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Questions - Going from Hourly to Per Project Basis? (take III)
Subject:Questions - Going from Hourly to Per Project Basis? (take III) From:"Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 1 Oct 2003 12:44:23 -0400
Chuck Martin wondered about my suggestion that managers "should guarantee
that they`ll yell at anyone not willing to make themselves available to
you." <<What're the odds this'll actually happen, even if they do
"guarantee" it? In crunch time, if a manager has a choice between pissing
off a staff SME and scr*wing over a contract TW (who's now costing less,
thank you very much), what choice will be made (no matter what's in
writing)?>>
I raised that point primarily to ensure that this key point (access to SMEs)
is understood by the managers and is agreed upon in writing--thus, is
contractually binding if you need that kind of support later. As you note,
there's no real guarantee that you'll get the kind of access you need,
particularly during deadline crunches, but then you can at least point to
the contract and say "the reason the documentation is late is that you're
not living up to your part of the bargain".
That then gives you some leverage in bargaining: "I understand Joe won't be
available for the next week. So who else can provide the missing
information? Or will you accept a 1-week delay until Joe is available? I'll
get you the revised docs the day after I speak to Joe... promise!" It also
gives you legal support that makes it harder for them to fire you for not
meeting a deadline: "The docs haven't been delivered because you haven't
reviewed them yet. Do that and we'll be done."
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
(try ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca if you get no response)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"Wisdom is one of the few things that look bigger the further away it
is."--Terry Pratchett
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