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Genuinely curious, how do you mitigate scope creep when you charge by product? What stops the client from pushing back when there's a bug in the future or featu

Genuinely curious, how do you mitigate scope creep when you charge by product? What stops the client from pushing back when there's a bug in the future or feature request they think should have been included?

chadash 6y ago
I do this very much part time and with recurring clients so I don't have a great generalizable answer. But for me, I charge a fixed price and then it's on me if there are bugs (actually, the incentives are nicely aligned here. Fewer bugs means less work for me and less hassle for my clients). As far as feature requests, I will throw in small things for free, even if not agreed upon. The assumption that I'll need to do extra little things here and there is built into my rate. For bigger things, it's important that expectations are set upfront and are clear to everyone. That way, if someone wants a new feature, they can have it for a price.
shrutipathak 6y ago
In the past, I have always only charged for the entire project all at once instead of by the hour. Main trick to mitigating feature crap I have used is by first I add extra padding to cost. Second i tell my clients that I provide free maintenance for 2 weeks after the project si delivered. Mostly this helps because clients want speed over reliability. So we push and the next two weeks is bug fixing - sometimes it's three. However no matter what happens I would never build a new feature in the maintenance period
- neolog 6y ago
  How many weeks are these projects, including the 2 free weeks?
caseysoftware 6y ago
Draw clear boundaries up front - "This is in scope, this is out of scope" - and make it an itemized list if possible. First, it pushes that conversation to the beginning and can make it negotiable. Then it reduces surprises throughout. And finally, it gives you the ability to say "No, we agreed to.." when you need. Nothing is perfect but it mitigates some risk.
stronglikedan 6y ago
A very precise, unambiguous Design Document, the drafting of which is included in the price.
mechEpleb 6y ago
You agree on a very explicit set of deliverables upfront. Whenever the client attempts feature creep simply tell them that it's gonna cost extra time for you and extra money for them. If they persist give them a quote for it.
exolymph 6y ago
You have to be willing to lose clients is the real answer. They try to get you to do some extra bullshit not in the brief, you say no / offer a quote. If that doesn't sit well with them, so be it. BATNA is everything.

chadash 6y ago

I do this very much part time and with recurring clients so I don't have a great generalizable answer. But for me, I charge a fixed price and then it's on me if there are bugs (actually, the incentives are nicely aligned here. Fewer bugs means less work for me and less hassle for my clients). As far as feature requests, I will throw in small things for free, even if not agreed upon. The assumption that I'll need to do extra little things here and there is built into my rate. For bigger things, it's important that expectations are set upfront and are clear to everyone. That way, if someone wants a new feature, they can have it for a price.

shrutipathak 6y ago

In the past, I have always only charged for the entire project all at once instead of by the hour. Main trick to mitigating feature crap I have used is by first I add extra padding to cost. Second i tell my clients that I provide free maintenance for 2 weeks after the project si delivered. Mostly this helps because clients want speed over reliability. So we push and the next two weeks is bug fixing - sometimes it's three. However no matter what happens I would never build a new feature in the maintenance period

neolog 6y ago
How many weeks are these projects, including the 2 free weeks?

caseysoftware 6y ago

Draw clear boundaries up front - "This is in scope, this is out of scope" - and make it an itemized list if possible. First, it pushes that conversation to the beginning and can make it negotiable. Then it reduces surprises throughout. And finally, it gives you the ability to say "No, we agreed to.." when you need. Nothing is perfect but it mitigates some risk.

stronglikedan 6y ago

A very precise, unambiguous Design Document, the drafting of which is included in the price.

mechEpleb 6y ago

You agree on a very explicit set of deliverables upfront. Whenever the client attempts feature creep simply tell them that it's gonna cost extra time for you and extra money for them. If they persist give them a quote for it.

exolymph 6y ago

You have to be willing to lose clients is the real answer. They try to get you to do some extra bullshit not in the brief, you say no / offer a quote. If that doesn't sit well with them, so be it. BATNA is everything.