Post by thread:[OT] dealing with unrealistic specs

<x-flowed> Phillip said: >Ah Wagner, I guess you've never encountered the customer who took some >electronics courses twenty years ago and, though he has no idea of the >significance of what he's seeing, has a better oscilloscope than you do? > >I've had a few of those customers over the years, and it sure is infuriating. >Reminds me of a sign in an auto repair shop: > Labor Rate: $50/hr > If you watch: $75/hr > If you help: $500/hr > >Then there's the customers who need tons of documentation that no one will >ever look at (ever do military work? medical design?). You can't just sign >your name to a falsified test report and not expect to get bitten one day. > >Yeah the customer's always nuts, but he can usually afford bigger lawyers than >I can. Be careful. > There are exceptions, but isn't the typical customer technically naive by definition? If he had the resources to precisely define the problem, he would probably have the resources for solving it himself. Seems to me that it helps (for your own protection) to make sure that the problem to be solved is accurately documented. OTOH you have to be careful not to become an unpaid writer of specs for somebody else to look at and actually DO the job... I'm particularly sensitive to this issue because I'm starting a part-time consulting business. My specialty is designing and building special-purpose test and assembly fixtures for local manufacturing companies, using embedded controllers. I'd be grateful for any pointers to boilerplate contracting agreement forms, tips on pitfalls to avoid, and general horror stories. (Offlist if appropriate) Reg Neale </x-flowed>

Reginald Neale wrote: > There are exceptions, but isn't the typical customer > technically naive by definition? If he had the resources to > precisely define the problem, he would probably have the > resources for solving it himself. Not a safe assumption, IMHO. My customer base includes some very high tech companies which sometimes find it easier to farm out work than to do it in house. Do they check that what I deliver is what they ordered? You bet they do. Other customers, OTOH are quite naive. Many of them wouldn't care if the end product was powered by a hamster on wheel, as long as it performed the intended task (which MUST be documented). Then there are the naive customers who think they know more than you do, which I mentioned in my original posting. True story: I had one customer use a 5 GHz scope to check the timing on a controller who's fastest clock was 10KHz. They kind of forgot about significant figures, and gave me a hell of a time. > > Seems to me that it helps (for your own protection) to make sure > that the problem to be solved is accurately documented. > OTOH you have to be careful not to become an unpaid > writer of specs for somebody else to look at and actually > DO the job... I was bitten by this at least twice, and have vowed not to let it happen again. My strategy has been to agree on an up-front payment for X hours, where X is determined by the complexity of the project. The work performed during that time is towards developing a spec. Sometimes this process is broken into several stages, but ALWAYS with an agreement for payment. That way, should they decide to take my spec elsewhere, at least I've been paid for my research time. {Quote hidden}> > I'm particularly sensitive to this issue because I'm > starting a part-time consulting business. My specialty > is designing and building special-purpose test and > assembly fixtures for local manufacturing companies, > using embedded controllers. I'd be grateful for any > pointers to boilerplate contracting agreement forms, tips > on pitfalls to avoid, and general horror stories. > (Offlist if appropriate) > I, too would like to see some sample contracts. I'm not entirely happy with the one I'm using. I hired an attorney to write a new one, and he came up with a twelve page manifesto, which didn't even cover most of my points. My second biggest tip: Get cash up front. I have customers who pay me in blocks of, say, twenty hours. When their account runs dry, I stop working. You'd be surprised how many of them will fall for....I mean agree to that. Failing that, get a written personal guarantee from an officer of the company for any debts incurred. That's a standard part of a credit application, and they should have no problem with it. My biggest tip: Do a good job. > Reg Neale Phillip -- Phillip M. Vogel, President | "It's not what you've been taught, Bartal Design Group, Inc. | it's what you've learned." (me) 318 Marlboro Road | +1-201-567-1343 FAX:+1-201-568-2891 Englewood, NJ 07631 USA | spam_OUTphillipTakeThisOuTbartal.com