Sponsored Work
==============

We frequently receive requests for new feature or feature modifications. These are
evaluated based on several factors, including:

* Could the change have a *negative impact* on other churches using TouchPoint?
* Conversely, will the change likely *benefit* other churches?
* How useful would the change be, both for the requesting church and for others?

Approved requests are placed on the product road map and prioritized based on the above factors
along with other factors, such as the workload of our development team and what other projects
are on the road map that may have synergies with the new request.

For projects on the road map, estimates of completion are just that—estimates. The actual completion
of a project can be affected by the length of time taken by projects before it on the road map and
by higher priority tasks our developers must work on, such as bug fixes, new church conversions,
and sponsored projects.

When Is It Appropriate to Sponsor Work?
---------------------------------------

If a church does not feel they can wait for their project to come up on the road map, they can
offer to sponsor the project. If our development team can clear time on the schedule, sponsored
project can receive higher priority.

To submit a project for consideration, provide as much information as possible about the requirements.
Our team will give an estimate of the hours necessary to complete the work. The hours multiplied by
the current development rate will yield the cost of the project. If the cost and schedule offered
by our team is acceptable, a work agreement will be written up.

Using a Third-Party
-------------------

There will be times when it may be several months before our developers can schedule a project,
even if it is sponsored. In those cases, it may be appropriate to contract with third-party developers
to do the work. Clear Function (http://clearfunction.com) is a company that has done extensive
work with TouchPoint and with whom we have a good working relationship. We recommend them if you
need third-party developers, but of course you are free to contract with another.

The TouchPoint software is open source, available on GitHub. So third-party developers will be able
to examine and make modifications to our existing code. After the third-party developers finish their
work, they will submit it to our development team (on GitHub) to be reviewed and, if approved, released
into the production environment.