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

Thu Nov 11 22:10:17 UTC 2010

I think the critical issue is whether or not there is significant
expectation of code work and experience in working with APIs.  My
general impression from Drupal Con is that there would be a sufficiently
broad range of turnkey modules we can use as building blocks, and we're
looking for someone with a broad enough view of those.  In the current
economy, it is unrealistic to hope that most businesses, and
particularly nonprofits, will write a blank check, unless they already
have a successful earned income strategy or pre-approval and range of
motion from their own clients.  A critical factor is whether or not the
client has a clear sense of their own strategic objectives and what they
want the product to look like and do. In this scenario, the adept
consultant comes as a resource in strategies to manage costs and add
value.  Few clients, however, are sufficiently rigorous at the front
end, and hence I do understand these reservations and concerns

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/ )

.
>>> Sam Cohen <sam at samcohen.com> 11/11/2010 4:45 PM >>>
I'm going to differ a bit on this. I don't think the project is
unreasonable at all as long as the client is flexible and willing to
work with you.. 

Sure, if you have a client who wants everything done is a very specific
way then with that type of time line it would be impossible. 

But as long as the client understands open source and understands
Drupal, you can build an amazing site very fast. I think it's premature
to dismiss any situation as possible or impossible or under budget
without first assessing the client's willingness to work with you.

On a project like this, I'd say to the client, for that much money you
can have me for X number of hours. We will keep time to a minimum by
trying to incorporate existing modules, and possibly adapting the
requirements to those modules. Where necessary we will customize things,
but we will try to keep that to the minimum necessary. 

As long as the client understands that the work is based on hours and
not specific specs, there's no reason it won't work. In fact, you can
come in way under budget. 

Best,

Sam

On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 3:59 PM, Bill Fitzgerald <bill at funnymonkey.com>
wrote:

Hello, Ken,

If you are interested in looking at platforms, you also might want to
look at VoiceBox: http://code.funnymonkey.com/ 

Disclaimer: I'm part of the team that built and maintains VoiceBox.

It's free to download, install, modify, and use any way you see fit.

Screencasts are at http://code.funnymonkey.com/screencasts.

RE the timeline: breaking your project down into a set of phased
deliverables might be a more maintainable approach, as this would allow
you to proceed in stages without committing too much in the way of
time/money into a small development window. 

Like some of the other respondents in this thread, we are booked up and
not looking for work at the moment, but your project sounds interesting,
and this list is a good place to find development talent. 

Cheers,

Bill

On 11/11/10 12:41 PM, Marilyn Langfeld wrote: 

Hi Ken, 

Here's the intro to Drupal Commons: http://acquia.com/products-services
and the description page
http://acquia.com/products-services/drupal-commons 

The other link I sent earlier is to Acquia's own installation of Drupal
Commons, which serves as a demo site, allows you to join and try out the
functionality, and ask your questions.

On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 3:35 PM, Ken Williams <kwilliam at aed.org>
wrote:

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/ )

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