[consulting] REVISED RFP FOR DRUPAL DEVELOPER - Deadline November 18, 2010

Matt Chapman matt at ninjitsuweb.com
Thu Nov 11 20:14:32 UTC 2010


Ken,

I have to echo Christopher and Joel. This sounds like an interesting
project, that might otherwise tempt me to make an exception to my
general avoidance of RFPs. I might even be able to help you figure out
a way to get something reasonably effective for $12k. But the 3 week
timeline? No way. At that point, I turn and run.

When you have less money, you need more time not less, because you're
probably only going to attract  shop/developer who's filling out a
slate that already half full with better funded work, so you're less
likely to find an expert who can commit 120 hrs over 3 weeks.

All the Best,

Matt Chapman
Ninjitsu Web Development
http://www.NinjitsuWeb.com


On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 11:57 AM, Christopher M. Jones
<cjones at partialflow.com> wrote:
> Just to be clear: I'm not bidding. Just trying to help. This, I believe,
> is what Joel was talking about. Given a list of features, some are more
> doable than others within the clients' cost and time constraints.
> Fleshing out these points takes time.
>
> The conversion to Word is just one of many issues that are likely to
> come up as a developer puts together a proposal and estimate. Even if
> you had already been through this process, three weeks would not be
> enough time to implement the spec. From start to finish, this is a three
> to six month project.
>
> On 11/11/2010 02:32 PM, Ken Williams wrote:
>>
>> Thanks Christopher. I've been checking with folks here. There are some
>> unfixed costs we've been waiting to come in, and they have, and I expect
>> the budget will land around $18 K. Where the Drupal modules do not
>> already exist, we'll need to assess whether to pay for additional
>> programming. Yes, I've been uncertain about the Word conversion options,
>> whether there is a wiki module that converts to word or PDF, and we may
>> just need to head toward GoogleDocs for that particular component of the
>> initiative
>> Ken Williams
>> Senior Technical Advisor
>> AED Center for Leadership Development &
>> Director
>> New Voices National Fellowship Program
>> 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, #1049
>> Washington, D.C. 20009
>> 202-884-8972
>> 202-884-8419 fax
>> kwilliam at aed.org <mailto:kwilliam at aed.org>
>> http://cld.aed.org <http://cld.aed.org/>
>> http://newvoices.aed.org <http://newvoices.aed.org/>
>> Want to learn about the nation's best leadership development program for
>> emerging leaders?
>> Watch this:
>> http://vimeo.com/7168443
>>
>> And if you are an AED employee, visit the revamped AED Workplace AIDS
>> Web site!
>> http://awac.aed.org <http://awac.aed.org/>
>> .
>>  >>> "Christopher M. Jones" <cjones at partialflow.com> 11/11/2010 2:20 PM >>>
>> This doesn't get better. Four years of experience in the Drupal space
>> has taught me to run from RFPs with fixed time lines and fixed (low)
>> budgets. Moreover, I've learned to run from clients that already have an
>> idea of "what should be difficult". In fact, depending on the detailed
>> specs of the features you mention, some of them could be involved (e.g.,
>> "Conversion to Word." That's huge, right there).
>>
>> My process when evaluating an RFP is to give a general, ballpark
>> estimate and then build it out if the client is still interested. Based
>> on what I've read in this thread, I would put this at between 2 and 300
>> hrs. At 100.00 / hr that would be about 30,000, more than twice your
>> maximum budget.
>>
>> I'd suggest that you pare your rfp down to essential features-- enough
>> to satisfy investors' minimum expectations, and let your deadline be a
>> pre launch, evaluation deadline.
>>
>> It's too bad. This looks like a really cool proposal.
>>
>> On 11/11/2010 01:58 PM, Ken Williams wrote:
>>  >
>>  > hi Joel, the integration would not be with an existing site, we'll have
>>  > to do some development there, essentially with space for news (editors),
>>  > columns, threaded discussion, and perhaps some ad banners - fairly
>>  > straightforward. The publishing house will be just be a basic about us,
>>  > news, submit a proposal, and buy a book (e-commerce). I'm not imagining
>>  > further integration with the main site beyond a tab or link to those two
>>  > sites.
>>  > We have to pay out all of our invoices by the middle of January, as this
>>  > work is grant funded, hence the tight timeline. I expect us to have all
>>  > of the basic specs by end of next week.
>>  > The components should not be difficult:
>>  > Home page / network news
>>  > Member profiles (with some adaptation as speakers bureau and consultant
>>  > database - e.g., a few more fields)
>>  > Collaborative space (wiki functionality)
>>  > Threaded discussions - usually about a current event or framing an issue
>>  > An idea databank (form driven, tagged or searchable, convertabile to
>> Word)
>>  > Resource library (links and documents)
>>  > Classifieds
>>  > Connectors to our youtube station, podcasting station, and our facebook
>>  > group (may just be gadgets)
>>  > Donate now
>>  > I suspect with most of these we could just set up administrative
>>  > permissions, identify existing drupal modules, and modify as needed.
>>  > For the interface, we have colors already, and a logo, though I might
>>  > tweak the latter. So I think it is fast paced, but doable. We will take
>>  > responsibility at our end for giving a master plan of functionality,
>>  > though input would be welcome about how to add value to it.
>>  > Best,
>>  > Ken
>>  > Ken Williams
>>  > Senior Technical Advisor
