Presentation given by @akucharski at the #14ntcdrupal non for profit conference drupal day in Washington DC. Tips on how to improve your chances of success for fixed budget projects. Covers the RFP process, contracting and terms, project planning and post project implementation maintenance.

1. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
March 12th, 2014
14NTC

2. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» Quick glance at Promet
What is a Fixed Budget project
How to find the right vendor & how to engage
How to execute
Post Production - this is where the life of the project starts
Q&A
Agenda

3. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
About me
Andy Kucharski - @akucharski
● President and Founder
● Big Six management consulting experience
● Implemented specialty online eCommerce and B2B
transaction systems for Yahoo, MSN, Sony, Sprint,
Ericsson, Best Buy, and Bank of America
● Introduced and implemented open source solutions
at Sprint and Executive Office of the President
● Frequent speaker and open source evangelist
○ DrupalCons: San Francisco, Denver
○ Drupal Camps: Singapore, Chicago, Bay Area,
Iowa, Washington DC, Ohio
○ Industry conferences: Higher Ed Web, NTEN

4. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
About Promet
➢ Founded in 2003
➢ Open source technologists
➢ Drupal platform since 2008
➢ Mobile apps since 2009
➢ Based in Chicago
➢ Distributed global team
➢ Agile development practices
➢ 24x7 support

5. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» Our Specialty – Complex system development and implementation
with leading open source software
» Our Experience – We have a strong management consulting &
system integration background
» Our Culture – We are passionate about our work, hold ourselves to
the highest standards and maintain a culture of continuous
improvement
» Our Technology Focus – We have been focused on the Drupal
platform for the last 6+ years, and have partnered with agencies to
implement hundreds of solutions
» Our Implementation Approach – We have a very strong DevOps
culture and our development approach allows rapid release cycles
» Support – We build and support critical applications built with Drupal
every day
Key differentiators

6. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
A sample of our clients

7. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Quick glance at Promet
» What is a Fixed Budget project
How to find the right vendor & how to engage
How to execute
Post Production - this is where the life of the project starts
Q&A
Agenda

8. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» Web design
» Web application implementation
» Web content migration
» Web integration with AMS/CRM
» Web site consolidation
And we want to know exactly how long this will take and how
much this will cost upfront!
Typical Web project

9. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Fixed price vs. Fixed budget
» Fixed price
• Scope, time, and
budget all fixed upfront
• Demands complete and
clear requirements
defined before the start
» Fixed budget
• Budget is set
• But at least one or both
(scope, time) are
variable

10. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Fixed budget to the rescue
Change your focus
» From $ spent to how much
value is being created
» From juggling change orders to
expecting and welcoming
changes
» From your side vs. my side to
to unified project team

11. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
How to structure the project?

12. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» When to use Agile methodology
» When rapid production is more important than the quality of the product.
» When clients will be able to change the scope of the project.
» When there isn’t a clear picture of what the final product should look
like.
» When you have skilled developers who are adaptable and able to think
independently.
» When to use Waterfall methodology
» When there is a clear picture of what the final product should be.
» When clients won’t have the ability to change the scope of the project
once it has begun.
» When definition, not speed, is key to success
Waterfall vs. Agile
http://www.base36.com/2012/12/agile-waterfall-methodologies-a-side-by-side-comparison/

13. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Quick glance at Promet
What is a Fixed Budget project
» How to find the right vendor & how to engage
How to execute
Post Production - this is where the life of the project starts
Q&A
Agenda

14. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» Referral/Recommendation
» Reputation
» Relationship
» RFP
The start of a new relationship

15. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» Summary
» Scope
» Design
» Migration
» Integration
» Price
» Budget Range
» Timeline
» Contractual Terms
» Evaluation Criteria
RFP process

16. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Limit Cone of Uncertainty
» Someone to talk to
» Detailed Scope
» Price
» Timeline
RFP process - What are vendors looking for?

17. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
RFP process - Break it into two?
» Discovery
Phase
» Sprint 0
» Jumpstart
» Audit

18. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» Fit
» References
» Project Team
» Availability & Timeline
RFP process - Don’t cut these corners

19. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» Negotiate for what is important to you:
» Timeline
» Money
» Quality
» Payment terms (holdback)
» Warranty period
» Definition of what is done
» Team (off shore, contractors)
Legal process - Common tactics

20. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» Contract is executed
In a landmark 1995 study, the
Standish Group established that only
about 17% of IT projects could be
considered "fully successful,"
another 52% were "challenged" (they
didn't meet budget, quality or time
goals) and 30% were "impaired or
failed.
Congratulations - we have a winner!

21. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Quick glance at Promet
What is a Fixed Budget project
How to find the right vendor & how to engage
» How to execute
Post Production - this is where the life of the project starts
Q&A
Agenda

22. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Functionality matrix

23. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Remove risk element by
identifying which
requirements are
absolutely necessary to
succeed
Working the Project - MoSCoW

24. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
High level plan and project lifecycle
Start Here

25. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» Content
» Stakeholder buy in
» Change Management
» LIVE!
Launch!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicwise/

26. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Quick glance at Promet
What is a Fixed Budget project
How to find the right vendor & how to engage
How to execute
» Post Production - this is where the life of the project starts
Q&A
Agenda

27. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
» How long is the warranty period?
» What is included?
» What was UAT?
» Support
» Security updates
» Ongoing maintenance
» User feedback implementation
» Conversion testing
Support & Warranty

28. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
My contact info:
andy@prometsource.com
@akucharksi
Q&A

29. » Managed support services for Drupal sites
• Proactive (monitor and address issues, provide recommendations)
• Dedicated support staff (not pulled from projects)
» 24x7x4 coverage and response to emergencies
• Live people (global staff ensures coverage, by phone not just emails or tickets)
• SLA (emergency and critical issue response & escalation within 4 hours)
» Development level support
• Modules (we will touch the code for core, contributed, and custom)
• Systems integration (we will support code for integrating with 3rd
party vendors/services)
» QA and testing
• QA automatically performed for all updates and changes to site
• Custom tests created and run for critical site functionality (integrations)
» Flexible monthly plans
• Scaled to meet your organization’s needs
• Monthly hours can adjust as required
Key Support Capabilities

30. →
→
→
Support/Enhancement Request Process

31. Succeeding with Fixed Budgets
Agile Building and Review
Frequent
Feedback