NYCPHP Meetup

[Kenneth Downs]

Cliff,

I've given a great of thought to this, and believe the answer is
technology.  I thought we needed a tool that made possible very rapid
spec-code-review cycles, lots of iterative development, development by
successive approximations.  So I wrote it.  It is called Andromeda.  I use
it myself for my clients, and you can take download it here:

http://dhost2.secdat.com

My statement of work is usually a page or two, based upon pre-sale
discussions.  We outline all of the major tables and custom screens, but
leave the details for after the first check.  My cost estimates are based
on major table count and rules-of-thumb for adding in ancillary tables. 
So far it is working out great.  I can do many small changes of spec with
no recoding and no price changes, and I also have clear guidelines that
customers accept for spec changes that require more $.

This is a pre-alpha, purely for anybody who has interest in jumping in
VERY early, before even all of the naming conventions and stuff like that
are settled.  If you need something more production-ready, probably best
to wait.

The current release is GPL, but it will be dual-licensed, something like
mySQL.  The free version will always be bleeding edge, the commercial
version will be stable and supported by my company, Secure Data Software.

> On the flip side, I occasionally would like to outsource "pieces" but am
> always nervous unless I have a REALLY concrete spec. And most often, by
> the time I have written a spec to the level of detail required, I've
> written the code. It would be wonderful to be able to hand over a
> "fuzzy" spec. and allow the contractor to develop open-ended based on it
> and an interactive process. Is there any way to do this without getting
> royally screwed other than trust and faith?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: talk-bounces at lists.nyphp.org [mailto:talk-bounces at lists.nyphp.org]
> On Behalf Of Kenneth Downs
> Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 7:12 AM
> To: NYPHP Talk
> Subject: Re: [nycphp-talk] OT: Freelance PHP gig Not Paying up!
>
>
> Thanks for reminding me, kill his dog. :)
>
>> Very wise and rational advice. I was just going to say kill his dog.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: talk-bounces at lists.nyphp.org
>> [mailto:talk-bounces at lists.nyphp.org]
>> On Behalf Of Kenneth Downs
>> Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 7:00 AM
>> To: NYPHP Talk
>> Subject: Re: [nycphp-talk] OT: Freelance PHP gig Not Paying up!
>>
>>
>> Actually a customer is somebody who pays for things, so this is not a
>> customer, they are somebody you allowed to steal from you.  Here is
>> how you prevent this in the future.
>>
>> Never deliver a system without payment in full, and you get progress
>> payments as you go.  this means you need a W-I-P server where you can
>> put the drafts for them to see, but which they cannot get.  If they
>> run into cash problems and want to slow down  you say "great", and
>> just leave it there until they come back.  If they want to hurry up
>> you say, "great" and ask for some more progress money.
>>
>> If they protest that they don't want to pay too much up front, there
>> are two things you must do so that each of you is minimizing risk:
>>
>> 1)  State very clearly something like this "My ability to extend
>> credit is very limited, I cannot do more than $X of work w/o being
>> paid, otherwise I cannot keep my commitments"
>>
>> 2)  Make sure to give frequent updates to the WIP site so they can see
>
>> what they are paying for, this lets them protest and stop progress
>> payments if they don't like it.
>>
>> For the current situation, they obviously believe that they don't have
>
>> to pay you, that you don't count.  Have your family attorney send them
>
>> a letter demanding payment.  If that does not work your attorney can
>> escalate, and you can probably send their hosting company a letter
>> saying they are hosting an illegal site and ask them to take it down.
>> HOWEVER,
>> it is very important when  you pursue this legal stuff to know that it
>> will take about 30-60 minutes every 2-4 weeks, and in the meantime you
>> must not think about these guys, they'll poison your mind, concentrate
>> instead on new jobs and getting paid for those.  When this money comes
>> in after 3-6 months it will be like a bonus.
>>
>>
>>> Hey Gals and Guys,
>>>
>>> I have noticed that there are alot of freelancers on the list and I
>>> am
>>
>>> looking for a little advice.  I have a client that is being a pain.
>>> I
>>
>>> spent alot of time developing a site for them and it turned out very
>>> nice in my opinion.  The client seemed very happy with the finished
>>> product as well.
>>>
>>> The client paid about 1/3 of the cost of the site up front and was
>>> supposed to pay the balance on delivery.  I delivered the site months
>
>>> ago and have not received further payment.  The site is still active
>>> and it has been receiving alot of traffic.  They receive hundreds of
>>> visits a day and many users submitting information.  Needless to say
>>> they are doing business with the site and making a profit from it.
>>>
>>> The owner of the site has not returned my many calls and emails over
>>> the past two months.  I am trying to figure out how to get him to
>>> acknowledge me and hopefully pay up!  I have a full time job as a
>>> Java/PHP/.NET programmer so I don't do freelance often. This was the
>>> only project I have done in years and it was as a favor to a friend.
>>> Now I regret doing it at all and feel that I was taken advantage of.
>>>
>>> Any advice?
>>>
>>> --
>>> Tom O'Neill
>>> tommyo at gmail.com _______________________________________________
>>> New York PHP Talk Mailing List
>>> AMP Technology
>>> Supporting Apache, MySQL and PHP
>>> http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>>> http://www.nyphp.org
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Kenneth Downs
>> Secure Data Software
>> 631-379-0010
>> ken at secdat.com
>> PO Box 708
>> East Setauket, NY 11733
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> New York PHP Talk Mailing List
>> AMP Technology
>> Supporting Apache, MySQL and PHP
>> http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>> http://www.nyphp.org
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> New York PHP Talk Mailing List
>> AMP Technology
>> Supporting Apache, MySQL and PHP
>> http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>> http://www.nyphp.org
>>
>
>
> --
> Kenneth Downs
> Secure Data Software
> 631-379-0010
> ken at secdat.com
> PO Box 708
> East Setauket, NY 11733
>
> _______________________________________________
> New York PHP Talk Mailing List
> AMP Technology
> Supporting Apache, MySQL and PHP
> http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
> http://www.nyphp.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> New York PHP Talk Mailing List
> AMP Technology
> Supporting Apache, MySQL and PHP
> http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
> http://www.nyphp.org
>


-- 
Kenneth Downs
Secure Data Software
631-379-0010
ken at secdat.com
PO Box 708
East Setauket, NY 11733