>>  > AED Center for Leadership Development &
>>  > Director
>>  > New Voices National Fellowship Program
>>  > 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, #1049
>>  > Washington, D.C. 20009
>>  > 202-884-8972
>>  > 202-884-8419 fax
>>  > kwilliam at aed.org <mailto:kwilliam at aed.org>
>>  > http://cld.aed.org <http://cld.aed.org/>
>>  > http://newvoices.aed.org <http://newvoices.aed.org/>
>>  > Want to learn about the nation's best leadership development program for
>>  > emerging leaders?
>>  > Watch this:
>>  > http://vimeo.com/7168443
>>  >
>>  > And if you are an AED employee, visit the revamped AED Workplace AIDS
>>  > Web site!
>>  > http://awac.aed.org <http://awac.aed.org/>
>>  > >>> Joel Farris <joel at transparatech.com> 11/11/2010 11:49 AM >>>
>>  > Ken, am I reading this correctly? $12,000 for development of a new
>>  > Drupal site that will "fully integrate" with an existing online
>>  > newspaper/publishing site, have user profiles + forums, and to be
>>  > completed in only three weeks of development? (at ~$100/hr for drupal
>>  > expertness, that's 120 hours)
>>  >
>>  > This can't possibly be right, can it? I mean, the technical specs alone
>>  > would take about 40 hours to document before even beginning work due to
>>  > the "integration" aspects of the site, and that's even before you count
>>  > the "what does it look like" in regards to theming.
>>  > --
>>  > Joel Farris
>>  > TransparaTech, Inc
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > On Nov 11, 2010, at 7:56 AM, Ken Williams wrote:
>>  >
>>  > > Note: We have changed the RFP to invite bids from developers outside
>>  > the DC metropolitan area.
>>  > >
>>  > > Contact: Ken Williams
>>  > > Senior Techical Advisor
>>  > > AED Center for Leadership Development
>>  > > kwilliam at aed.org
>>  > > 202-884-8972
>>  > >
>>  > > Call for Proposals
>>  > > Drupal Portal Developer
>>  > > Consultant/service provider must be an advanced programmer who can
>>  > demonstrate capacity and experience in developing scalable, enterprise
>>  > level sites within a short time frame, and provide at least 5
>>  > demonstration sites and client references.
>>  > > The portal will include both private / members only content
>>  > (intranet) and public content (extranet).
>>  > > The portal will include user profiles, threaded discussions,
>>  > collaborative spaces, document libraries, searchable databases,
>>  > integration with an online newspaper and publishing house, and
>>  > multi-media content.
>>  > > This is a fixed price agreement for development of the site. Maximum
>>  > budget: $12,000 plus agreed upon standard expenses.
>>  > > No funds are available to the consultant/vendor for ongoing
>>  > maintenance, administration, or additional development of the site
>>  > beyond January 10, 2010.
>>  > > AED will hold complete ownership of the site and the contract manager
>>  > will share all administrative privileges with the AED contract manager.
>>  > > Scope of work:
>>  > > Meet with AED staff at least 3 times between now and January 31,
>>  > 2011. Standard approved travel expenses are covered.
>>  > > Participate in weekly conference calls (typically 60 minutes), in one
>>  > in- person input meeting of the New Voices Network task force (December
>>  > 17, 2010).
>>  > > Except where otherwise agreed, meet face to face at least once a week
>>  > with the AED contract manager.
>>  > > Develop and deliver a memo summarizing the proposed overall
>>  > architecture of the portal, with options for interfaces and navigation
>>  > and a graphic representation or mapping of all functionalities.
>>  > [Deadline: November 22, 2010]
>>  > > Identify and recommend Drupal Modules for integration into the
>>  > design, with a short summary of what capacities the modules will
>>  > contribute to the portal. [Deadline: November 22, 2010]
>>  > > Develop and deliver a portal that is ready to go live by January 10,
>>  > 2011.
>>  > > Produce and deliver a guide for maintenance of the portal by fully
>>  > independent administrators and for publishing by editors or content
>>  > managers. [Deadline: January 3, 2011].
>>  > > The New Voices Network is a growing, nationwide community of
>>  > progressive emerging human rights leaders. AED is a global nonprofit
>>  > with nearly 2000 staff members, over 250 programs, and presence in all
>>  > 50 states and over 150 countries. Visit: www.aed.org
>>  > > AED does not currently have a dedicated Drupal developer or vendor.
>>  > Proposals should be no longer than 5 pages and speak to the
>>  > consultant/vendor's qualifications, proposed strategy and capacity to
>>  > meet the RFP requirements, and references.
>>  > >
>>  > >
>>  > >
>>  > > Ken Williams
>>  > > Senior Technical Advisor
>>  > > AED Center for Leadership Development &
>>  > > Director
>>  > > New Voices National Fellowship Program
>>  > > 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, #1049
>>  > > Washington, D.C. 20009
>>  > > 202-884-8972
>>  > > 202-884-8419 fax
>>  > > kwilliam at aed.org
>>  > > http://cld.aed.org
>>  > > http://newvoices.aed.org
>>  > >
>>  > > Want to learn about the nation's best leadership development program
>>  > for emerging leaders?
>>  > >
>>  > > Watch this:
>>  > > http://vimeo.com/7168443
>>  > >
>>  > > And if you are an AED employee, visit the revamped AED Workplace AIDS
>>  > Web site!
>>  > > http://awac.aed.org
>>  > >
>>  > > _______________________________________________
>>  > > consulting mailing list
>>  > > consulting at drupal.org
>>  > > http://lists.drupal.org/mailman/listinfo/consulting
>>  >
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