required to produce a web application in just 2 days

Question

What would you recommend to someone whose boss told : "your work planning of 1 month and half isn't acceptable. I need this web app (online employee evaluation system) demo done by day after tomorrow".

What steps would you take ?

I started this job on monday. I gathered requirements and constructed a product backlog on Monday. on Tuesday, I made up a plan of action that would go till February and submitted. then I got a mail saying he wants it by day after tomorrow.

the funny thing is I resigned from my last job because of too much pressure. they wanted me to work even on weekends and overtime was the norm there. I thought this would be different. too bad starting a mISV takes time. I'm really thinking going that route !

[15 min later] I just sent him an email asking him to pick the items he'd like to see in the demo from the Product backlog. (using Scrum).

Answer 1

I would email your boss an outline/summary detailing the risks of rapidly developing a web app in such a short time and then get to work. Hopefully that would be enough to cover your tail.

Also, you might be able to get by with a basic design prototype using an XML dataset. Good luck!

Answer 2

You have a number of choices

• Tell your boss it can't be done. Be honest with him/her and say they are being unreasonable
• Tell your boss that you may have a demo but it won't be pretty and might not be functional
• Leave the way it looks till last and add the functionality first and then refactor to make it pretty
• Hand in your notice and walk straight out the door. This one isnt advisable unless you know you can get work easily

Answer 3

I'll do either (or both) of the followings:

• rush up a mock up and add whatever mock features I can
• spend some time to justify why the demo cannot be done in time

Answer 4

If it were a job I know can't be done in two days, I would tell him that it's not possible, but that I'd see what I can do. Then do the best work I can without compromising basic quality standards. If I do my best, I can look him in the eye after two days and say, this is what can be done in two days, and give him an estimate when it's going to be done.

If he shuts up then, the working relationship may actually have a chance.

If this does not satisfy the boss, it might be time to change jobs.

If the deadline turns out to be a bullshit way to make you more productive, it might be time to change jobs.

Answer 5

Buy a commercial product.

That is, if it's a viable option to purchase a commercial product. Unless you plan on not sleeping for a day and a half, or you're a super genius - you're most likely not going to meet the specs they desire, considering your original estimate was a month and a half. You also said it's a demo, so maybe your boss just desires a very rough prototype?

On the flipside, if the specs really could be fulfilled within a day without scope creep on features and you originally estimated a month and a half, then maybe you're slacking. In that case, you need to start working on your skills and learn to leverage the tools you have.

Answer 6

Tell him it's impossible to do properly, but you'll see how far you'll get. Also tell him, that whatever you come up with is going to be complete throw-away, as you will have cut corners and not have time to design/architect the app properly.

Answer 7

Off-the-shelf Employee Evaluation software abounds! Why re-invent the wheel in the first place ?

Many business management functions, in areas ranging from HR to CRM, to accounting, to strategic planning [hint intended ;-)] etc. are such generic functions that a whole industry of service companies, shrink-wrap software and also mature Open Source project serve them. Such applications and services are well on their way to becoming "commodities", like say email management software or Web Browsing tools.

The real difficulty is often in selecting the proper set of solutions in this crowded and dynamic marketplace, but unless your company is trying to produce yet another Employee Evaluation solution [at which case you'll need to plan for a project in the order of man years...], most any pick you make, in a rush (say in a day...), will likely be better, and more cost effective, than any app you put together in a couple of months.
I've seen cases when the sheer difficulty of reviewing the existing offerings prompted companies like yours to decide and roll-out their own, instead; "after all it couldn't be that hard, could it?"... NOT!

Once you have selected such a solution, you can probably use their "default" configuration as-is, or for the least as the basis of your own configuration. Then with a few tweaks of said configuration you'll have a custom solution which fits your company "specifics" and culture, while leveraging the extensive expertise about Employee Performance Management which was encapsulated into these solutions during the last decade.

