I had to leave the meeting room very quickly and walked into a vacant office. I shut the door and…
Hurt people, hurt people. Abusers were once abused. Sometimes. I don’t normally get angry, but incidents of domestic violence and…
You need to truly understand the importance of testing, or you will never be able to deliver robust software. This…
There’s a lot of discussion about whether a contractor would be suited to a permanent role in software development, especially…
Many people don’t understand that signed off requirements in a software delivery constitute a contractual agreement. It’s what you say…
There’s a common misconception about the term ‘requirements’ especially when applied to Agile projects. Many believe that User Stories are…
“Why are you doing this? You’re not making any money out of giving away free courses.” I’ve also been coaching…
My next round of Consulting Masterclasses will be running in a couple of weeks. If – you’re an #awesomeadmin –…
Those of us in the consulting industry will know that preparing proposals and working in Bid Teams is generally far…
Bidding for new projects are tough, especially if it’s for Project implementation and not Discoveries. Sometimes, clients prefer us to…
In software consulting, for medium and larger projects of work, there’s generally two parts to the delivery that require Statement…
Was listening to Tim Ferriss’ podcast with Esther Perel this morning, and was struck by her learnings from Holocaust survivors…
Estimating a consulting project is easy. “You pick an imaginary number, double it, double it, and then double it 4…
Why should consulting partners estimate requirements using time, and not story points? Because unless they are doing a pure agile…
When a document raises more questions than it answers, it is either: 1) Deliberately provocative, or 2) Very poorly written.…
“My job as a Project Manager is to schedule meetings and workshops (maybe do the minutes), and get info from…
What’s your super power, may not be mine, and vice versa. Everyone has strengths in different areas. Growing up, I…
I am running my 3rd free Consulting Masterclasses on 28th September where I provide training in Consulting skills, project methodology…
There’s no real substitute for practical real life experience. On my last consulting course – we were doing a session…
“Your new best friend.” That’s what I tell all the new consulting hires. You must appreciate your Resource Manager. It’s…
Being a Resource Manager must be one of the hardest job I can think of, in the Consulting industry. No…
Critical thinking is a key skill for anyone. More so if you are a software consultant. The ability to: –…
Resilience and toughness. You can be tough, but brittle. A lot of people think being tough is not admitting weakness.…
Survivor’s guilt. “Be grateful you still have a job.” “Are you seriously moaning about your work stress?!” “I can’t believe…
Building a rocket to escape Zombie Apocalypse within 12 months (before they get to your isolated sanctuary and eat your…
Covid has taken many casualties – people’s lives, health, jobs. The consulting world has not been spared, and employee consultations,…
Walking into a lion’s den. That’s what it feels like sometimes, if you’re a solo consultant, managing and implementing a…
As a consultant, you’ll be expected to communicate well. Such as in your verbal face-to-face/zoom interactions, presentation, documentation, emails, writing…
“Does he really hate me, or is he just having a bad day? Or was he born a jerk??” Everyone…
The last ‘unemployed’ Salesforce consultant in my free consulting training just told me she’s got a job today!! It’s more…
“Are you saying I am going to get 3 weeks of FREE training, and you’re going to get me a…
Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should. Just because you can integrate two systems and sync…
No catch. I’m offering 3 weeks worth of absolutely FREE Consulting Masterclass training, covering: – Consulting Engagement & Delivery –…
I’ve been accused of being a nitpicky Project Manager. A fussy, bossy, demanding Project Manager. All this in front of…
Writing solid requirements is an artform. Whether it’s a biblical tome of a Business Requirements Document (a la Waterfall), or…
Executing the process design and requirement gathering workshops remotely is much more challenging than doing it face to face. A…
Data migration on a CRM Project is a much much bigger workstream than anyone thinks. Corrupt, inaccurate, inconsistent, irrelevant or…
What do you do when you’ve been engaged on a new consulting project, and you can see that the client’s…
Communication is _so_ important. It’s not just knowing the language. It’s the study of nuance and context. It’s the study…
“Things didn’t go as smoothly as you thought. But the team and I, we fixed it and made sure it…
Why do a process map for a CRM implementation? I am no longer surprised to hear of projects where process…
Detail or Big Picture? Ideally both. The ability to focus on the roots and the trees, and the biodiversity around…
“Why do you want to know what I do. Should I be worried about my job?” Resistance to change is…
“What should we have in the ‘Gender’ picklist field? It’s now more than 2, right?” “Business wants to collect number…
Preparation is imperative in any meeting or workshop that a consultant organises. This includes preparing and briefing participants, so that…
