The real problem with a moneyless transaction like the one proposed here is that there is nothing to discipline the requestor. He can ask for frivilous things over and above the main requirements by holding out the promise of better and bigger things to come later. From first hand experience in this kind of arrangement, I know that the quality of the specs and testing also suffers as the requestor treats any extra effort on his part as a nuisuance and of course code can be revised again and again and again at his whim.
The relationship is kept in much better balance if everything is billable. This will restrain the requestor to those items which have value and give him the necessary incentive to maxmize the effort of the coder.
Having said that, I dont believe that the OP is being deceptive or dishonest. But his comments strike me as someone who is inexperienced in software project management. Coding expertise does not count for project management skill. Only working in a project environment can develop this skill. So to work for a first timer, the coder should be someone who has the motivation to put up with the frustration of working with someone on a learning curve. Again a fee based arrangement would work better for both parties.
The relationship is kept in much better balance if everything is billable. This will restrain the requestor to those items which have value and give him the necessary incentive to maxmize the effort of the coder.
Having said that, I dont believe that the OP is being deceptive or dishonest. But his comments strike me as someone who is inexperienced in software project management. Coding expertise does not count for project management skill. Only working in a project environment can develop this skill. So to work for a first timer, the coder should be someone who has the motivation to put up with the frustration of working with someone on a learning curve. Again a fee based arrangement would work better for both parties.
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