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Getting better at spotting dodgy gigs

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    Getting better at spotting dodgy gigs

    Pimp needs a developer with XYZ skill, which is incredibly rare here in the UK. I don't have this skill, but have many many many years in a very very similar product.

    I was thinking about doing the training course and have some budget in the training kitty. Pimps client has said this would be acceptable. I have experience in other similar products and have successfully cross trained before in a short space of time.

    Today client co have decided to fill the role internally. This means taking some devs, sending them on a training course and then expecting them to "hit the ground running".

    It's a good plan, except that once you switch from regular development to BPM, without at least 18 months solid experience of building business processes, you are going to be making rookie mistakes with no one on hand to help you learn the error of yours ways. A big part of my business is re-writing pap written by inexperienced hacks.

    So the cost of the training, and then the technical debt they will rack up from day 1 is considerably large. This means that someone has consciously made this decision. This in my mind means they are mental, and the project is on a collision course.

    So I concur this would be a nightmare gig, and if they come around in a few weeks looking to warm things up again I will probably price myself out.

    What is it with modern companies that they make such bizarre decisions? Would you get this in any other profession?
    Knock first as I might be balancing my chakras.

    #2
    You on the bench again.

    #Areyousureyourecutouttobeacontractor
    What happens in General, stays in General.
    You know what they say about assumptions!

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by MarillionFan View Post
      You on the bench again.

      #Areyousureyourecutouttobeacontractor
      Benched since June, but AtW won't let me look for gigs during the summertime.

      How's your blood pressure?
      Knock first as I might be balancing my chakras.

      Comment


        #4
        What do you think it is going to collide with?
        I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful. [Christopher Hitchens]

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by suityou01 View Post
          Benched since June, but AtW won't let me look for gigs during the summertime.

          How's your blood pressure?
          Just back from a month in the US, last two weeks vacation in Florida. Ask me the question again at the end of the week after I've spent it dealing with idjiots at work.
          What happens in General, stays in General.
          You know what they say about assumptions!

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by GlenW View Post
            What do you think it is going to collide with?
            Hadron?
            What happens in General, stays in General.
            You know what they say about assumptions!

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by MarillionFan View Post
              Just back from a month in the US, last two weeks vacation in Florida. Ask me the question again at the end of the week after I've spent it dealing with idjiots at work.
              No idiot is worth pushing the mercury up. My ole nan used to say 10 deep breaths and count to 10.
              Knock first as I might be balancing my chakras.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by GlenW View Post
                What do you think it is going to collide with?
                Hi caller, thanks for your question.

                I think to get to the nub of this we need to get back to basics. First lets start with the term "Project".

                A project is a temporary organisation, within an organisation, that exists to bring about change. Usually this project has given parameters such as quality expectations, a deadline (or deadlines as is the case in phased delivery) and possibly and not that seldom a cost maximum or "budget".

                If you hire rookies and train then up, and then put them into your project without stabilisers, water wings, frequent nappy changes and good quality nap time with rusks and stage 2 milk, then a number of planned failings can occur.

                Firstly, the quality of the output will slip. Possibly below expectations, resulting in a collision with those responsible for signing off.

                Secondly, with partial re-writes and much "trial and error", the original deadlines may have to slip, resulting in a collision for those responsible for signing off. Usually this involves going for more budget, hiring contractors to bail the project out of the tulipe etc etc.

                Thirdly, if a poorly written deliverable does somehow slip past those responsible for signing off, there would be a greater cost of ownership and you need dedicated people to babysit the thing in production. Again running into a collision with the frustrated end users, and building a reputation for the product and vendor that will never be lost. This is probably the most expensive hit the project can take.
                Knock first as I might be balancing my chakras.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by suityou01 View Post
                  My ole nan used to say 10 deep breaths and count to 10.
                  That will be the most the fat feck MF lasts in bed, innit?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by suityou01 View Post
                    No idiot is worth pushing the mercury up. My ole nan used to say 10 deep breaths and count to 10.
                    Originally posted by FatLazyContractor View Post
                    That will be the most the fat feck MF lasts in bed, innit?
                    It's been ages since I last slept with Suity's nan. She popped a hip last time, but when she takes her teeth out, she's No 1.
                    What happens in General, stays in General.
                    You know what they say about assumptions!

                    Comment

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