Patrick Shaw’s Weblog

When I first started working at NPower Seattle - it was a bit more true than not that an agency budget was a great indicator for capacity to undertake a technology project.

For instance - the smaller the budget - the more likely that an agency wouldn’t be able to fund a planning, implementation, training and maintenance phase. AND - would also require additional help creating business rules, understanding how technology could help, overcoming knowledge gaps and more.

I don’t think that holds true any longer - or at least it holds LESS true. Recently, one of my customers (small budget, small staff) went through a small planning scope and asked some great questions. You should ask YOUR vendor these questions, too:

1. You’re right, the cost is a bit of a stretch for us; we were hoping to get it into the $ range. Can you give me any ideas of what could be cut to save money, and if we did cut something, what that would mean to the integrity of the project?
2. Since data migration is the most expensive thing, is there something that we could do here to take some of that on, like data entry for example, or is it just easier/more efficient to do it on your end?
3. Are you considering the grand total as a maximum that might go down from there, or as a median, that could go up or down? (Or, I suppose, a minimum that might go up?)

And they finished with a great comment, too:

We, of course have to be conscious of cost, but also want this project to be the best it can be, so please feel free to be frank with me about any drawbacks to cutting cost.

Here’s my takeaway:

• Help your customer ask great questions.
• Answer them honestly.
• Be transparent about your pricing
• Ensure that you’re delivering a product that is in THEIR best interests!