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

Thu Nov 11 22:36:03 UTC 2010

Ken, you are correct. Drupal has much 'turnkey' functionality to offer. 
However, many of the features you mentioned would leverage existing 
functionality in custom ways. In some cases, this might require writing 
"glue" code to get different modules working together in the right ways. 
Understand that Drupal is more of a tool kit than other CMSs are. Hence, 
there are many different ways a developer might propose to skin your 
cat, depending on their knowledge of and comfort with different build 
paths. For example:

Your wiki could just be a content type that allows comments and anyone 
to edit. You can aggregate these using a view which would give you a 
great deal of control over how they are presented on a page. But, in 
order to get it looking right you may have to template a view. Add in 
some popups, etc., you may have some custom javascript happening. Add in 
export to word and you have to write a custom module. Or, you could want 
to implement the wiki page as an apachesolr search to allow faceted 
navigation of topics within the wiki. Or, you could combine both 
approaches using views3.

That's probably a bad example since the wiki stuff is not the most 
challenging aspect of the RFP. The point is that Drupal is big and complex.

And the issue still is time. Three weeks just isn't enough time to put 
it all together, even using everything out of the box. And you've still 
got to take into account the css, templating, image slicing, usability 
testing, cross browser testing, server setup... you get the idea.

I could be wrong. And since I'm not bidding I probably should just shut 
up. For all I know there's someone out there who could do it. I just 
don't want you soured on the Drupal experience. And I do want to see yet 
another cool site built in Drupal, by someone who can build it right. 
I'm just really really convinced that to make this project successful 
you've got to find a way to extend the schedule.

On 11/11/2010 05:10 PM, Ken Williams wrote:
> 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 <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/>
> .
>  >>> 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
> <mailto: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
>>     <mailto: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 <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/>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
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> --
> http://samcohen.com
>
>
>
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