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Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

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  • Ted Giles
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    Try this Wendy.
    "Of course I can - my time is YOUR money!
    You make a lot of sense W (aka Pansy Potter. Google it)

    Leave a comment:


  • WendyWelton
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    Originally posted by Ted Giles View Post
    When I get the "Oh by the way..." comment, it's time to get a spec drawn up!
    Otherwise phrased as "can't you just..." to which I've been know to reply, (when pushed too hard), "Well, here's the problem When I need another box of cereal, the grocery store doesn't let me say "can't you just" - those evil people want me to pay for it!"

    Then when any answer comes back that implies time is not of value the same as, say, a box of Cheerios - "Well, here's the thing about that. When my father says "can't you just...", it's my time he needs. And he's 89 1/2. And he won't live forever. And he's my father. So you want me to spend that finite amount of "can't you just..." time on you and not my father?"

    Then if they're really really really obnoxious (hopefully we hit this stage just before I decline the project, not after I've signed them up!) - "So hold on a minute. I live in a 1938 rescue house that still needs a new furnace, and you can afford to build a brand new 2600 sf home - and you want me to subsidize your house with my time?". Them - Sputter sputter (voice from teacher in Peanuts...). Me - "No really, when you want me to throw in freebies, that are "only" my limited amount of time, that's exactly what you're asking me to do - to take time away from my family or from other paid endeavors and give it to you free of charge...."

    Ok, that last one is a conversation I usually have in my head. But I have actually said it out loud a couple of times - just before I happily wave goodbye.

    And then there are the one's who don't quite say "can't you just..." but who want to negotiate on the price. My prices, compared to traditional architect's service model, are already a serious bargain, so I do roll this one out from time to time. They start asking for a lower number. I say "Uh oh, you better be careful. In my world we are equals. I'm not better than you because I'm the architect. You're not better than me because you're the client. So if we're equals, every negotiation can go both ways. So if my price is $1000 and you want to negotiation my already very fair prices down to $900 - I might just size you up as a PITA right from the get go and now my price is $1100. Are you sure you want to have this conversation". The never do, and yes, they do sign up.

    Then there are the ones who try that whining approach - "you're killin' me...", I just simply tell them I charge by the hour to listen to time wasting whining - the "Quality of Life Fee".

    And for the ones who want me to come out on a Saturday or stay up half the night to meet some invented deadline - I charge extra for that also - the "I Have a Life Fee". And that one's right in my marketing material! When I put that in I stopped having to 'splain to people why that was not necessarily a reasonable request. People who ask for Saturday almost always say "I understand it's extra".

    Paid or otherwise, schedule busting late changes and flakiness - the "PITA Tax". OK, I don't really do that one, but I do use that to explain to them why the builder charges more for the same thing added during construction than it would have cost if they'd included it from the beginning - interrupted schedules, wasted time...

    Wendyisms are free of charge for all Alphaholics.

    Leave a comment:


  • Ted Giles
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    Well made points Ira, I wish some of the big UK software houses took notice. Recent examples from a major player in Red

    Originally posted by csda1 View Post
    Let me give the flip side of the coin.
    • Don't ship if it is not usable (more useful than not useful)!A huge SQL application shipped which I did the data migration to. The Key was to have been consistent. They loaded the data with the correct key, and promptly deleted 5 records and reindexed the key sequentially. Mayhem.
    • Don't ship with any known bugs that corrupt data. Yep, that would be in my test scripts. See above.
    • Don't ship if major structural changes need to be made later that will create a lot of headaches later converting to the nes structure. Nuclear Export Signals?
    • Don't ship if the client does not intend on paying (or at least add an expiration to the software - make sure they know it exists so there are no legal ramifications)ToB are 25% with order, 50%on delivery, 25% 30 days after delivery. Unless they are freebies.
    • Don't ship if there are legal requirements (e.g. HIPPA) that have not been met Absolutely, the UK NHS are simlar
    • Don't ship without documentation (OK, WE ALL KNOW THAT WAS A JOKE!) Recently sent over 200 pages of "documentation" to the senior developer on a site to support a Gvmt. app. Good job it was in an e-mail instead of on 2 trees.
    • Don't ship if your client is using the ID-10-T protocol (If you don't know what that is, write just the alphanumeric characters on a piece of paper) and can't follow simple beta instructions. (AND WE ALL KNOW THAT WAS A JOKE TOO!) A fool and his money......?

