ShareThisUse Elance for a Commercial Programming Project
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I have some programming projects on the back burner (i.e. Someday) that could yield commercial success if I ever had a chance to implement them. First among those is an Android app for doctors suggested by my wife. I'm going to try to get it done via Elance. |
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Today I posted a job on Elance describing my project. I'll see what proposals come in and what they say, and if any seem reasonable, I will pick the best and pursue it. |
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If I exceed my budget ($500) or the app is finished, I'll consider this done. If this fails I won't call it the final Elance project, though. I'm willing to give it more than one try. |
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I would really like to see this project and others like it come to life. I need to get over the idea that I'm the only person that can do them, and/or that they're not worth enough to pay someone else for the initial product. |
Comments & Observations
Matthew Cornell I love it! Outsourcing can still make sense, given the pay discrepancy globally. My experience with Elance was successful - I found a Drupal programmer who I've since used again. I also outsourced audio transcriptions, which was successful, but expensive. "You don't have to go it alone" is emerging as a TTL guide.
Looking forward to hearing how it goes.
Mar 05, 2010
Brock Tice Got 9 bids with amounts ranging from about 250 to 750. Working on some NDAs for providers that want more info for their quotes, then I'll pick. Glad to see so many people think they can deliver it for under $500 and within a week!
Mar 06, 2010
Matthew Cornell Great indications, Brock. People are hungry, which makes it a perfect time for your project. Surprise #1 so far? :-)
Mar 06, 2010
Brock Tice Sure, I put it in the lowest price bracket, having no idea what the market price was for contract-writing of a simple Android app. I'm waiting for details from one more proposer, and then I'll chose one and move ahead.
Mar 15, 2010
Brock Tice I ended up with 14 proposals, only a few of which seemed actively engaged. I gave the project to the guy I had the best feeling about. I also chose him because he's a single provider (vs a team), and I've had better experience that way (GetFriday vs. AskSunday) with outsourcing in the past.
His bid was not the cheapest -- in fact it was near the top of my price range, but in the past with these kinds of decisions I've gone with my gut feeling, and it has served me well so far. We'll see how this one goes.
I'm OK with the fact that this money might never be made back from application sales. It's business-derived money and I'm using it to try to expand my business and learn about outsourcing programming work in the process. I'm waiting for him to accept my terms and then we'll see how it goes! (I'm excited!)
Mar 19, 2010
Matthew Cornell Cool! I agree re: gut. Plus, I like your experimental attitude, which says that the investment might not "work out," which indicates one dimension of evaluation or success. I wonder what other ways you can define success. As you said, you'll learn about outsourcing this way.
Mar 21, 2010
Brock Tice Got the first partial beta of the app today. Overall they're doing a great job, and fast, too. I had a number of tweaks to submit to them, and it was evident they hadn't tested the app in Landscape mode, but overall I'm impressed. They're promising delivery by the 31st.
Mar 28, 2010
Matthew Cornell Have you had any synchronous communication with them? I'm looking for a Ruby on Rails developer for Edison and wondering about communication.
Apr 20, 2010
Brock Tice I did have a little synchronous communication, via Skype and the Elance workroom. I've got the app now and am sitting on it until I have the chance to load it up, add the icon, and post a beta (which is the next stage).
Apr 28, 2010
Matthew Cornell Sweet. I'm waiting to talk to a local guy next week for Edison version 1.2. If that works out, fantastic. If not, I'll broaden as you've done.
May 04, 2010
Brock Tice App has been posted in a time-limited beta. So far I have about 25 users who've kept it installed and one 3/5 star rating. No comments yet in Android Market.
Jun 03, 2010
Matthew Cornell Hey, that's awesome, Brock. Any users are good users :-) Hopefully the feedback is constructive...
Jun 04, 2010