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

Thu Nov 11 20:35:16 UTC 2010

Thanks Marilyn, I really appreciate the lead and the feedback.  We'll
revisit the budget and see how we could realign what we have.

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://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/ )

>>> Marilyn Langfeld <langfeldesigns at gmail.com> 11/11/2010 3:31 PM >>>
Hi Ken,

I preface this comment by saying I'm not a developer, rather a web
manager/designer for an international non-profit (International
Partnership for Microbicides). I suggest you take a look at Drupal
Commons to see if could be used as the foundation for the project. It
might help keep the project costs down, since customization could be
added to the base installation, which includes most of the
functionalities you require.

http://commons.acquia.com/ 

I would also say the budget sounds very low for Drupal experts, even if
you customize a Drupal Commons installation and theme it. 

Best, Marilyn

On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 3:14 PM, Matt Chapman <matt at ninjitsuweb.com>
wrote:

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 
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > consulting mailing list
>> > consulting at drupal.org 
>> > http://lists.drupal.org/mailman/listinfo/consulting 
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
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-- 
Best, Marilyn

http://twitter.com/MarilynsView 

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