Re: Long-distance contracts

[Fabien Vais <phantoms -at- ACCENT -dot- NET>]

In reply to John Posada,

I disagree with you when you say that working on long-distance contracts is
equivalent to doings things "barely right". Granted, some projects do not
lend themselves well to not being on-site, but others are perfectly suited.

I have worked (on a contract basis) on some projects where it only made
sense to do most of my work on-site. I wasn't given any specifications, no
screens were available for me to start my work (user documentation), and I
had to start by interviewing SMEs about the product. So, obviously, I was at
my client's site most of the time. I would have insisted in doing so myself,
and I would have refused the job if I hadn't been able to be on-site at
least a good deal of the time.

However, many other projects can easily be VERY PROFESSIONALLY done from a
distance. I am currently working on a large technical translation project
(screens, menus, commands, error messages, forms, Online Help system, User
Guide) with another US city, and I really don't need to be on-site for this.
I suggested to my client, and they immediately agreed with me, that I should
come and see them at the beginning of the project to get to know the people
and to start working using their software, templates and working methods. So
I spent a week on-site in Atlanta to get the project going. Now, I'm back
home to complete the 3-4 month project. Everything is running smoothly. We
are in daily contact through e-mail, fax, and telephone. My client is very
pleased with the way things are going, and I am meeting all expected
deadlines. Never once was I told that it would have been better if I were
on-site for the whole project.

So, although I agree that for certain specific projects, it is better to
work on-site, I totally disagree with John Posada that for projects that
lend themselves to distance contracts, the quality would be "barely right".
If you are a professional, you will provide professional work and
professional service. I never settle for "barely right". And I never get
completely paid until my client is COMPLETELY satisfied, not just after I
send them the last files.

Also, long-distance contracts may not even slow down a project (no
commuting, no chatting at the office, etc.), particularly in the case of a
well-planned project where there are no "cut-throat" deadlines.

Fabien Vais
phantoms -at- accent -dot- net

At 01:00 PM 6/16/97 -0400, you wrote:
>>> RE: Fabien says he can do work for a client around the world just as well as
>for a client down the street.
>
>
>Fabien...I hate to say this, but no, you can't.  Maybe you can do work from a
>distance, but you (or anyone, nothing personal) cannot handle contracts "just
>as easily" as you can in person.
>
>I also have a "darn good" settup at home...desktop and portable Pentiums,
>modem, ISDN, groupware (Lotus Notes), all the software you can possibly think
>of, teleconferencing with video capabilty, etc.  However, what I (or you) don't
>have from off-site is the ability to grab 2 or 3 associates, drag them to an
>empty conference room, and take care of a
>problem/issue/situation/assignment/etc., immediately.
>
>There is a difference between working at home a couple of days a week from a
>home office and being in one country and working for a company in another
>country.
>
>I have writers come to me proposing that I use them for either long-term or
>permanent positions and they tell me the same thing...that they can handle the
>assignment just as well as sonmeone who can show up at the spur of the moment
>When I start asking them how they will handle certain situations, they realize
>that there isd a difference between doing something "barely right", and doing
>it well.   I can't use "barely right".  I need the best I can get when I need
>it.
>
>John Posada
>Tactical Applications Group
>Ernst & Young
>john -dot- posada -at- ey -dot- com
>
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