
> projects as well.
OK, if I understand what you just described:
1) you and the client get together and decide on what your part
of their project should cost (probably you did most of the
estimating, because you know what's involved, and then the
two of you negotiated to agreement)
2) you begin work, maintaining strict reporting of hours, AND
keeping everybody informed (in writing) of the progress
as well as of any hindrances to progress on your part of
the project
3) when, despite best efforts on your part (well documented)
and mediocre efforts on their part, it turns out that
the billable limit is being reached significantly before
the project finish... you stop working and give them a
sum-up report that shows how they have failed to provide
you the necessaries (with copies of all your heads-up
warnings and pleas to get back on track) and there is no
more money in the contract for you to get to their initially
stated target deliverable... ???
If that's not it, then what is the mechanism by which you
ensure that there will be enough billable hours left on
that ticket, when the customer allows slippage or scope-creep
in their part of the project, such that you still, somehow,
magically come in at/below your contracted cost?
What is your leverage, such that they can't screw you by
attrition/inattention and then hold you to the deliverable
anyway, "or your name will be mud in the industry".
That is, when you have agreed to deliver the documents and
to not exceed such'n'such cost, what is the client's incentive
to meet your "unreasonable" ongoing demands that they provide
you what you need on time and that they not allow the project
scope to creep as THEIR customers ... "refine" their demands??
That bit of the incantation would be important to the original
querant if she's to go the bill-to-cost route for the very
first time in her life. :-)
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