[thelist] Fulltime to freelance

[sbeam]

On Tuesday 25 November 2008 15:41, Lee Kowalkowski wrote:
> 1. "requirement specifications are always wrong".

one might also say: "Absolute statements are always wrong"

> 2. "The only thing worse than having developers deviate from the
> design specs is having developers implement the design specs to the
> letter".

So what do you do? just wing it? oh, I mean "use Agile methodology"? How do 
you get paid for doing that? What if your agility leads you to implement a 
whole new slew of features that you decided were absolutely necessary, and 
the client disagrees? What if they thought they were getting Feature X but 
your agile team decided it was a case of YAGNI? What if they decide they 
don't like your invoice being 400% higher than your original estimate? Or 
your estimate being 400% more than your competitor's? 

I am asking in honest curiosity (with a tad of snarkiness). Because I like to 
program and I like programmers and so *always* use a developer-centric 
approach, but I also like to get paid for what I do even more. So we set 
expectations clearly with the client. And it reduces potential for (legal) 
disputes, which it should be said are the *worst* thing that can happen to 
you as a freelancer or small shop.

Sam