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by dynjo 3987 days ago
To be clear, this does not replace an official estimate (we also do not like fixed estimates and prefer agile pricing). What it does give though is ballpark ideas for people with no information at all. Oozou is a 6 year old agency, we understand the problem deeply but wanted to give people something to get started without full blown proposals, RFP's etc
2 comments
fullwedgewhale 3987 days ago
I view it as dangerous because it spits out a definitive answer without clear explanation of the model used to generate the estimate. If you look at other cost estimation tools (even closed source tools) will explain the model and assumptions used to generate the estimate. You can then make the determination if the model and assumptions apply to you.

It also doesn't indicate the kind of application (which is probably a largely stand-alone application). You can't stop some clients from going on to these sites and looking up a cost and not understanding what goes into an estimate. What would be even worse, in my mind, is to have other developers use a tool like this to generate a cost and then fail because they grossly underestimate complexity.

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nostrademons 3987 days ago
It does explain the model - each feature is given a certain number of developer days that are billed out at $450/day. It's all broken down if you click "show calculations".

I personally think their model is pretty shitty, because if you build an app as a checklist of features you'll end up with something users won't want to use, and if you polish all the rough edges and make sure everything integrates well together, you will spend a lot more time on integrations than on implementing the features. (My rule of thumb - across many projects - is that when a project is feature-complete, it is usually between 40-50% shippable. When it ships, it is about 50% "done", where "done" means that all the initial development tasks required to make it stable and useful to users are complete. When it's "done", it's consumed roughly 10% of the calendar time and 50% of the developer time that will ultimately be invested in the project.)

But you can at least judge the model they're using for yourself.

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numbsafari 3987 days ago
A ballpark estimate should be given within a range.

If you aren't communicating the probability of it either being less or more expensive, then you are setting a false expectation.

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