    Leave a comment:


  • Ted Giles
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    When I get the "Oh by the way..." comment, it's time to get a spec drawn up!

    Originally posted by Keith Hubert View Post
    Ted,

    It is not just you, when developing for a customer who has not had a database before, all of a sudden a whole new world opens up and then they start. "Can you make it do this", or, "what about a report that can tell me......". You get the picture.

    My motto is this. A database is like a diamond, there are very few perfect diamonds in this world. So matter how hard you try, it will never be perfect.

    Leave a comment:


  • Ted Giles
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    It comes with full support Tim, and is warranted against failure until it leaves my Out Box!

    Originally posted by Tim Kiebert View Post
    Ted, I feel your pain. You are not alone. And the forum is a better place because of your weakness.

    Oh, and does that free app come with support.

    Leave a comment:


  • csda1
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    Let me give the flip side of the coin.
    • Don't ship if it is not usable (more useful than not useful)!
    • Don't ship with any known bugs that corrupt data.
    • Don't ship if major structural changes need to be made later that will create a lot of headaches later converting to the new structure.
    • Don't ship if the client does not intend on paying (or at least add an expiration to the software - make sure they know it exists so there are no legal ramifications)
    • Don't ship if there are legal requirements (e.g. HIPPA) that have not been met
    • Don't ship without documentation (OK, WE ALL KNOW THAT WAS A JOKE!)
    • Don't ship if your client is using the ID-10-T protocol (If you don't know what that is, write just the alphanumeric characters on a piece of paper) and can't follow simple beta instructions. (AND WE ALL KNOW THAT WAS A JOKE TOO!)
    Last edited by csda1; 04-07-2012, 11:44 AM.

    Leave a comment:


  • WendyWelton
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    Ted

    My web site is still run by my V10 app! I've had my V11 upgrade to it "95% ready and a week away" for three months. Big Sigh.

    Leave a comment:


  • Keith Hubert
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    Ted,

    It is not just you, when developing for a customer who has not had a database before, all of a sudden a whole new world opens up and then they start. "Can you make it do this", or, "what about a report that can tell me......". You get the picture.

    My motto is this. A database is like a diamond, there are very few perfect diamonds in this world. So matter how hard you try, it will never be perfect.

    Leave a comment:


  • Clipper87
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    Ted,

    It's about taking pride in doing what you do and being an enthusiast which is truly fantastic.
    Beware however: perfectionism can be suffocating!

    Leave a comment:


  • Tim Kiebert
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    Ted, I feel your pain. You are not alone. And the forum is a better place because of your weakness.

    Oh, and does that free app come with support.

    Leave a comment:


  • DaveM
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    I promise! You are not alone!

    We almost fired a great programmer a few years ago for trying to make an application perfect and pretty(in his mind) when we needed it out the door working NOW. It all worked great, he just would not let it go.

    Got a program called gif animator. Need to learn to use it LOL

    Leave a comment:


  • Steve Wood
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    My old licence plate was BST2MKT (best to market). I totaled the car last year but have the plate hung up in my office. "Best" does not mean perfect or worked to death, it may mean "adequate". Most of my entrepreneurial type clients have not made any profit on their killer software.

    Leave a comment:


  • Al Buchholz
    replied
    Re: Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    Looks like you are re-affirming your "Certified" status..... Looks like plenty of us are in the water too...

    Leave a comment:


  • Stop Developing, Stop Fiddling, just get it OUT THERE!

    I wonder if anyone else has the same problem that I have - never truly happy with what I've developed.
    It's not that it doesn't work, and it's not that it doesn't conform to the specifiction, (sorry, old school here).
    My problem is that I always think that things could be done "better" whatever "better" really is.

    Recent example.
    Testing the menu on a free invoicing app (contact me and you can have a freebie - no strings), I thought what about an animated Icon? Nope - not possible. Tried an A5Page with the animated icon - still no go.
    Downloaded 3k Icon pack - great and useful, so now I'm torn about which icon to use for the Help Button!

    Another problem is the Forum. There is so much brain power and inventiveness around, that when a question is asked that I think I can answer, I try to put together an example.
    Sometimes my imagination exceeds my capability so after an hour or so it's back to the home brew for inspiration.
    If I manage to solve something I've not done before but by dint of accumulated Alpha knowledge slugged my way through, I end up thinking "why didn't I think of that" and start "fiddling" which is where this thread started.

    Am I alone?
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