4 replies to this topic

[kimochitim]

Building a Freelancers' Union

Okay a great idea that I think will benefit us freelancers.

There are a bunch of talented freelance coders & designers out there but there are very few who can do it all. If you are experienced in the field of web development most clients expect you to know everything (and they usually don't know how much that really is.) I for one am an experienced web designer who knows nearly nothing about programming and am always looking for a code geek on hand. Does this scenario sound familiar?

The fact is that we got all the people we need RIGHT HERE on trap17.com we just need to come together and form a TEAM. Imagine having a professional Web Designer, Flash Developer & Programmers together.

• It will take the stress out doing the things you hate by putting it in the hands of people who love it.
  
• Expedites work to make the client happy
  
• It will automatically create a team of critics for great feedback.

I know that there are going to be several issues:

• Team Management
  
• Art Direction
  
• Member Reliability
  
• Accounting

If you have a freelancer friend on this site who might be interested in this idea please send them to this topic.

Let's give it a shot, something magical might happen.

Edited by kimochitim, 27 April 2009 - 12:43 AM.

[Alex Cicala]

Well thats what I was going to do with my Trap17 website, by next year.

Have alot of skilled and talented Source SDK Mappers [even people with Visual Communication Experience & Architectural Design Artists and what not] to make maps at the paid requests of customers that want a detailed map. They can talk, ask questions, submit plans on the forum. I guess years of experience in 1 map can be worth something. And also considering the flexibility of the source engine in that you can make just about anything.

Although this cannot happen till I have gained more skill. I consider myself above average with the Source SDK, within 1 year I should be professional [or until I can remember everything and not need the use of tutorials ]. In time we can also find some coders and graphic artists, modellers and animators and possibly make a game. [but needs to be in the source engine, because that's the aim]

Also if anyone is interested in joining my mapping team sign up at,

http://acm.trap17.com

or

http://www.acmapping.com [when it activates OMG ]

Ok

Also to relate more closely with the topic, I have told some people to come to this site and signup.

Also what positions/talents do you need?
And Is it just [Web Designers, Flash Developers & Programmers]?

Edited by cicala, 25 April 2009 - 07:43 AM.

[kimochitim]

Of course all teams will be made acustomed to the project bieng built.
I think that is a good idea circala, I personally am not a gamer but I think the team building concept would work fine with that.

Let's to this. Let's build a team!

[sonesay]

I've worked in a team before to develop a ASP.net website with its own CMS for a small community based website enabling them to manage events and keep track of members details. It was horrible because we all were at different levels in skill in respects to the language (asp.net) and not to mention HTML, and there was no clear roles for all members (4 of us in total). We were all in the software development major but none of us had any experience in developing GOOD websites, some of us had never even touched HTML but were experienced in java, c++, or VB.

We did not even agree on what user stories were suppose to be in there and had totally different views on what entities should be on the ERD. Some of us did not even think about even having an ERD and went ahead to try and create tables and then having to alter them later because they forgot something. What was the point of doing all those database papers in the second year huh?

The idea of collaborative work is great and I'm not trying to shoot your idea down but be warned it is much more difficult to manage a team when everyone is so far away that face to face meetings are not possible. You need people who can work together and know their role and are willing to listen to others ideas. If you have someone who thinks they know everything and believes they are the only one who is right then you will have trouble.

I think for a small project it may be possible with a designer, developer combo but anything more complex or large and it will require much more effort. Everyone has to agree on the process of doing things from start to finish. In a larger project a project manager definitely needs to be competent enough and communicate effectively to all parties involved on the development team as well as the client. Because you are developing a website I think the most important role is a experienced Web Developer. The designer can design a really good website but in the end its the developer who has to build it. If the developer is not skilled and experienced enough you will end up with a really bad website with many bugs and missing functionality in the end.

[kimochitim]

The idea of collaborative work is great and I'm not trying to shoot your idea down but be warned it is much more difficult to manage a team when everyone is so far away that face to face meetings are not possible. You need people who can work together and know their role and are willing to listen to others ideas. If you have someone who thinks they know everything and believes they are the only one who is right then you will have trouble.

I think for a small project it may be possible with a designer, developer combo but anything more complex or large and it will require much more effort. Everyone has to agree on the process of doing things from start to finish. In a larger project a project manager definitely needs to be competent enough and communicate effectively to all parties involved on the development team as well as the client. Because you are developing a website I think the most important role is a experienced Web Developer. The designer can design a really good website but in the end its the developer who has to build it. If the developer is not skilled and experienced enough you will end up with a really bad website with many bugs and missing functionality in the end.
[/quote]

Sonesay... Fully fully 100% agreed. Project Management is a must. I also have been in the field for sometime now and have been through similar issues. I am actually very pleased that you wrote this. I started as an IT Intern in Atlanta and ended up being the Online Director there due to short staffing, during this time I started a small business and ended up in Japan for a while which created some issues. But I know that this can happen if we can find the right people (mature, responsible and professional).

I have had some very satisfied customers, I can design and develop very beautiful sites...but it never will be interactive. This hurts everytime I think about it.