I purchased rights to open-source dating software, and sent out a proposal for substantial modifications to a programmer who came highly recommended from another dating site owner using the same platform.
I was quoted two prices and two options, Here is what he said:
"After clearly understanding the amount of work required, I estimate that it would take around 320 hours of coding. That means it would take around 8 weeks to complete the task ... There is also another plan with around 240 hours of coding and 6 weeks for completion ... The difference between the two is level of accuracy, stability and standardization of code (which means that while making your functions functional, I also take care of the unwarranted conditions that may or may not happen). That makes your website robust, stable, and your website do better error handling for fast debugging. In first case the code is well documented and tested to make it robust and easy for future integration/upgrades, but in later case emphasis is on towards completing the features. You will get your work done in both cases with the functionality you mentioned. But the differences are clearly mentioned."
Option # 2 costs 25 percent more than Option # 1.
Ultimately I decided I would do some 80/20 analysis, prioritize the proposed modifications, then break the modifications into phases, with an eye to getting the site on the market sooner than later. Some features (like blogging, for example) are just not that important to what I am trying to accomplish and can wait for a subsequent upgrade. .
In any event ... I know very little about programming and it does not make sense for me to try to become an expert in it. I'll stick to site design and marketing. So I have a few questions (if you don't mind my asking).
First: How important do you suspect the optional "code standardization" is in the big picture ...? Is this essential ... or do you think the potential "debugging" issues can be just as easily addressed at some later date if and as they arise?
Second: (and I know this is a rookie question for programmers) ... what is the main cause of bugs? Faulty programming ...? Or faulty hardware ...?
Thanks!
I was quoted two prices and two options, Here is what he said:
"After clearly understanding the amount of work required, I estimate that it would take around 320 hours of coding. That means it would take around 8 weeks to complete the task ... There is also another plan with around 240 hours of coding and 6 weeks for completion ... The difference between the two is level of accuracy, stability and standardization of code (which means that while making your functions functional, I also take care of the unwarranted conditions that may or may not happen). That makes your website robust, stable, and your website do better error handling for fast debugging. In first case the code is well documented and tested to make it robust and easy for future integration/upgrades, but in later case emphasis is on towards completing the features. You will get your work done in both cases with the functionality you mentioned. But the differences are clearly mentioned."
Option # 2 costs 25 percent more than Option # 1.
Ultimately I decided I would do some 80/20 analysis, prioritize the proposed modifications, then break the modifications into phases, with an eye to getting the site on the market sooner than later. Some features (like blogging, for example) are just not that important to what I am trying to accomplish and can wait for a subsequent upgrade. .
In any event ... I know very little about programming and it does not make sense for me to try to become an expert in it. I'll stick to site design and marketing. So I have a few questions (if you don't mind my asking).
First: How important do you suspect the optional "code standardization" is in the big picture ...? Is this essential ... or do you think the potential "debugging" issues can be just as easily addressed at some later date if and as they arise?
Second: (and I know this is a rookie question for programmers) ... what is the main cause of bugs? Faulty programming ...? Or faulty hardware ...?
Thanks!
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