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- Use this process to estimate a project's effort hours
- Once you understand the effort that's required for a project, you can assign resources to determine how long the project will take and estimate labor and non-labor costs. Here's a process you can use to estimate the total effort required for your project. by Tom Mochal
- Tags: Project, Estimate, Effort Hour, Project Management, Tools & Techniques, Strategy, It Operations, It service Management, Management, Tom Mochal
- Blog posts 2008-08-05
- Are you a consultant or a contractor?
- You've hung your consultant shingle, but are you truly fulfilling the role? Learn the differences between consultants and contractors, and find out about two dangerous career traps. by Comprehensive Solutions
- Tags: Consultant, Contractor, Role, Consulting, Outsourcing, Professional Development, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Career, Comprehensive Solutions
- Blog posts 2008-08-04
- Write information owner responsibility into policy
- The information owner is a key player in protecting sensitive data and systems. His or her role must be clearly defined in policies. However, security personnel should review information owner decisions to ensure regulatory and policy compliance. by Tom Olzak
- Tags: Policy, Information Owner, Cresson Wood, Outsourcing, Security, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Tom Olzak
- Blog posts 2008-07-30
- IT consultant strategies for weathering economic downturns
- Check out these tips for keeping your consulting business afloat when the economy is tanking. Chip Camden discusses five marketing tips from Steve McKee and provides six do's and don'ts of his own. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Information Technology, Business, Client, Consulting, Chip Camden, Outsourcing, Strategy, Operational Accounting, Marketing Research, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Management, Finance, Marketing
- Blog posts 2008-07-28
- Reports indicate IT staff jobs will drop in 2009
- For the last few months, reports have indicated that IT seems to be exempt from the dismal budget. But new reports are painting a different picture. by Toni Bowers
- Tags: Job, Report, Information Technology, Survey, Outsourcing, Help Desk, Strategy, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Management, Toni Bowers
- Blog posts 2008-07-23
- Button pressers and non-button pressers
- Some people ask for help, others work it out for themselves. Is this what makes the difference between a help desk tech and a user? by Jeff Dray
- Tags: Lady, Advice Call, Help Desk, Call Centers, Team Management, It Operations, Management, Jeff Dray
- Blog posts 2008-07-21
- Harassed for attempting to transition from employee to consultant
- When a TechRepublic member told his employer that he planned to resign and work for a small consulting firm which had been a vendor, his boss threatened to sue the new firm. Find out what lessons you can learn from this sweet consulting opportunity that turned sour. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Consulting Company, Consultant, Employer, Consulting, Mac_IT_Guy, Outsourcing, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-07-21
- Don't be a "prideful" PM consultant
- Too much pride can be a bad thing for project management PM consultants. Is your ego getting in the way of your client's best interest? A TechRepublic member has a wake-up call for you with five characteristics of a puffed-up PM consultant. by Beth Blakely
- Tags: Consultant, Project Manager, Project Management, Tools & Techniques, Strategy, Team Management, It Operations, It service Management, Management, Beth Blakely
- Blog posts 2008-07-18
- Supporting support: Where does the help desk fit in your IT planning?
