[consulting] Estimation-Blowout case-studies wanted

[Susan Stewart]

Ashraf Amayreh wrote:
> I think the most worrying part of an estimate is the gap between design
> and implementation. Except for projects that are totally in-house, a
> client usually wants to get a custom design that simply does not reflect
> on what modules provide, then time is totally wasted on forcing modules
> to look some very awkward way or creating new UI facets for them.
> 
> I believe that even more of a risk is when a designer conceptualizes a
> totally different way for doing something which can be done with less
> effort by a combination of modules.
> 
> A Drupal developer/designer is a true asset when it comes to that as he
> would be designing based on his knowledge of modules and their default
> implementations. Although similar risks apply when dealing with new
> projects and new modules.
> 
> Has anyone faced this problem? How do you begin to tackle it? What do
> you do when the client wants the design to come out from his side and
> you know the deisnger will totally be someone unacquainted with Drupal?
> And in some cases I faced, not acquainted with web development!
<snip>

I wholeheartedly agree here.  It's easy enough to time project tasks and
establish a baseline for how long common (and even uncommon) tasks will
take.

However, when there's a module that will do X out of the box, but the
theme suggests a major change in how that will be presented, there's a
lot more work involved than there needs to be.

If we are developing the theme in-house, I know things will be in order
for the easiest implementation.  When the design is coming from the
client, or their marketing agency, that isn't a given.

At the outset of a project, I always let the client know that themes
vary widely in complexity, and offer to consult with the graphic design
team on making the design as inexpensive to integrate with Drupal as
possible.  Many clients would rather pay for a couple hours of technical
consulting on the theme than risk having a theme that could raise the
cost of implementation significantly.

*All* of my specifications explain that theme complexity can drastically
effect the cost and time to implement.  If there's a chance for the
client to save somewhere with a presentation change, I point it out --
always in terms of the client's cost, not in terms of "ease".

--Susan