Estimating hours for XML to FrameMaker project

[Pspubs -at- aol -dot- com]

Can you help me? I really need some advice from someone experienced with 
XML-to-FrameMaker imports/exports. Please take pity! :-)

I'm preparing to work on a XML-to-FrameMaker import/export project for a 
client, and they naturally want a quote. Although I have done the import before, I 
haven't done it often and so will probably work slower than someone who's 
very familiar with it. However, I don't want to charge the client for my learning 
curve, so I'd like to get a ballpark idea of how long it would take someone 
who is up to speed.

Here are the particulars:

--The objective is to create an FrameMaker report that shows 52 elements of 
data for each state in the union. Therefore, a template must be created which 
will be repeated about 50 times. I suppose I will have to write a routine that 
will query for the data for each state in turn.

--The template will have four headings (all with overbars), a text sidebar, 
an anchored frame that will contain a graphic and a table, and 12 more tables 
(with borders and shading). 

-- We're starting with two XML files that were made from two Excel files, so 
the data is unstructured and in no particular order.

--One of the XML files has the information about each state in the union (52 
elements).  

--The other XML file is contact information that must be filtered differently 
for each state. As it stands now, this is the only filtering needed.

--As I understand it, it's not possible to import two XML files into a single 
FrameMaker file (if this untrue, please let me know). We considered making a 
book of two FrameMaker files (one for the state data and one for the contact 
information), but the client does not want a page break before the contact 
information. (Is it possible to have a new FrameMaker chapter without a page 
break? I hadn't thought so, but perhaps I'm wrong.) Therefore, we plan to combine 
the two XML files into one XML file and import that into FrameMaker.

Here are the two tasks I need to estimate.

--Use XSL to combine the two XML files into one, in a more structured format 
that matches the desired FrameMaker report. 

--Import the resulting structured XML file into FrameMaker.

I know this is difficult, but can you help me estimate a range for how long 
this might reasonably take? Mostly I'm concerned about making the quote way too 
high or way too low.

For example, at first I thought 30-60 hours, but now I'm thinking longer, 
like maybe between 45-90 hours. Is this way too high, about right, or much too 
low?

Thanks so much for your help!

--Becky Scott
  PS Publications
  1400 Pershing Drive
  Lansing, MI  48910
  (517) 485-2975
  pspubs -at- aol -dot- com or beckyrps -at- transedge -dot- com 
I 

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