Bad Contract Experience - Any Advice?

[NickFitz]

So, with that, I state my resigation, my flounce, goodbye.

Good riddance.

There are currently 117 users online. 4 members and 113 guests

As usual, looking through the "Who's Online" pages reveals that the vast majority of "Guest" users are looking at threads in the Professional forum.

The "General" thread that has the greatest number of viewers right now (13 of them) is... "My Train Journey This Morning"

It seems that the high and mighty of General are being trounced by gricerboy when it comes to posting threads that are of interest to people other than themselves

[NotAllThere]

The OP should get a copy of Yourdon's "Death March". Very handy for all dreadful projects.

[rootsnall]

Sounds like a duff contract, but the concept of walking out after 8 hours and potentially leaving others in the stink I don't agree is good advice. It obviously depends on the contract, no two client are ever the same, some expect more than others. Acting in a uniform (permie mentality) way however is not clever and if they wanted that mindset they wouldn't have hired a contractor.

Yes, but they want out of a contract from hell.

I would have a word with the client if you want to leave, if they are happy for you to go then get them to give you notice ( via the agency ). Or give the agent 4 weeks notice with a written reason why you can't continue, throw in something personal and state that 4 weeks is giving them time to find a replacement. I very much doubt it would come back to haunt you.

While you are there, do strict 9 to 5 as stated by others.

[Paddy]

Hi All,

I am working on a contract for a Large Blue Chip Org, in a project environment.

It turns out our Project Manager is going to lose her job and is being driven to deliver via lots of pressure. In the process we are working 14 hour days and weekends and are run into the ground, As she is so desperate we are all suffering as a consequence our lives are made a misery. At best the deliverable we be half cocked and poor quality and as contractors we depend on a good reference to go on to another job - so just handing in a notice will guarantee a crap reference and a black list to this company for future work.

Any advice?

cheers

You must distinguish between contractors and pemie-temp staff.

If you are a contractor and presuming you have a limited company, then you are in business. Treat your contract as a business venture. For example; you could not take your car to the garage and expect them to work on your car all hours of the day and night for free so don’t do yourself a disservice.

Don’t worry about references, there is always a work-around. There is no “black list”. In fact after me giving agents two fingers they have told me that they would never contact me again only to have them phone a few weeks later and offer me another contract.

Invoice your agent for the extra hours you have worked on a pro-rata basis. If the agent don’s pay up then push him for the money. Grow some balls.

If I am on a daily rate; I normally work 6-7 hours, 8 maximum unless there is the odd problem.

[suityou01]

Stick it out. Your PM's problems are not yours (remember she's the one who is getting the boot, not you). Try to get any strange directions in an email, keep copies offsite and keep your head down. It's extremely unlikely you'll be given a crap reference if you stay with the project.
Do the others feel the same? Could you get together and express your concerns about the long days and quality (in a polite and non-threatening way)? Give specific examples of where it is going wrong though - nobody likes a whinger. Go out after work and get pissed, chat about the work with your colleagues and let off some steam?

SY01 may be able to offer a different perspective on this.

Maybe. Need a little more info about this PM.

1) Do you get on with her? (sounds like you do)
2) Is there a project plan.

If the answer to 1 is yes, then try and avoid getting into situations where you feel like you "owe her" and then work all hours to deliver the impossible.
If the answer to 2 is no, then try and avoid getting taken into meeting rooms just you and her. She will only want to take you to one side to give you a kicking (my experience). Never again for me. If any PM tried this again I would resolutely ask question 2.

If the answer to 2 is no, then just do your 9-5 and when people talk about deadlines say that you have not seen a plan so you aren't working to any, and you are going as fast as you can without compromising quality.

If the answer to 2 is yes, then ask them to show you what you are allocated to each week, at what percentage utilisation and what your deliverable are. As soon as any unplanned work comes in (unless it is a really quick thing) point out that this is an unplanned activity and will impact your deliverables. Estimate against this unplanned activity and if they prioritise it over your current work stream or critical path then ask to see the revised project plan and new deliverable dates.

Also, your business presumably only has one consultant, so look after him.

[TimberWolf]

The OP should get a copy of Yourdon's "Death March". Very handy for all dreadful projects.

WTF:-

Death march projects are becoming increasingly common in the software industry. The symptoms are obvious: The project schedule, budget, and staff are about half of what is necessary for completion. The planned feature set is unrealistic. People are working 14 hours a day, six or seven days a week, and stress is taking its toll. The project has a high risk of failure, yet management is either blind to the situation or has no alternative. Why do these irrational projects happen, and what, other than pure idiocy, leads people to get involved in them?
Amazon.com: Death March (2nd Edition) (0076092025108): Edward Yourdon: Books

Good call.

[alreadypacked]

The OP should get a copy of Yourdon's "Death March". Very handy for all dreadful projects.

In the hard back addition, at the very front, he had two pages of things to look out for when you arrive on a new project.
Slipping schedules.
Cartoons on walls (Dilbert etc)
Staff churn etc. etc.

At the end of the second page he said, if you can see more than half of these signs on your project, my only advise is to get out now! You are on a Death March, this project is not going anywhere. My book will only help you survive mission impossible projects.

[lje]

If I am on a daily rate; I normally work 6-7 hours, 8 maximum unless there is the odd problem.

I'm quite surprised by the number of hours which people are willing to work for a daily rate. I normally do around 8 hours but I will do extra when needed - and sometimes I'll do less. Overall I'll do more though. The important thing is that no-one is pressuring me to do certain hours. I decide what I'm willing to do given the urgency of the work which I have on.

However, I wouldn't do 14 hours a day every day. That wouldn't be acceptable and I would be renegotiating with the client.

[Mich the Tester]

I think it’s fine to show a bit of flexibility and stay on extra to solve problems you may yourself have caused, but working silly hours to save a poor project manager who also puts unreasonable pressure on people is not professional behaviour; it’s unprofessional because it maintains a status quo that is damaging to the ClientCo and it damages the standard of work you can deliver. I say that because I’ve been in that situation myself and noticed the standard of my work slipping below the level a client should be able to expect. ClientCo need to replace their project manager with someone more competent in planning and leadership. It’s not the OP’s problem to solve. Of course, ClientCos in this situation usually replace the project manager with someone who’s even worse, but the OP might get lucky.

In the situation the OP describes, having learnt from previous experiences, I work my 8 hours and then go home. If the PM or the ClientCo don’t like me for that, then tough. Lump me or dump me. I work to live; I don’t live to work.

[doodab]

and this is the bad thing about contracting - you have to stick it out......

I had a PM say that to me once. I replied "no I don't, I'm on 5 days notice" and promptly gave it. Short periods of pressure are one thing, and of course we all need the money at the moment, but it's really not worth risking your health. You'll lose a lot more work if you have a stress induced nervous breakdown than you will because you give notice on a contract. I've done both, and there is only one I'm ever going to do again.