One for the coders - am I getting burned?

[original PM]

Hi All,

Just a quick one - I am trying to get some pretty basic coding work done and I think I am getting burned from a cost perspective.

The work we need doing is

1) Add a new field to an existing database table
2) Create a field on the UI which relates to this new database field
3) Populate the field in the IU with a drop down list of items from a pre existing database table (In the same database)
4) Populate the new database field with the users selection from 3.


Now I am being quoted 5 days for this and I am struggling to get it to more than 2 by my calculations.

But any coders out there who can give their perspective?

It's in a .net environment with SQL as the database.

Cheers!

[NotAllThere]

Half an hour?

Who is quoting 5 days, and how did you estimate 2 days?

[Unix]

Hi All,

Just a quick one - I am trying to get some pretty basic coding work done and I think I am getting burned from a cost perspective.

The work we need doing is

1) Add a new field to an existing database table
2) Create a field on the UI which relates to this new database field
3) Populate the field in the IU with a drop down list of items from a pre existing database table (In the same database)
4) Populate the new database field with the users selection from 3.


Now I am being quoted 5 days for this and I am struggling to get it to more than 2 by my calculations.

But any coders out there who can give their perspective?

It's in a .net environment with SQL as the database.

Cheers!

What about validation, testing etc. Also depends on the expereince and skills of the developer both in general and with this code base. I could do this in a few hours, but for others it might take the term of their natural life.

[mudskipper]

If it's as straightforward as you're painting, shouldn't be more than a couple of hours work.

[original PM]

Cheers for the replies much appreciated.

I get two days from effectively assigning half a day to each part - ok I know adding a field to a database will take no time at all but it's just the way I try to guesstimate.

If I told you the coder in question built the system and that is all they have been working on it for the last ten years and so therefore know the database and code inside out would that make a difference.

From what you say he seems to be taking the piss a bit...

The other issue is as soon as you question timescales his dummy goes - should I really expect a bit more professionalism with coders?

Is it normal now for coders/developers to be asked for a rough or even fine detailed breakdown of their work?

[mudskipper]

Cheers for the replies much appreciated.

I get two days from effectively assigning half a day to each part - ok I know adding a field to a database will take no time at all but it's just the way I try to guesstimate.

If I told you the coder in question built the system and that is all they have been working on it for the last ten years and so therefore know the database and code inside out would that make a difference.

From what you say he seems to be taking the piss a bit...

The other issue is as soon as you question timescales his dummy goes - should I really expect a bit more professionalism with coders?

Is it normal now for coders/developers to be asked for a rough or even fine detailed breakdown of their work?

I think it's reasonable to ask him to explain why it isn't a straightforward as it sounds. Even allowing for testing, version control, change controls, documentation, a day is stretching the job.

[original PM]

I think it's reasonable to ask him to explain why it isn't a straightforward as it sounds. Even allowing for testing, version control, change controls, documentation, a day is stretching the job.

Cheers for this - I have been working with the guy for 7 years and he has always been a bit finicky but he does produce good code.

This has come to a head as this example was routed out in SIT and UAT and we had approx 3 weeks to implement and retest before go live- I thought it was perfectly doable but got a lot of push back.

I may need to investigate to see if there are other issues which are causing this problem.

[MyUserName]

5 days is far too much unless you have a lot of related data which needs to be tested.

The job as you describe it is trivial. Do you have any kind of architecture quirks or anything?

[original PM]

5 days is far too much unless you have a lot of related data which needs to be tested.

The job as you describe it is trivial. Do you have any kind of architecture quirks or anything?

Not as far as I am aware pretty standard Microsoft tech stack. And no not loads of data at all.

The field would be used in a verification routine e.g
If that field is not population then do not allow save or print for example. Not sure if that throws up a few more issues mind you.

[garethevans1986]

WinForms? WebForms? MVC?

What kind of data layer? ORM or not?

GE