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Must-Read Post

Telling clients 'I don't know' is acceptable

Consultants should market themselves to clients as providing the right answers rather than having all the answers. This is why it's beneficial to know how to conduct reasoned research.

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Deciding which laptop your IT consultancy should sell

Erik Eckel advises IT consultancies that are considering selling laptops to maintain relationships with several vendors.

Posted by Erik Eckel | February 11, 2012, 11:29 PM PST
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A RAID primer for IT consultants

When planning a client server, this guide will help ensure the RAID version selected best fits the requirements.

Posted by Erik Eckel | February 10, 2012, 7:57 PM PST
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What to consider before charging clients for canceled appointments

Before you implement a policy of charging clients for canceling appointments, read these salient points on the subject by Chip Camden.

Posted by Chip Camden | February 7, 2012, 12:18 PM PST
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Nudge stakeholders into addressing project issues now

Ken Hardin shares tricks on how to get stakeholders to answer your questions about a project's business requirements. If you don't get answers now, it will cost more to figure out later.

Posted by Ken Hardin | February 3, 2012, 9:49 AM PST

White Papers

Have You Supersized Your Data Center? Avoid the Pitfalls of Oversizing

When it comes to the infrastructure of your data center or network rooms, bigger is not necessarily better. Read this white paper to learn the facts about and reasons behind oversizing. Explore...

From: APC by Schneider Electric
Read more
White Papers

Improved Cooling Strategies for IT Wiring Closets

Don't wait until overheating causes servers to fail. Plan the right cooling solution for your IT wiring closet or server room now. There's an improved method for wiring closet cooling...

From: APC by Schneider Electric
Read more

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Debunking four resource leveling myths

Andy Makar explains why these four resource leveling misperceptions or mistakes he has encountered are inaccurate.

Posted by Andrew Makar | February 1, 2012, 1:55 PM PST
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Take a break for productivity's sake

Independent consultant Chip Camden explains why taking a walk outside is his ideal break when he's stuck on a problem. He also reveals potential pitfalls with this practice.

Posted by Chip Camden | January 31, 2012, 1:39 PM PST
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Adopt these practices to ensure professional bid submissions

Bid and RFP events are opportunities to form strong, long-term relationships with new clients. Follow these guidelines when responding to a bid, estimate, or RFP request.

Posted by Erik Eckel | January 27, 2012, 9:07 AM PST
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Keys to using visuals in a project requirements document

Pictures are worth 1,000 words, but be sure to put words in them, too. Find out what other tips consultant Ken Hardin offers about using visuals in a project document.

Posted by Ken Hardin | January 26, 2012, 1:25 PM PST
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Consulting yourself out of a job

A TechRepublic member is looking for advice on how not to lose a client. Get the specifics, read Chip Camden's advice, and then post your words of wisdom.

Posted by Chip Camden | January 24, 2012, 10:26 AM PST
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Document project ideas by creating business requirements

Consultant Ken Hardin talks about creating business requirements when everybody already has an idea of how a project will work.

Posted by Ken Hardin | January 20, 2012, 8:41 AM PST
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What SOPA/PIPA would mean for IT consultants

Chip Camden explores how SOPA/PIPA could impact tech consultants' business for the bad and possibly the good -- as long as you don't mind losing some sleep.

Posted by Chip Camden | January 17, 2012, 5:18 PM PST
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Achieve your New Year's goals by using Asana

Asana allows you to incorporate project management into your professional and personal goal setting. Get details about the free project collaboration tool.

Posted by Andrew Makar | January 17, 2012, 11:24 AM PST
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Working for your client's competition

Independent consultant Chip Camden outlines three dimensions to the question of whether you can consult for competitors. Voice your opinion on this subject.

Posted by Chip Camden | January 11, 2012, 1:00 PM PST
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Building project documentation in a 'tailored extreme' business environment

Ken Hardin describes how he boiled down a client's project into a "tailored extreme" document format. This approach might help you avoid pitfalls of under-documented dev projects.

Posted by Ken Hardin | January 10, 2012, 10:55 AM PST
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Four step deployment process for client assets

Erik Eckel shares practical deployment tips that may help your consultancy do a better job of tracking client assets.

Posted by Erik Eckel | January 9, 2012, 9:46 AM PST
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Cable certifier: An essential consulting tool

Erik Eckel believes most consultants will find that a high-quality cable certifier is an indispensable and essential toolkit device.

Posted by Erik Eckel | January 6, 2012, 12:55 PM PST
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Determining whether your idea is too big to give to a client

Your big idea is still likely within the scope of your consulting contract and your professional obligations to your client. Ask yourself three key questions to help determine if you should hold...

Posted by Ken Hardin | January 4, 2012, 3:42 PM PST
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Remove impediments to getting the contract

If a prospect presents one of these five objections to hiring you, here are possible responses you can give to help eliminate their concerns.

Posted by Chip Camden | January 3, 2012, 12:23 PM PST
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Pinpricks, annoyances, and other slithy toves

As 2011 comes to an end, IT consultant Bob Eisenhardt shares his list of things that make his life difficult.

Posted by Bob Eisenhardt | December 31, 2011, 6:56 PM PST
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Two New Year's resolutions for IT consultancies

Year-end is a natural time to review professional progress and make improvement plans. Is your consultancy proving successful, and if so, how are you defining that success?

Posted by Erik Eckel | December 30, 2011, 12:08 PM PST

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What SOPA/PIPA would mean for IT consultants

Chip Camden explores how SOPA/PIPA could impact tech consultants' business for the bad and possibly the good -- as long as you don't mind losing some sleep.

