Three Stories about the Website Development

All stories, characters, and numbers portrayed in the article are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people and situations is purely coincidental... ironically :) The author leaves all conclusions and words of advice to the discretion of the reader.

The first story

Alexander, an owner and manager of a small trading company, has always thought that his teenage son Dima would cope with the website development as he had been playing computer games all day long and fell into a category of individuals with mild mental retardation. However, since his son couldn't provide him with an act of delivery which would explain why the company's account had been debited, Alexander was looking for a web design agency. Alexander was ready to spend the total sum of 200 dollars (expressed in hryvnias) on the development of a website with a function of an online store.

The search was tough. To the question 'How much does a website cost?' client managers oddly answered, 'The cost depends on the complexity of the project and the functionality...'. Some managers were even bold enough to suggest filling out a brief with questions so that they could make an offer. 'Why do you charge me if I have to think for you!', Alexander was furious. 'Website development is not selling stationery, that takes some doing. You're sitting here and pressing buttons, but you can't tell me the price!'. For the matter of fact, he did try to explain everything properly to some managers, 'A simple one-page website with an online store. What don't you understand?' After all, Alexander got a business proposal. Surprisingly, the sums were somewhat higher than he expected. It set his nerves on edge even more because he had already spent lots of time on filling out incomprehensible papers with weird questions and he still hadn't got any results.

Once he came home in a bad mood and decided to check his son's homework. Following the results, his son was deprived of pocket money for the whole week. 'Something must be done with it', son Dima thought. He was not going to do his home tasks, but living without money wasn't an option either. Moreover, the next check on the homework could deprive him of access to online games. His dad's problem had to be solved and the sooner, the better. Dima asked Google for advice by typing in an unsophisticated search query website development but on second thought he added 'inexpensive'. The search result was a pleasant surprise for the boy, so he showed it to his dad.

The whole following day Alexander spent having phone conversations. People he was talking to did not ask him stupid questions about functionality but mostly promised to do everything he needed in the record time of two days. At this point, he faced another problem - most of the developers were rejected because they demanded some odd Webmoney or just a money transfer to their bank accounts. In the end, Alexander found a suitable contractor who knew what the simplified taxation system was.

After a few days, Alexander got his website. He was a bit confused about the color scheme of the pages and the fact that he had already seen the same website (with different logo and texts) on the Internet. 'Actually, it doesn't matter...', Alexander thought. 'What counts most is the price, it's only 2000 hryvnias (some $80)!'. It's hard to disagree, but he had got what he wanted. Alexander did not believe in the success of e-commerce, so he needed the website only to put it on his new business cards. All his partners already had their website addresses on the cards but he didn't. Now this problem was solved and Alexander felt happy. Dima got his pocket money back and he went on playing online games all day long.

The second story

Zhanna worked in the Large International Transatlantic Corporation. The name of her post sounded even odder - she was a Strategic Direction Development Manager. It was difficult for Zhanna to explain to her acquaintances what lies in the area of her responsibilities as she didn't understand clearly herself what she was supposed to deal with. Sometimes no one paid attention to Zhanna for weeks, and she could peacefully update her statuses in social networks and click the like button under the pictures with kittens. However, one day everything changed. She received a letter on her corporate mail from the department chair with a copy to the supervisor and three deputies, it contained the task to call for tenders to develop a corporate website for a new unit of the Corporation. Zhanna had never done such things before so mild anxiety attacked her. But having remembered her previous employment in the electronics store and her reluctance to go back there, Zhanna pulled herself together. She clicked the last like under a tabby cat, opened Google and started calling different developers.

Tired of summer scorching weather, client managers curtly answered to the calls, but once they heard Zhanna's position, they changed their intonations, became more attentive and pleasant. If you listen carefully, you could hear bonuses, commissions and other greenbacks for getting such client as Zhanna and her corporation rustling in their mind. One manager even asked her 'When was your last vacation on the Maldives?'. Zhanna was embarrassed because she had never been farther than Zaliznyi Port in Kherson region. The manager read her mind and added, 'If our company wins the tender, you'll afford to spend your vacation in a 5-star all-inclusive resort. Well, you understand what I mean...'. Zhanna didn't get it.

