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TBH this is pretty much how most freelance work is these days. However tying the end of a contract to the delivery deadline is usually hard to achieve. My last

by awjr 9y ago

TBH this is pretty much how most freelance work is these days. However tying the end of a contract to the delivery deadline is usually hard to achieve. My last contract was an initial 2 months that eventually lasted 7 months but I agreed in the last month to leave the moment the work was complete. If it wasn't for the 18 UI improvements the product manager came up with in the last two weeks, I would have had a nice break between contracts. :/ What I have noticed that there seems to be a skeleton dev/architect skill set within these organisations with a focus on sales/marketing. In effect us freelancers facilitate fast delivery of a product, but do leave the resident dev to hold the fort while we head off onto pastures new.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago
This structure has existed forever in government contracts. Northrop Grumman owns a shipyard and wins a contract. They build most of the ship. Raytheon supplies a missile system or three. BAE does some systems integration. A laundry list of companies you've never heard of do everything in between. At scale it's more efficient to be over/under staffed at times rather than perpetually hiring. Within the larger contractors headcount is semi-constant and they shuffle bodies from project to project as appropriate. The smaller companies you've never heard of (e.g. a machine shop that NG subbed out the run of several thousand of a part to) will hire people or bring in temps for the contract .
jmkni 9y ago
> However tying the end of a contract to the delivery deadline is usually hard to achieve. That's by design. Why end a project when you can drag it out for another month and secure another month of those sweet day rates for your big team, skimming off the top?
- crispyambulance 9y ago
  It really depends on how the contract is designed. Many government contracts have a "point of total assumption" wherein the contractor "eats" costs that go beyond some agreed threshold. In other words, if the project slips, they start losing money.
- Spooky23 9y ago
  Not if you're contract people are competent. Hold milestone payments hostage,require signoff on milestone acceptance, and be well disciplined on scope. Then stuff gets done on time. Flat rate projects go south when the buyer writes a sloppy contract, fails to deliver things they are responsible for or "shares" responsibility. When the vendor fucks up, there's a clear consequence (no $$). When that happens the project management usually gets fired.

by awjr 9y ago

dsfyu404ed 9y ago

This structure has existed forever in government contracts. Northrop Grumman owns a shipyard and wins a contract. They build most of the ship. Raytheon supplies a missile system or three. BAE does some systems integration. A laundry list of companies you've never heard of do everything in between. At scale it's more efficient to be over/under staffed at times rather than perpetually hiring. Within the larger contractors headcount is semi-constant and they shuffle bodies from project to project as appropriate. The smaller companies you've never heard of (e.g. a machine shop that NG subbed out the run of several thousand of a part to) will hire people or bring in temps for the contract .

jmkni 9y ago

> However tying the end of a contract to the delivery deadline is usually hard to achieve. That's by design. Why end a project when you can drag it out for another month and secure another month of those sweet day rates for your big team, skimming off the top?

crispyambulance 9y ago
It really depends on how the contract is designed. Many government contracts have a "point of total assumption" wherein the contractor "eats" costs that go beyond some agreed threshold. In other words, if the project slips, they start losing money.
Spooky23 9y ago
Not if you're contract people are competent. Hold milestone payments hostage,require signoff on milestone acceptance, and be well disciplined on scope. Then stuff gets done on time. Flat rate projects go south when the buyer writes a sloppy contract, fails to deliver things they are responsible for or "shares" responsibility. When the vendor fucks up, there's a clear consequence (no $$). When that happens the project management usually gets fired.