[AccessD] New engagement; trying to avoid the "tip of the iceberg" consulting trap

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hah, thanks for keeping us posted Mark.  I know where you are coming from as I have been offered these sort of jobs before.  If I can make it worthwhile they can be fun to do and add a lot of value for yourself and the client.

Sometimes I say no though.  Had one instance where a client had 20 Access databases and 'some' spreadsheets. They were all a similar mess and they wanted them all fixed. But only had a budget for 3 months (about 60 working days).  I turned it down.  IMHO it wasn't possible to do a good job of it in that timeframe.

Let us know how you go.

Cheers
Darryl. 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Mark Simms
Sent: Tuesday, 9 November 2010 10:21 AM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] New engagement; trying to avoid the "tip of the iceberg" consulting trap

So I met with the client.
Not a large application, but what a mess.
Spaces in the column names, no discipline in object names, etc, etc, .
I could go on forever.
It also has structural problems...one huge table that contains many columns
that only apply to 20% of the rows.
This begs for separate linked tables of course.

I'm giving them a 3 man-week estimate for putting a pretty face on this pig.
That's what they are really asking for....
A new menu and enhancement of the existing forms for better navigation.
Oh, and much of that work will be done at home office....they have no good
dev boxes there...
 Only these laptops with tiny, eye-tiring screens and chicklet keyboards....
 And to make matters even more miserable, it's gotta stay in Access 2007.



> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Mark Simms
> Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2010 8:36 PM
> To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] New engagement; trying to avoid the
> "tip of the iceberg" consulting trap
>
> Thanks all. Jim D. - based on that great rate that you are
> getting, I've decided to make it a fully-paid 8 hour assessment.
> After all, they're at least getting a report at the end of it.
> That'll be the deliverable.
>
> I have no idea as to what I'm walking into with this client.
> Since this engagement has been "on again", "off again",
> several times....
> I don't think that's a good sign of a "stable" client.
> This sort of conduct indicates in-fighting, budget problems,
> or other management "issues".
> I've been thru the mill over the past 2 years with IT vs. End
> user politics and let me tell you,  it really, really sucks.
>
> So after the 1 hour interview, if they don't like the "deal",
> I walk out.
> No charge.


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