Percona Consulting Policies
Percona Consulting Policies Include:
Scheduling
All Consulting time is scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis and requires advanced notice.
Scheduling Consulting time
Once the purchase process has been finalized and the statement of work has been signed by both parties, the Percona Consulting Operation team will reach out for initial scheduling. It may take a couple days after the purchase has been completed before the Operation team will send out the scheduling notification. In the initial email, there will be an introduction and welcome messaging covering access requirements for the Consultant as well as how to access the Customer Portal / ServiceNow environment.
Customer Portal (ServiceNow)
Email and ticket communications with Consultants are managed through our Customer Portal. All customers have accounts for logging in and managing issues. Requests for scheduling and scheduling changes are also handled through the Customer Portal.
Scheduled time minimums
A Consultant’s time is scheduled in 4-hour blocks for remote work. On-site work, when required, has a 3-consecutive-days minimum and is scheduled for 8-hour blocks. During this time, the Consultant is completely dedicated to the scheduled customer. If time is scheduled but not completely used, it is still considered as consumed billable time. It is advised to plan in advance to maximize usage of the time allocated.
Consultant change during the project
Percona works to keep the same Consultant assigned for the duration of the project. However, this is subject to change based on availability, complexity, special skill requirements, and overall required work level. If a Consultant is changed, no billable time is used to ensure that the new or added Consultant is up to speed and handover is as seamless as possible.
Emergency assistance
Percona Consulting Services do not cover emergency service. If an urgent situation such as system outage occurs and you are covered by a Percona Support of Subscription Policy, please contact Percona Support via the Percona Portal.
Cancellations
On receipt of the signed SOW from you for Percona Consulting, the Percona Consulting Operations team will liaise with you to agree on a suitable commencement of delivery date. Once this date has been agreed upon, the following fees apply should you cancel or postpone the commencement of delivery:
| Notification received (in days) that the work is to be postponed | Cost |
|---|---|
30 days (or more) in advance of Delivery Date | No Charge |
Between 30 -15 days in advance commencement of delivery | 50% of fee for the Consulting services that are being postponed |
Between 15-7 days in advance of commencement of delivery | 75% of fee for the Consulting services that are being postponed |
Less than 7 days in advance of commencement of delivery | 100% of fee for the Consulting services that are being postponed |
Billable time considerations
Time scheduled is considered billable, even if time is not fully used. Consultants are completely dedicated to the customer they are scheduled with, even if it is just for availability purposes.
Examples of billable efforts
Anything done by Percona Consultants for the customer’s benefit is billable time. This includes:
- Kickoff calls and general orientation
- Establishing logins
- Monitoring, research, and experimentation
- Consultations with other experts
- Composing emails, editing documentation, and drafting reports
- Status update calls with customers
- Orienting substitute coverage by another Consultant during absences
Rounding billable time
For any work done outside of pre-scheduled blocks of time, time is billed in 15-minute increments rounded once daily. For example, if two units of work were done, one for 5 minutes and one for 35 minutes, 35 + 5 = 40. This would be rounded up to 45 minutes billable that day.
Non-billable time examples
In some cases, the work done by Percona Consultants is considered non-billable. Such examples include the following:
- If a Consultant makes an error during the course of the project
- Research into a product bug
Roles and definitions
Operations Coordinator/Team Lead
When a Project Manager is not assigned, this role serves as the point of contact for scheduling appointments throughout the engagement.
Project Manager
When applicable, Percona will assign a Project Manager to your engagement. This single point of contact is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing your project from the Percona side. The assigned Project Manager will establish scheduling and resourcing requirements and ensure alignment with the scope of work.