Calling for help on a statistics story problem

[CycloneWarrior]

I haven't taken a stats course in years and was asked to answer the following question. Was curious if anyone here could easily answer this question/provide some clarification? Any help would be greatly appreciated.



[Based on a client’s requirements of a confidence interval of 99% and acceptable sampling error of 2%, a sample size of 500 was calculated. The cost to the client would be $20,000. The client only has a budget of $17,000. What can you do to win the contract without exceeding the client’s budget? Explain in detail, and show all steps to any mathematical solutions.]

 

[1Nation]

How many posts before serious post?

 

[ILiftWithRoyce]

tell the client find $3000 more or GTFO

 

[cyclone101]

 

[BCClone]

Outsource it to India for 10k, pocket 7k and everyone is happy.

 

[CyArob]

Take a 3k loss to try to impress the client for larger projects in the future.

 

[Wesley]

Take a 3k loss to try to impress the client for larger projects in the future.

The real world.

 

[stormchaser2014]

Is 6 a prime number?

 

[pourcyne]

Multiply everything by 85%, and propose that as the sampling error. Pass Go and collect $17,000.

 

[enisthemenace]

Decrease sample size. Confidence level will go down, but not by much (proportionately), while meeting budget requirements.

 

[CtownCyclone]

Agree to perform the work for $17,000. Through a series of "misunderstandings", "communication errors", and "scope changes", you change-order that bad boy up to $25,000.

 

[cowgirl836]

Decrease sample size. Confidence level will go down, but not by much (proportionately), while meeting budget requirements.

my first thought was go for a 95% CI.

 

[NickTheGreat]

Agree to perform the work for $17,000. Through a series of "misunderstandings", "communication errors", and "scope changes", you change-order that bad boy up to $25,000.

You've obviosuly never worked in construction/contracting

You'd bid it at $10, then change-order it up to $30K

 

[besserheimerphat]

I haven't taken a stats course in years and was asked to answer the following question. Was curious if anyone here could easily answer this question/provide some clarification? Any help would be greatly appreciated.



[Based on a client’s requirements of a confidence interval of 99% and acceptable sampling error of 2%, a sample size of 500 was calculated. The cost to the client would be $20,000. The client only has a budget of $17,000. What can you do to win the contract without exceeding the client’s budget? Explain in detail, and show all steps to any mathematical solutions.]

Is this the entire problem? Normally I'd need to know the details of the test (what you're doing and what the actual goals are) to figure it out.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Based on the sample size of 500, I'm guessing this is some kind of pass/fail test (binary, or at least discrete, outcomes). Those types of tests generally require high sample sizes. If you can change it to continuous data (a measurement like distance, time, weight, etc) you can still get very high confidence with much smaller sample sizes.

 

[BCClone]

Take a 3k loss to try to impress the client for larger projects in the future.

Make a half*** poll costing 5k. Spend 5k on a hooker and set up a blackmail situation on the contact so you get the life contract and not lose any money.

 

[SCNCY]

You've obviosuly never worked in construction/contracting

You'd bid it at $10, then change-order it up to $30K

Off topic as I do not work in construction, but know people that do and tell me about this all the time. How do they get away with this? My simple understanding is that when a contract is signed, it is for one dollar amount, with rain days worked in. Are the unforeseeable events that could happen during a project be very relaxed as to what is unforeseeable?