On Saturday 28 February 2004 07:33 am, Dmitriy Fitisov scribbled:
> Hello fellas,
>  I just got request to quote job,
>  which I never done before.
> How do you quote it?

Are you asking how to scope it (come up with a fair estimate of time invo=
lved=20
to develop it)?   Or asking how to format a proposal to the customer?

> I suspect it is about a week to work with.
> Thanks.
> Dmitriy


To scope a project, the way I tackle it is to start with a high-level=20
definition of the functionality and then break it down into smaller=20
sub-tasks, until you can estimate a sub-task with reasonable accuracy.  I=
f=20
you don't feel comfortable estimating any sub-task, then break that down =
even=20
more.

Then add a buffer factor to allow for unforseen issues, etc.  The amount=20
depends on balancing your comfort level with the estimate against a guess=
 of=20
how much the customer would actually spend, and how much you want the job=
 (in=20
some cases you might charge less to get a customer to see your work, get=20
references, etc).  Also, if you have modules already developed from past=20
projects (that you own and can re-use), you may want to give the customer=
 a=20
labor-break on some of these, because the customer may have come to you s=
ince=20
you were experienced in some areas and therefore expect you to work faste=
r in=20
these areas.  It's a big judgement call.

Then add up the tasks, multiply by your labor rate, and roll this up to a=
=20
final price.

When submitting a quote to a customer, you may want to give the customer =
a=20
quick breakdown of the sub-tasks and the hours required on each, and then=
 the=20
total hours/price.  I avoid giving too much detail, since I don't want th=
em=20
stealing ideas for the architecture/etc.

One important thing to do is to things of how the project might stray in =
terms=20
of added functionality or possible interpretations of added functionality=
 and=20
state these limitations so that they don't hold you responsible for this.=
 =20
Also state what you expect from the customer (support & equipment), and=20
whether it is a fixed price or hourly (meaning that you've given them a f=
air=20
estimate, but the final price will depend on actual hours spent, which ma=
y be=20
more or less).  And state your payment terms as well.

I'm really going off of a software scoping technique I use, but it should=
 not=20
be much different for PIC/embedded development.  And a 1-week project wil=
l=20
probably be very high-level, even as short as a page or two for the final=
=20
proposal to the customer.

Cheers,
-Neil.

--
http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different
ways.  See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.