[pj]

I've gone into a company with software systems that were a complete rat's nest, learned the enviroment, accessed files and utilities needed to make changes, and implemented a significant change in 2 days. A lasting and flexible change that will enable the company to operate more cheaply and be more agile in the future.

Many information systems can be implemented in a week. You could set up email, an e-commerce site, a CRM, SCM, or even substantial portions, if not an entire ERP system depending on the size of the company.

A week is a long time if you know what you are doing.

[seasoup]

Ah, the area where we disagree is on the size of the company in question. I was thinking medium to large, while it looks like you are thinking more start-up. I agree that a week is much more viable to assess someone in a startup. In a large corporation, they'll be lucky to have a computer by then!