Posted by Chip Camden | January 17, 2012, 5:18 PM PST
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Define project scope to include deliverables, boundaries, and requirements

There are two places that scope is defined on your project. High-level scope is defined in your project charter. Low-level scope is defined in your business requirements document. High-level...

Posted by Tom Mochal | September 18, 2007, 1:01 AM PDT
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Consulting yourself out of a job

A TechRepublic member is looking for advice on how not to lose a client. Get the specifics, read Chip Camden's advice, and then post your words of wisdom.

Posted by Chip Camden | January 24, 2012, 10:26 AM PST
0

Document project ideas by creating business requirements

Consultant Ken Hardin talks about creating business requirements when everybody already has an idea of how a project will work.

Posted by Ken Hardin | January 20, 2012, 8:41 AM PST

White Papers

Have You Supersized Your Data Center? Avoid the Pitfalls of Oversizing

When it comes to the infrastructure of your data center or network rooms, bigger is not necessarily better. Read this white paper to learn the facts about and reasons behind oversizing. Explore...

From: APC by Schneider Electric
Read more
White Papers

Improved Cooling Strategies for IT Wiring Closets

Don't wait until overheating causes servers to fail. Plan the right cooling solution for your IT wiring closet or server room now. There's an improved method for wiring closet cooling...

From: APC by Schneider Electric
Read more

0

Keys to using visuals in a project requirements document

Pictures are worth 1,000 words, but be sure to put words in them, too. Find out what other tips consultant Ken Hardin offers about using visuals in a project document.

Posted by Ken Hardin | January 26, 2012, 1:25 PM PST
0

Achieve your New Year's goals by using Asana

Asana allows you to incorporate project management into your professional and personal goal setting. Get details about the free project collaboration tool.

Posted by Andrew Makar | January 17, 2012, 11:24 AM PST
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Customizable IT consultant sample contract

Chip Camden presents his standard consulting contract, along with explanations about each section. See if you can modify his contract to fit your needs.

Posted by Chip Camden | November 3, 2008, 6:31 AM PST
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How to determine your consulting fees

In my previous post I mentioned that I'm raising rates for most of my clients this year -- whichÂ brings upÂ the question of how we consultants shouldÂ determineÂ our rates to begin with. Most...

Posted by Chip Camden | January 4, 2008, 1:55 PM PST
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Debunking four resource leveling myths

Andy Makar explains why these four resource leveling misperceptions or mistakes he has encountered are inaccurate.

Posted by Andrew Makar | February 1, 2012, 1:55 PM PST
0

Take a break for productivity's sake

Independent consultant Chip Camden explains why taking a walk outside is his ideal break when he's stuck on a problem. He also reveals potential pitfalls with this practice.

Posted by Chip Camden | January 31, 2012, 1:39 PM PST
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Free project collaboration tools that rock

Andrew Makar explains why these three project collaboration tools are worth a look: Cohuman, Asana, and Trello.

Posted by Andrew Makar | December 3, 2011, 1:45 PM PST
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What to consider before charging clients for canceled appointments

Before you implement a policy of charging clients for canceling appointments, read these salient points on the subject by Chip Camden.

Posted by Chip Camden | February 7, 2012, 12:18 PM PST
0

Building project documentation in a 'tailored extreme' business environment

Ken Hardin describes how he boiled down a client's project into a "tailored extreme" document format. This approach might help you avoid pitfalls of under-documented dev projects.

Posted by Ken Hardin | January 10, 2012, 10:55 AM PST
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The 10 hottest IT project management posts of 2011

Microsoft Project 2010, career advice for PMs, and free collaboration tools are among the most-viewed IT project management topics of 2011.

Posted by Mary Weilage | December 22, 2011, 2:26 PM PST
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10 personality traits of a highly effective independent consultant

Many IT consultants daydream about branching out on their own without giving much thought to what skills are necessary to succeed as a freelancer. Before you commit to being an independent...

Posted by Chip Camden | June 24, 2008, 1:31 PM PDT
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Working for your client's competition

Independent consultant Chip Camden outlines three dimensions to the question of whether you can consult for competitors. Voice your opinion on this subject.

Posted by Chip Camden | January 11, 2012, 1:00 PM PST
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Three strengths of a technical project manager

A technical project manager straddles the line between technical savvy and organizational skill. As I mentioned in my earlier blog, this combination makes him prone to the same kinds of...

Posted by Shannon Kalvar | April 14, 2007, 5:25 AM PDT
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Use PERT technique for more accurate estimates

Regardless of the technique you use, the tendency in project estimation is to provide one number for each estimate. In other words, if you have 100 activities on your schedule, each activity would...

Posted by Tom Mochal | June 25, 2007, 8:16 AM PDT
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Nudge stakeholders into addressing project issues now

Ken Hardin shares tricks on how to get stakeholders to answer your questions about a project's business requirements. If you don't get answers now, it will cost more to figure out later.

Posted by Ken Hardin | February 3, 2012, 9:49 AM PST
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Seven rules for flying with a laptop: Share these tips with clients

A client is planning on flying for an upcoming trip, and you know he may not have time to check the TSA's guidelines on traveling with a laptop. Be a good little elf and prepare your client for...

Posted by Susan Harkins | October 22, 2008, 5:00 AM PDT

White Papers

Have You Supersized Your Data Center? Avoid the Pitfalls of Oversizing

When it comes to the infrastructure of your data center or network rooms, bigger is not necessarily better. Read this white paper to learn the facts about and reasons behind oversizing. Explore...

From: APC by Schneider Electric
Read more
White Papers

Improved Cooling Strategies for IT Wiring Closets

Don't wait until overheating causes servers to fail. Plan the right cooling solution for your IT wiring closet or server room now. There's an improved method for wiring closet cooling...

From: APC by Schneider Electric
Read more