What is Manager Consulting and Specifications?

Every task requires a certain amount of management time.  This management time is spent on Manager Consulting and(communication with clients to work out the details, preparing estimates, assigning) Specifications (writing internal instructions for developers to follow).  Developers typically work on at most a few tasks each day, so it is easy for them to track their time on a task-by-task basis.  Managers, on the other hand, may work on dozens of tasks for multiple clients, spending as little as a few minutes on some.  This makes it nearly impossible to record their time on a task-by-task basis, so managers record their time under a single task called "Manager Consulting and Specifications" for each client. 

 

In simpler terms, each task assigned to a developer requires a certain amount of planning.  This planning is done by our managers and must be billed for.  In the end, manager consulting time reduces costs because tasks are planned out ahead of time by managers instead of immediately assigned to developers.  If we skipped manager consulting time, developers would be forced to figure things out as they go and development time would increase accordingly.

 

Please understand that billing for management time actually reduces the cost of the overall task.  By ensuring that we are properly compensated for management time, we are ensuring that managers are motivated to participate actively in each task.  This active participation results in clearly laid out task descriptions and instructions.  This in turn leads to increased developer efficiency and reduced errors and misunderstandings.

 

For each billable task that you request, please remember that you will be charged for both development time as well as "Manager Consulting and Specifications".  When we provide an estimate for a task, that estimate only encompasses development time.  For larger tasks, we may provide a specific estimate for "Manager Consulting and Specifications", but for tasks taking only a few hours, management time will come along with each task and can vary from a few minutes to 25% of the estimate. 

 

The bottom line is this: for each billable task, you'll be billed for the time a manager must spend to keep tasks moving forward efficiently and cost-effectively.  With that in mind, please expect a line item entitled "Manager Consulting and Specifications" on any invoice that contains billable tasks.