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IT Consultant
Mary Weilage
TechRepublic Staff
Mary Weilage
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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 | Latest comment by Erik Eckel
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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 | Latest comment by Sterling "chip" Camden
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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 | Latest comment by Sterling "chip" Camden
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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 | Latest comment by Slayer_
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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 | Latest comment by BALTHOR
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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 | Latest comment by GATHITU
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IT Consultant: Top 10 posts of 2011
A laptop that holds a special place in one techie's heart topped the list of our IT Consultant posts of 2011. Dirty tricks, failure, and free software were other topics of interest to readers this...
Posted by Mary Weilage | December 22, 2011, 11:51 AM PST
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Four practical project uses for Cohuman
Andy Makar describes projects where the free social platform Cohuman helps teams collaborate and deliver.
Posted by Andrew Makar | December 20, 2011, 2:42 PM PST | Latest comment by ViCentelles
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Avoid taking business away from your clients
When you have a client whose market regularly overlaps yours, Chip Camden notes that it's important to communicate openly and frequently about boundaries and to be gracious.
Posted by Chip Camden | December 19, 2011, 11:40 AM PST | Latest comment by Sterling "chip" Camden
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Five ways to lose out on a consulting gig
Read about mistakes to avoid in order keep your phone ringing with new IT consulting projects.
Posted by William Lewis | December 14, 2011, 3:50 PM PST
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Defend against the shock of contract transition
Transitioning from one contract to the next doesn't necessarily get easier the longer you work in consulting. Learn two ways to reduce the pain of contract transitions.
Posted by Chip Camden | December 13, 2011, 11:56 AM PST
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How to settle family spats when you are not part of the family
Consultants sometimes need to assert leadership without undermining a client manager. These soft-skill tips can help keep meetings and the client relationship on the right track.
Posted by Ken Hardin | December 12, 2011, 1:14 PM PST | Latest comment by PMPsicle
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Insist medical practices hire specialists rather than one generalist
Donovan Colbert explains why the healthcare industry must invest in hiring specialists and not IT handymen to handle its information systems environments.
Posted by Donovan Colbert | December 10, 2011, 9:01 PM PST | Latest comment by tbmay
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Consultants meld unique tradesmen-professional services blend
Erik Eckel observes that IT consultants possess the highly valued rare mix of mechanical skills and knowledge-based expertise.
Posted by Erik Eckel | December 9, 2011, 11:57 PM PST | Latest comment by gracelaks
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Cooperate rather than compete with your fellow consultants
Independent consultant Chip Camden reveals why he no longer feels obsessed about competition for his clients, and why he encourages his peers to cooperate to meet the client's needs.
Posted by Chip Camden | December 6, 2011, 12:59 PM PST | Latest comment by Sterling "chip" Camden
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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 | Latest comment by Johndenham
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Planning for rate increases in your IT consultancy
How do you insure that your IT consultancy's rate increases happen on a reasonable schedule? Chip Camden answers that question.
Posted by Chip Camden | November 28, 2011, 7:58 AM PST | Latest comment by JohnMcGrew@...
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Billing for research on IT consulting projects
Chip Camden gives a TechRepublic member advice about billing clients for research, which he notes can be hard to estimate.
Posted by Chip Camden | November 21, 2011, 11:46 PM PST | Latest comment by prh47
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Only novices assign users to shares
Erik Eckel makes the case for why consultants should assign group rights to server shares, and then assign users to groups.
Posted by Erik Eckel | November 19, 2011, 8:44 PM PST | Latest comment by mtpemberton
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Tips for choosing your professional email address
Your professional email address is like a handshake to clients. Chip Camden advises what to do and what not to do when creating that email address.
Posted by Chip Camden | September 13, 2011, 7:14 AM PDT | Latest comment by Sterling "chip" Camden
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18 maxims of successful IT consulting
Chip Camden shares IT consulting lessons he's picked up over the years. After you read his pearls of wisdom, post your favorite consulting one-liners in the discussion.
Posted by Chip Camden | June 1, 2013, 5:39 AM PDT | Latest comment by Clendanielc
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Project management: One size does not fit all
Some projects are not suited to a Waterfall approach, and they're not a perfect fit for a 100% Agile approach. The solution might be a combination of the two project management methodologies.
Posted by Michelle Symonds | May 31, 2013, 6:03 AM PDT | Latest comment by sherry23
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Statement of work: essential or useless?
Chip Camden advises on how to write a statement of work that fits with an iterative development process, yet still provides assurances of value to the client and to the consultant.
Posted by Chip Camden | May 21, 2013, 11:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by Curtis_Wayne
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Maximize Office 365 for project management
Project managers can find a lot to like in Office 365 to keep their teams better connected and centralize their project information and communications.
Posted by Will Kelly | May 22, 2013, 5:55 AM PDT
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Learn BYOD policy best practices from templates
No two BYOD policies are or should be alike. Here are four BYOD policy templates that might help you seed your BYOD policy discussion and development process.
Posted by Will Kelly | May 1, 2013, 6:03 AM PDT
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Configure automated backups using SyncToy and Windows 7's Scheduled Task
Learn how to create a new SyncToy task that automatically schedules backups of the directories clients need regularly backed up to a network share or external hard disk.
Posted by Erik Eckel | March 9, 2012, 2:34 PM PST | Latest comment by wdpcpa
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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 | Latest comment by Marty R. Milette
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Create a one-page status report with Microsoft Project 2010
See how easy it is to customize Microsoft Project 2010 to create a custom view that filters detailed tasks and highlights the major deliverables that need reviewing in a status report.
Posted by Andrew Makar | March 13, 2013, 12:51 AM PDT
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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 | Latest comment by user_786@...
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Microsoft Project Professional 2013 new features preview
After using the Microsoft Project Professional 2013 Preview, Will Kelly reports back on a handful of appealing new features and tools.
Posted by Will Kelly | September 18, 2012, 8:24 AM PDT
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How to improve borderline client relationships
Here are four methods for reinvigorating a client relationship that has become strained. If these tactics don't work, it may be time to cut the client loose.
Posted by Erik Eckel | June 13, 2013, 8:44 PM PDT
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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 | Latest comment by amilkh
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Signs a client may not be ready for managed services
Warning bells should go off in your head if you spot any of these items indicating managed services are not a priority at a prospective client's site.
Posted by Erik Eckel | May 15, 2013, 9:44 AM PDT | Latest comment by secondstartech
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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 | Latest comment by joebailey77
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Independent contractors: Make sure your contract protects your interests
Writing a contract can help independent contractors and clients iron out project details ahead of time and avoid potential disputes down the line. Meredith Little outlines what verbiage and...
Posted by Meredith Little | March 13, 2009, 12:25 PM PDT | Latest comment by PMPsicle
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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 -- which brings up the question of how we consultants should determine our rates to begin with. Most...
Posted by Chip Camden | January 4, 2008, 1:55 PM PST | Latest comment by DonnaMitchell
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Only novices daisy-chain switches
If you support so many network nodes that multiple switches are required, technology consultant Erik Eckel encourages you to do it right.
Posted by Erik Eckel | November 11, 2011, 11:56 PM PST | Latest comment by spglmn
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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 | Latest comment by Todder
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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 | Latest comment by Johndenham
