Barcamp Hyderabad is scheduled on 28th March, 2008. Register at http://barcamp.org/BarCampHyderabad6
Barcamp Bangalore is scheduled on 19th and 20th April, 2008. Register at : http://barcampbangalore.org/wiki/Main_Page
Software development is not easy for startups. With a PowerPoint presentation and a few arguments that convince your friends, you can’t achieve the precision and refinement in thinking that a fixed price contract needs. An umbrella Time and Material contract with modules in fixed pricing can work for you.
It is our nature that we will not be able to get to the finest level of detail for a big application. Generally, entrepreneurs have a vague idea. Their thinking evolves–you add modules, change them and scrap others. But if you signed a fixed price contract, you can’t go back and change it every time you change your requirements. The moot question will then be who will bear the additional cost –the software services vendor or the entrepreneur? This lands the project in trouble.
To avoid this, I recommend that you sign an umbrella Time and Material (per hour or per person month) contract and sign a fixed price for each module. Though it is not possible for you to document an entire application, you can think through and document the details for each module (size of about a tenth of an application). Then sign a fixed price bid for each module. Not only will the service providers be willing to sign a fixed price because they know - because they have it written-what they are getting into. If you sign fixed price, effort over runs for smaller modules will be borne by the vendor and not you.
This framework is more attuned to your nature, gives you more time to pen down the requirements and is more likely to be successful.
The past week was exciting. First, take a look at this post my friend wrote. It’s great to see such success and is worthy of emulation. All three (Kaps, Ashwin and I) interned in Citibank in Chennai at the same time.
Second, I read three fantastic articles. These are must-read for aspiring entrepreneurs.
