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IT Consultant
Mary Weilage
TechRepublic Staff
Mary Weilage
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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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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 | Latest comment by jmbelden98
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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 | Latest comment by PMPsicle
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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 | Latest comment by Fairbs
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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 | Latest comment by apotheon
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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 | Latest comment by TownsendA@...
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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 | Latest comment by osenberremmi
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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 | Latest comment by HAL 9000
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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 | 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Mitigate project role confusion for staff wearing multiple hats
If you expect your developers or contractors to take on business analyst or project manager roles, here are three ways to help them be effective and stay motivated.
Posted by Rick Freedman | July 23, 2012, 5:01 PM PDT | Latest comment by lars.aarby@...
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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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Data center build-out considerations for small IT consultancies
Your IT consulting firm can gain a competitive edge in its region by building its cloud network. Here are three factors to consider before making this investment.
Posted by Erik Eckel | April 19, 2013, 8:29 AM PDT
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Marketing trends and strategies for consultants
These survey results indicate what types of marketing consultants spend time on compared with how those varying time commitments result in income.
Posted by Chip Camden | April 23, 2013, 7:07 AM PDT | Latest comment by joerejeski
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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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Herding tigers: How to manage subcontractors for your consultancy
Chip Camden tells a reader who is starting an IT consultancy that she has to coordinate efforts between clients and her genius subcontractors. Post your advice on managing subcontractors.
Posted by Chip Camden | May 7, 2013, 1:25 PM PDT | Latest comment by realvarezm
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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.
Posted by Chip Camden | August 23, 2011, 7:49 AM PDT | Latest comment by bobp@...
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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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Use LiquidPlanner's checklists to track project tasks and communications
LiquidPlanner's latest enhancements are checklists and better collaboration features. By using the checklists, your project team just might be more productive.
Posted by Will Kelly | April 18, 2013, 1:21 PM PDT
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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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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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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