Ideally, your solution evaluation/selection phase should be longer than a day (but not necessarily full time!), so you get a better grasp of

• the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of such solutions
• the general functional and cultural fitness of the solutions (i.e. how these match your requirements and your general company's expectations)
• the level of effort to parametrize/customize the solution
• the maturity of the company and/or product (with a eye for the outlook, i.e. will it/"they" be there two years from now...)

and therefore choose something which will likely serve your company well for years to come.

Answer 8

Firstly, draw the procedure of developing the application. Secondly, describes how much time should be spend on every step of the procedure and why. And tell him "I will try my best."

In most time, mangers knew it is impossible/difficult to finish some tasks quickly. But they just want to push you and see your response. So it is better to explain it with data (For example, this application need 200 classes, every class need 2 hours for development and 2 hours for testing. so we need 200x(2+2)=800 hours at least.) If they see that you clearly know every detail, they will respect you and listen to you. That is what communication means:)

Even if you cannot finish it in time, you told him why in beginning and tried, so it is not your fault.

Answer 9

Your boss has put you in a tough position. Just make sure you handle the situation professionally. Your boss probably isn't doing this just for fun: he's likely getting pressure from above as well. Don't let your frustration affect your working relationship.

If you've done a work breakdown, look for areas where you compromise in favor of speed. If you can get the face time with your boss, try to determine the most important functionality for the demo and go from there.

Answer 10

A demo may be different from a working web app--sometimes a series of non-functional screen renderings is enough. If the boss can work with that, then I'd open a drawing program and get to work.

If the demo needs to be functional, then explain that it cannot be complete (it can be functional or complete, not both) and ask which parts are the most essential. Also be clear that such a rapidly-built prototype cannot be re-used as the basis for a long-lived web application and once the "demo" is over you will need to start over and design the application for real.

If the boss wants a completed web application in two days and you estimate the project will take six weeks, then you have to tell him it can't be done. Tell him what can be done, and don't promise more than you can deliver. He's the boss, but a boss's job requires them to be unreasonable at times, and ask their employees for impossible things. Bosses need their employees to consider their demands seriously, evaluate them, and then bring the situation back to reality. If he refuses to see reason you may have to just start working and have another conversation tomorrow. If your boss repeatedly refuses to see reason over an extended period of time, you may never be satisfied with your work and I'd recommend looking for a new job.

Answer 11

Are there any other employees to compare notes with?

Can you do a static mockup of the thing with HTML?

Did you have any other promising job leads?

Answer 12

You need to determine what your boss expects out of the demo. It might be feasible to complete, but you won't know unless you ask. This gives you an opportunity to express your concerns in a mutual context.

I will also parrot the response that there is plenty of commercial software which solves this problem. Your boss wouldn't sign off on building a car, would he? Why is a comprehensive software system any different?

Answer 13

Meet the Base requirements.

Base requirements do not include look and feel, Ajax, ease of use, rational design.

Base requirements are Input/Output and correctness.

After the Base requirements are submitted, then start working on turning the rushed out the door app that everyone hates into something useful.

Just make sure you get it in an excellent state by your targeted date, so that you can honestly say that this is how long it takes to do it Right.

Answer 14

It's very difficult to do Scrum without buy-in from the user community/customers. That being said, programmer estimates should never be a negotiable item. The estimate can't change simply because the customer doesn't like it. So really, if it is going to take six weeks to prepare a demo, then that's how long it will take. However, there's no reason that the scope can't be negotiated to make the project possible within the limited time frame.

You're not locked into the 30 day Sprint cycle either. The idea is to set up a cycle that allows the customer to get adequate feedback and to ensure that the programmers' priorities are set properly. As long as you're doing that the rest of the rules are just dogma. Ken Schwaber said that a Sprint should be set to be as long as the corporation can go without changing it's mind. If the organization isn't happy with a planning cycle of one and a half months, then pick a shorter Sprint length.

Answer 15

Hi Guys, I decided to quit after the boss was being intransigeant. he said : "it's not negotiable. "

I really couldn't put up with such a request. and I sensed that it wasn't going to change with time. so, I prefer staying healthy than working like a maniac.

thanks all for your support.