Tell Me Your Budget Or You Get a Camry

I want a new car.  An automatic. I want leather seats, a moonroof, and a built-in GPS. I want it to drive comfortably and last a long time. So… what’ll that cost me? What? You want to know my budget? Why? Read More  Read More

Fixed Price or Hourly: Is There a Better Way?

Previously we discussed the pros and cons of fixed price vs. hourly contracts. We followed up with a discussion about the difficulty of estimation, the importance of setting a “least acceptable outcome”, and budgeting well above that point. To recap: Fixed price contracts provide clients with the illusion of budget clarity, but at the cost of inflexibility. Hourly arrangements seem ideal… for the agency. After all, the longer... Read More

Be An Airline Pilot, Not An Astronaut

Is your project like sending a rocket ship to the moon, requiring even the tiniest detail to be specified exactly up front? Or is it more like a flight from Los Angeles to New York, with a general and mostly accurate flight plan but with a human pilot capable of course correction during flight? Read More  Read More

But Won’t You Bilk Me If I Pay By The Hour?

After a long search, you’ve finally found the perfect web designer. Her examples are beautiful, she has fantastic references, and her process looks great. But she bills by the hour, and that has you nervous. What if she takes way longer to design your site than she estimates? What happens if she gives you initial comps and you hate all of them – why should you have to pay her more money when she didn’t make you happy in the first... Read More