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It is very hard for consultants that are solopreneurs to keep up by investing time (and lots of money) for good quality training. Google helps but as growden said we have to try to stay away from applying dirty fixes, and the Internet is full of them.
Thanks Chip for your articles, as I posted on my reply they are very insightful but also cautionary tales.
Thanks Chip for your articles, as I posted on my reply they are very insightful but also cautionary tales.
That is the second time I have seen someone use the term "Cookbook Consultants". Personally I have always enjoyed designing solutions based on situations. Some are ugly but they work for the customer who doesn't want to or can't afford to do something by the best practice.
I find so-called "best practices" are often over-generalizations. Anything built to address a problem too generally will either fail to meet specific needs, or it will be overkill. I don't want to over-generalize that rule, however. Certain practices are important to repeat (e.g., checking pointers for NULL) -- but the more you need to repeat something the more likely you need to address a root cause instead (e.g., use a language that handles null cases gracefully).
A consultant who does not implement "Best Practices" is called a "Cowboy". A solution should address a client's requirements, but also be based around best practices - there is a reason why they are called best practices (most of the time anyway). I spend a lot of my time re-architecting solutions where a client has had a dirty fix implemented. Although the solution worked at the time it did not allow for the company to grow and as a result either more dirty fixes need to be applied, or the solution revisited and re-architected. As a general rule (as a consultant) I attempt to understand the processes and requirements (of what needs a solution) and apply a technology to meet these requirements; as opposed to applying a technology I am familiar with and then make it work. ie I find it useful to step back from the tech side and look at the business side first. I do agree that best practices are not always suitable, or feasible, but as a general I do endeavour to implement best practices in my solutions (where applicable and feasible).
Having been in this ever changing profession for 30+ years, you work at keeping new, emerging technologies 'in sight', while focusing on the technologies associated with the project(s) at hand. Your five points are good indicators.
I have found initially working with 'Best Practices' on project as a good jump start. However, more often you find that each project evolves into it's own unique 'thing', that forces innovation and research.
It's called obsolesence.
One of the realities (especially in the fad driven world of corporate IT) is that companies leave technologies behind. Sometimes even when those technologies are clearly superior to the technologies the company is chasing.
If your market is disappearing faster than your colleagues are leaving the market, then you are probably stagnating. Even if you are constantly improving, you are in a death spiral.
Glen Ford, PMP
One of the realities (especially in the fad driven world of corporate IT) is that companies leave technologies behind. Sometimes even when those technologies are clearly superior to the technologies the company is chasing.
If your market is disappearing faster than your colleagues are leaving the market, then you are probably stagnating. Even if you are constantly improving, you are in a death spiral.
Glen Ford, PMP
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