I answered a request for help earlier today. Sounded like a simple job, move an ecommerce site from dev to live domain. Is it hell as like. I downloaded a copy of the codebase and DB to take a look at and it absolutely stinks. The whole codebase smells bad from beginning to end - it looks like NIH culture has led to the development in-house of a system worse than OSCommerce (and I don't say that lightly).

 

Smells I've found so far:

 

• Database details declared in two different places
  
• Domain hard-coded in several places
  
• Developers' domain and email addresses hardcoded in 178 different places
  
• Inline Javascript driving form submissions
  
• Tables within tables within tables
  

 

I'm not going to name and shame the developer, but how do I gently take the client aside and tell them the extent of the dog they've bought? I can't in all conscience be complicit in anyone using this wreck, and anything I had to fix in order to get it to work on the client's live domain would just be papering over the cracks.

The brutal honest truth.

 

Say to them what you have found and make them understand. It's not easy but you've got a good manner and i'm sure you can explain it in a gentle enough fashion.

 

You can't let something that bad pass un-checked, or it's another client burned. Explain all of it to them then ask where they got it done and how much.

The brutal honest truth.

 

Ouch. Was hoping for another option there. Yeah, I suppose you're right, I just hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially when that bad news is bad-mouthing a competitor. No matter how much of a cowboy they are, it feels bad.

Ouch. Was hoping for another option there. Yeah, I suppose you're right, I just hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially when that bad news is bad-mouthing a competitor. No matter how much of a cowboy they are, it feels bad.

 

Which is what makes you a decent person. Unfortunately when you're being decent someone has to be on the wrong end of the stick.

Ouch. Was hoping for another option there. Yeah, I suppose you're right, I just hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially when that bad news is bad-mouthing a competitor.

 

Do you actually have to name that competitor though?

Do you actually have to name that competitor though?

 

I'm pretty sure the client will know who built there site

I'm pretty sure the client will know who built there site

 

HAHA . What I meant was as opposed to actually saying "Blah blah who built this website has built it wrong" just say "There's something wrong with this website" without actually naming anyone. Although reading renaissance's first post again, looks like this was what he was going to do anyway. Then let the client put 2 and 2 together.

 

In answer to the original question I don't think you have a choice really do you? Surely it's necessary for the client to understand what's wrong with it in order to understand the scope of the work involved. It sounds like it's going to take much longer than originally thought because of these problems. I would have thought that's going to affect the quote considerably?

In answer to the original question I don't think you have a choice really do you? Surely it's necessary for the client to understand what's wrong with it in order to understand the scope of the work involved. It sounds like it's going to take much longer than originally thought because of these problems. I would have thought that's going to affect the quote considerably?

 

I'm not looking to justify billing more hours firefighting, I'm looking to explain to the client that hiring me to wallpaper over the cracks is throwing good money after bad.

Worse than OSC? wow that's saying something!

 

I've come across a couple of similar sites over the years, one was done "on the cheap" but the other was the result of a £20k project - ouch!

 

I suppose it's a case of explaining it to the client "as it is", semantics, accessibility, bad practice, maybe even huge security issues? you know the score.

Got a nagging feeling the client has been already been told how bad the code is and quoted accordingly by another and their approaching you could be them just fishing for a second opinion / cheaper quote. Lay it on thick and ask for a very large advance fee before work commences.