- There are lots of best practices that have been developed for IT management, but an organization's culture might resist efforts at standardization. This time, a peek behind the curtain to see a particular problem for small offices -- scaling support capacity. by William Jones
- Tags: Staffing, Information Technology, Help Desk, Call Centers, Strategy, It Operations, Management, William Jones
- Blog posts 2008-07-17
- Consider Enterprise Environmental Factors when planning IT projects
- Enterprise Environmental Factors EEFs are corporate, environmental, and governmental variables that can determine how you manage certain aspects of a project. Bill Stronge lists examples of common EEFs and offers questions you need to ask at the start of each project. by Bill Stronge
- Tags: Project, Team, Information Technology, Project Manager, Enterprise Environmental Factor, Team Management, Productivity, Project Management, Management, It Operations, It service Management, Bill Stronge
- Blog posts 2008-07-15
- Top 10 IT headlines for July 8: Offshoring hurts customer satisfaction, Juniper sees enterprise biz as healthy
- Top 10 IT headlines for Tuesday, July 8, 2008: Offshore outsourcing hurts customer satisfaction, Juniper CEO sees healthy enterprise business, alternatives to iPhone 3G, Richard Stallman blasts retiring Bill Gates, and more. by Jason Hiner
- Tags: Apple iPhone, Information Technology, Juniper Networks Inc., Customer Satisfaction, Back-office, Techweb, Offshoring, 3G, Strategy, Product Marketing, Outsourcing, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Management, Marketing, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Jason Hiner
- Blog posts 2008-07-08
- Manage project time requirements with these methods
- If you're trying to get a handle on project time requirements, these project management methods will put you in a better position to come away with a plan that you can explain and execute. by Bill Stronge
- Tags: Project, Project Manager, Activity, PERT, Project Management, Tools & Techniques, Team Management, Strategy, It Operations, It service Management, Management, Bill Stronge
- Blog posts 2008-07-08
- Can you take your customers seriously and laugh about them?
- Is it possible to laugh about your work and do it properly as well? Is it necessary to be totally straight faced about your end users in order to provide the correct level of service? Jeff Dray explores these questions. by Jeff Dray
- Tags: Customer, Jeff Dray, Help Desk, Call Centers, It Operations
- Blog posts 2008-07-07
- Do we combat soaring energy prices with a four-day workweek?
- In an effort to combat soaring fuel prices, the state of Utah has implemented a four-day workweek for its government offices. by Toni Bowers
- Tags: Telecommuting, Outsourcing, Human Resources, Workforce Management, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Toni Bowers
- Blog posts 2008-07-02
- Six questions to ask yourself before expanding your IT consultancy
- Don't expand your IT consultancy without asking yourself these six important questions. If you still decide to take the plunge, find out what Chip Camden advises to ease into the transition. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Hiring, Information Technology, Consulting, Recruitment & Selection, Outsourcing, Human Resources, Workforce Management, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-06-28
- Good consultants know when to be "invisible"
- Sometimes you need to take a backseat to the client team so that they can fully develop the skills they'll need after you're gone. Shannon Kalvar describes becoming an "invisible consultant" in order to allow a client to become the star of the project. by Shannon Kalvar
- Tags: Project, Team, Consultant, Consulting, Shannon Kalvar, Larry, Team Management, Outsourcing, Management, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting
- Blog posts 2008-06-26
- Lines in the sand: Three requests support techs should turn down
- There's policy, and then there's real life. Users often make inappropriate requests from the help desk and its techs. Look out for these big ones, and make sure that your support staff is prepared to refuse them. by William Jones
- Tags: Help Desk, Call Centers, It Operations, William Jones
- Blog posts 2008-06-26
- IT managers can fight employee burnout by building the right workplace environment
- Skilled employees are difficult to find and even harder to keep. IT managers can increase retention and fight employee burnout by rotating jobs, effectively scheduling shifts, assigning administrative duties, managing phone time, requiring employees to visit other areas of the organization, and building a culture of constant learning. by Bill...
- Tags: Job, Workplace, Employee, Phone, Information Technology, Environment, Burnout, Help Desk, Call Centers, Recruitment & Selection, It Operations, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Bill Detwiler
- Blog posts 2008-06-26
- IT consulting: The customer isn't always right
- When a customer is wrong, it can be difficult to get them to come around to your way of thinking. Robert L. Bogue explains why listening, teaching, and giving them time to process information can go a long way. by Robert Bogue
- Tags: Information Technology, Customer, Consulting, Person, Robert Bogue, Outsourcing, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting
- Blog posts 2008-06-25
- 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 consultant, read Chip Camden's list of 10 personality traits that he says you should possess in order to be...
- Tags: Consultant, Problem, Consulting, Outsourcing, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-06-24
Product Spotlight
- Find out what these tech products mean for the business bottom line at the TechRepublic Product Spotlight blog.
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