Business proposals rained down on Zhanna's mail. Looking through the letters, Zhanna noticed an odd thing. Developers indicated the approximate cost for a similar project on their website, but the sums in the received proposals contained more figures. Once Zhanna saw a more or less reasonable price, and she decided to ask the developer, 'Is the cost in hryvnias?' The manager thought a little and answered - 'No. In pounds.' Grasping such numbers was tough for Zhanna, so he didn't even try to do this. All in all, her task was to collect all business proposals and forward them to the Department of Strategic Planning of Perspective Projects, and this was what she did.

After a few month, Zhanna found out from the corporate mailing that the Corporation launched the new website for its new unit. And in two more weeks, she learned by chance in the kitchen that Catherine from the Department of Strategic Planning was going to the Maldives... 

The third story

Mykola has always considered himself a bright person and couldn't stand if someone was trying to take advantage of him. At the time of his restless youth, Mykola used to be a racketeer, but later he became a successful businessman. His friends called him Kolian, his colleagues called Mykola Vasylovych. His business was going well and once he decided that he needed a new super-powerful and super-functional online store. Mykola's assistant, Petro, made a list of web development companies which could realize his boss's driving ambitions. Having chosen one of the companies the two of them went to discuss the details of the project. At the meeting, Mykola immediately put himself across,  'My website has to be cooler that the Green Little Round Bun!' (implying one quite well-known in Ukraine online store). The project manager had often heard similar things so he managed to keep a poker face and said, 'We can make it awesome. What matters is proper funding. What budget do you have for the project?' Without a moment's hesitation, Mykola said, 'Money is no object. The result above all'. The rest of the time Mykola was bored. He wasn't very interested in how the integration of residual stock base will take place, how complementary items will be matched and in any other technical details of the project, which the manager discussed with Petro.

On the following day, Petro received a business proposal on his email. It consisted of two pages filled with texts and tables. Holding a printed version, Petro went to his boss's office. Mykola didn't like reading much text, so his eyes moved immediately to the bottom of the page with the total cost. His face turned red. 'How much? Four thousand euros? Do I look like a chump?', he was yelling, he screwed up the paper and threw it into the bin. Assistant Petro wanted to say something, but he remembered well the stories about his boss's past so decided not to risk his health and left silently to look for another contractor.

At the meeting with another contractor, Mykola made it clear that technical chatters didn't interest him until they announced the price of the project. The manager thought to himself for moment counting something in his head and that he reeled off '40,000 hryvnias.' 'Almost three times cheaper than the previous one,' Mykola reckoned up the cost in his head. He immediately cheered up, felt like a winner and made sure once again that no one would take advantage of him. 'Money is no object. The result above all', he said and clearly demonstrated that the meeting came to a successful end.

Four months passed. Mykola was very busy establishing new supply chains and channels of distribution. Having sorted out some problems, he remembered about his online store which was supposed to be ready a month ago.'Why hasn't the website been launched yet?', asked he his assistant. Having made a phone call, Petro said, 'They say the project turned out to be harder than they expected, that's why they need one more month.' Mykola was about to bang his fist on the table, but then he thought about the money he saved and came down.

In a month's time, Mykola and Petro went to the presentation of their new online store. Looking at the demo version, Mykola said, 'The sections and blocks are arranged in an odd way. Can this be changed?' The manager had his wits about him and answered calmly, 'The website uses a ready-made template because you haven't ordered an individual design. Of course, we can change this but for an extra charge'. Mykola didn't like unexpected expenses, but the online store put him in a good mood, and he agreed.

After a month Mykola was looking at a new structure and asked, 'Does the website update the available items from our program?' The manager answered with a smile, 'We didn't provide for it but we will gladly add this function for an extra charge'. Some weird feeling occurred in Mykola's head. At this moment Petro decided to use his initiative, 'And what about the autosuggest of complementary items?' The manager still kept his wits about him, 'We can add this as well. We only need one more month and a little budget increase'. The weird feeling in his head was getting stronger but was trying to ignore it.

The following month, the website was finally launched, and Mykola could calm down. In spite of the fact that the online store was a far cry from the Green Little Round Bun regarding design and functionality, no one even mentioned this. On one day, sorting out the acts and invoices Petro decided to add up the total cost of the project. Having done the sum and divided it by the euro rate, he stared at the screen with the number of 6,000 euros. He looked at this for a few seconds and thought that for his boss it would be better not to know. In fact, Mykola had already known everything but pretended that nothing had happened, He was good at calculating but not at admitting mistakes.