In the two years or so since Mediacurrent started a web agency predicated around Drupal we have fought a recurring battle. We did not feel like our challenge was exclusive to just us in the Drupalworld. More specifically, we struggled with properly estimating and qualifying Drupal projects – a lot of variables, too many unknowns, hard to anticipate problems, different approaches to solving the same issue, etc. For these reasons among others, most open-source firms particularly, have abandoned the once popular Waterfall development methodology in favor of a more Agile approach. One of my favorite phrases from prospects is that this should be an "easy job" for an experienced Drupal developer – the sirens really go off when I hear that.
Furthermore, many Drupal shops squawk at doing fixed bids – those two dreaded words "scope creep" seem to inevitably raise their ugly head. To complicate matters worse, Drupal pricing and hourly rates from service providers seem to run a wide gamut. Customers are left pondering why they get quotes ranging from $5000 to 5 million dollars – that’s right, "m"illion, for the exact same project. While this is an extreme example, this huge discrepancy really did happen to someone I talked to last year.
We found ourselves having lots of conversations like this:
Caller: Hi, I saw your website and portfolio, like your work, and would like to discuss a Drupal project we are contemplating.
Me: OK, tell me more – where are you in the process? Do you have a budget range? What is your timeline? What are the goals/objectives? Most importantly, do you have any technical specifications you can send me that further describe your project?
Caller: What do you mean by technical specifications – what kind of information do you need from me?
Me: Well, I am ideally looking for a requirements list or features you would like on the site, design files, a site map, wireframes, user/system interaction explanations, roles, content types etc. in order to give you an estimate with confidence.
Caller: (pause) – OK, I see, but I really do not have the time, resources, or know how to pull this together. Can you just give me a ballpark quote and timeline of what something that I verbally described to you will cost?
Now, here’s where the disconnect really begins – simply put, we should not be upset at the Caller. Rather, they need to be educated as to what the level of effort is into a building out a Drupal site. The analogy I often hear is would you start building a house without a blueprint? A custom builder usually asks lots of questions like how many bed and bathrooms do you envision, positioning of closets, granite or corrian tops, finished basement, etc – you get the picture. Similarly, a good Drupal team will ask the same type of probing questions to pinpoint mission critical information architecture. Drupal is a complex platform full of "secret handshakes" as one of my associates correctly pointed out. Others have said that Drupal is the type of framework that has a never-ending learning curve.
Hence, this was the motivation behind us wanting to engage and collaborate with writer and Drupal trainer Tom Geller, whose name you may recognize from the Lynda.com Essential Drupal Training series he produced. We found quite a few end-user type manuals, plenty of tutorials, books, seminars, and videos existed. However, there seemed to be a void for a guide that goes into granularity about how an organization can pro-actively position and scope their Drupal initiative for long-term success. In short, the Callers need to have realistic expectations set, direction, and guidance. They need to adequately understand what goes into engineering a Drupal site, and recognize the value or specialty expertise that Drupal firms are offering. Therefore, we sought to create "Building an Enterprise-Class Web site with Drupal and Mediacurrent". Should everything in this guide be considered the holy grail – heck no. We are simply trying to provide tools and resources (questionnaires, checklists, examples, etc.) that we’ve been utilizing that may help others get started off on solid footing.
What do you think? Are there any forms, tips, or nuggets of advise that you would like to share that would help those who are in the pre-planning stages of a Drupal project?
This is indeed a perpetually recurring situation that does not have a simple answer. I agree with the author that a great deal of infomation is needed if a scope has to achieve a reasonable level of precision (should also plan for flexibility). My current practice is to scope thoroughly to provide a low/high estimate for a given project, and then present it with caveats so that the cliebt is aware that if the scope is tweaked and/or clarified during the implementation, that may affect the cost.
Natually, the client is given the opportunity to decide if a given change should be scaled-down to fit the budget. As for pricing (once the scope and hours are decided), I have an openly available document explaining the billing rates. This makes an honest attempt to help the client understand how pricing ranges are deduced. Since the scope provides a logical explanation of why X hours are necessary, providing an explanation of billing rates takes guesswork out of the process
Hey Donny,
It has been a while since we talked, but am glad to see you are still consulting in the Drupalsphere - thanks for your sharing your thoughts on this topic.
The level of transparency you are providing is great - this kind of quantifiable breakdown to justify your services is what customers appreciate.
Lets definitely keep the networking channels open.
All the best,
Dave
Mediacurrent
very nice, thanks for sharing this info.
I have faced similar problems on my end and hopefully this guide will help me overcome some of those.
Cheers,
Tony
Our experience also parallels yours. Most clients do not have the time or knowledge to develop a document that sets out their requirements. This has to be built in to the bid. In additions, most clients don't even know what's possible with a framework lke Drupal. So a balance has to be drawn between providing what they think they want and offering a vision of what's possible without sounding like you're trying to get more work. That's where building a level of trust with the client comes in.They should know you're interest is in their succes.
Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences, which are very consistent with my own.
I strive to establish collaborative trusted partnerships with my clients and have learned over the years to discern quality opportunities. I have turned away many prospective clients for reasons including unrealistic expectations, high-level of distrust (they've been burned before), lack of preparedness, poor communication, etc.
I listen to my gut--it rarely fails me.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Yeah, the reasons you've listed are excellent. It's unfortunate, but many clients have this perception that if they disclose their budget upfront a vendor will automatically come in one dollar under whatever they say. I'm still amazed about how many customers let the hourly rate of a Drupal consultant or firm be the sole deciding factor in their decision making process. The same customers seem to understand why a 20 year law partner bills out more than a junior associate, but when it comes to a technical expertise they don't as readily grasp the "experience matters" concept.
You hit the nail on the head though - every Drupal shop should strive to become a trusted advisor to their customers.
Is the above poster saying that doing something like that is something that a Drupal shop with integrity would do!? It seems to me the proper thing to do in that situation would be to simply say, "Sorry, we don't think your project and our group would be a good fit" or something like that instead of perplexing the perspective clients with an idiotic bid and then hoping that they don't actually accept it.
"Customers are left pondering why they get quotes ranging from $5000 to 5 million dollars – that’s right, 'm'illion, for the exact same project."
There's a lot of Drupal shops out there with a high degree of integrity. I've heard several stories where an organization comes asking for a bid. But that org is in some way at odds with the Drupal shop's values, either politically, morally, or whatever. So the shop will take an old bid for a comparable site, multiply it by a n order of magnitute (or two), and then present that to the organization.
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