It's become somewhat of a litmus test for me. If potential clients are are surprised by the time, cost and effort if these things, it's usually a sign they're not a well thought out venture, and therefore not a great client.
This is a pretty good litmus test also for consulting. The amount of companies out there who think they can get an entire mobile app integrated to an existing companies infrastructure (that itself comprises of random SaaS apps from small companies with no APIs) for the equivalent of 2 months of work by one developer is quite astounding.
I don’t know how many times I’ve given someone an honest, thoughtful estimate, and had them come to me, saying “I found this whiz kid, who a gamer friend recommended, who will do it all in a week, as a PWA!”
Eight months later, I’m usually asking “So… how’d that work out for you?”
We are a few days away from submitting an app I’ve been developing for about a year and a half (but the project has been under way for over three years).
The reason that I took it on, was because a [non-technical] friend of mine had created a nonprofit, and was soliciting bids for development of the tech.
He didn’t have a particularly detailed plan, but his original idea would have required a massive development effort.
The “studios” he was talking to, told him that they would have a fully-functional MVP, in three months.
Potential clients who are under-capitalized and say, I will need to find more money are worth working with.
The biggest mistake in business is trying to save clients/customers money on the goods/services you sell. The last 10% is the part of the price where you make money.
Sufficient capital is the big thing that turns everything else into a technical detail.
I mean UL certification is only a problem when the venture is under-capitalized.