Time is Money (part 1) (
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For consultancies that bill on an hourly basis - lawyers,
accountants et al - time tracking is a critical part of the billing
process. For small- and medium-size organizations, resource tracking,
allocation and analysis is essential for business efficiency and planning.
This article addresses both requirements by teaching you how to build a
timesheet system to track and analyze work hours with PHP and MySQL.So there we all are, the Boss, the Customer, a couple of the Customer's minions
and yours truly, all seated around a long table in the Customer's high-tech
conference room. The Customer is talking around an evil-smelling cigar and
waving his hands around energetically, the Boss is listening patiently, and the
minions are grinning idiotically at each other. I have long since tuned out of
the conversation, and am currently attempting to figure out which movie to rent
over the weekend.
Outside, it is a sunny April morning, the kind to make
you think of picnics in shady gardens and poolside barbecues in the long
evenings. Inside, all hell is about to break loose.
"...and both HRD and
I would be very interested in seeing those numbers," says the Customer, pausing
for a minute to puff some smoke and then jabbing his cigar at the Boss. "But the
question is, can you guys do it for us, and how soon can we see a
prototype?"
The Boss turns to me and asks politely, "Well?"
What
on earth does the man want? No time to figure it out, better
stall...
"Sure," I mumble, trying to sound as though I'm giving the
matter great thought, "but perhaps we could backtrack a bit and go over the
requirements in detail..."
"No, no", says the Boss impatiently, "I think
the requirements are quite clear. They need a simple timesheet application so
that they can analyze employee hours and bill clients appropriately. It's not a
big deal, but they need it in...three days, right?," this to the Customer, who's
now gone back to blowing smoke rings at the ceiling.
"Well," says the
Customer with a smirk, "as soon as possible, actually."
"So, will we be
able to deliver in that time frame?," says the Boss, giving me his look, the one
which reads "say yes or else..."
"Of course," I say, just like a good
soldier. "Absolutely no problem," I assure the room at large, smiling at the
Customer's cigar. "What have I done?," I ask myself silently.