Life is a marathon.Software Projects are like (non-Agile) sprints. In Life – there will be up and downs on the…
How do you pick the right consulting partner for your project? The first thing to do is to evaluate your…
The two things you need to get right if you are looking to implement a CRM system. Make sure that…
There is a skill in estimating how long a Discovery will take. For mid to larger sized projects, this can…
“Here’s the list of requirements, and the team’s estimation against each item. Go and create a project plan.” There’s no…
I’ve been listening to the debate between Sam Harris’ strong views on religion with Dan Carlin, host of Hardcore History.…
“Why aren’t your consultants testing their own work? Why do I have to pay for QA?” A person who is…
1. I compare. What I’ve achieved, and what I _should_ have achieved. 2. I can be disciplined about what I…
In human relationships, there are 5 types of human responses. 1. Instructive – deciding what the other person needs, e.g.…
Circle of Influence. Manage what you _can_ control. Mitigate, accept, or avoid what you can’t. If at all possible. I…
You can’t plan life like you can plan a project. Software development projects like Microsoft CE or Salesforce or SAP……
Conflict still happen in business, even if you have contract that govern the engagement. Heavy weight contracts prescribe so much…
I use the project kick-off to great effect: – Team Introduction – Project brief (as we understand it) – Critical…
Conflict occurs when expectations are not aligned. “What I think I am getting is not what you think you are…
The two key elements that are candidates for ‘trimming’ on a project estimate at the sales stage that’s beyond the…
How to consistently and repeatedly reduce the possibility of a project being undersold in a fast-paced sales cycle? Estimating correctly…
When estimating requirements, you need to remember the ‘non-functional requirements’ as well, especially around testing. – End-to-end – Integration (PtP…
Two key competencies that make a Good QA are: 1. Attention to detail, and 2. Being a Perfectionist The next…
“QA. Friend or foe?” There are many who believe the QA element of software delivery is unnecessary, costly, and time-consuming.…
Capacity. Bandwidth. Buffer. Healthbar. I love games, and I see the whole world as a Big Game. Everything has a…
Being “Authentic” has its place. You might have strong feelings about ‘being forced to stay indoors’, the Nanny States, Big…
Someone asked me why I was following people on Twitter that I disagree with, in the areas of ethics, morality,…
“What does it mean to be a consultant? How should we behave?” I was running inductions for new consultants the…
I saw a contract job ad for a Salesforce admin that has excellent BA skills. My experience tells me that…
I’ve known Project Managers who are just paper shufflers, finger pointers, gantt chart fillers, and milestone update naggers. They provide…
Why would businesses not want to support remote working when: 1. it’s cheaper than paying for offices and related overhead…
I think that it takes a lot more skills to work in a small consulting partner than a bigger one.…
There’s a difference between working in a larger consultancy and a smaller one. In one, you’re probably dedicated to a…
The consulting life is like normal life, just playing at x2 speed. Or more. That means a roller coaster of…
Staying on the “Be Professional” topic for consultants: Should you ‘friend’ a client on Facebook or other social media? Controversially,…
I run inductions for new hires for a Tier 1 Consulting Company, and was discussing with a Programme Director the…
“I woke up with an idea on how to solve the problem so have been working since about 4am… and…
I believe that the job of a Project Manager is a lot more than ‘Managing a Project to timescales and…
There are two general engagement types when you work for a consultancy: Project Engagement, and Staff Augmentation (sometimes crudely referred…
Our experiences shape who we are, and how we see the world. “Emotion and cognition, undefined and unexplored, drive every…
“I have better things in life to focus on instead of blow-drying my hair – three kids, school run, work,…
When a consulting partner is engaged to implement a software solution, we assume the client knows what they are doing.…
I pay attention to the small things. – the questions my lead consultant is asking – the subtle body language…
Feast and famine. Ups and downs. Winters and summers. I believe that the Consulting career prepares you for real life.…
Consulting Partners are required to quote against a set of requirements in a Statement of Work. These are generally acquired…
Writing requirements is easy. Writing GOOD requirements, tight User Stories, detailed Design Documents that: – is easily understood – is…
I believe that Hybrid model is the most appropriate methodology for Consulting engagements. Here’s why I think so. Consulting Partners…
“I almost killed myself trying to get the project live in China. So many obstacles. The Great Firewall. Language. Culture.…
Consultants worry about their utilisation rate. It’s pegged to their bonus at the end of the year, and along with…
Consultancy project teams are assembled based on availability, capability, and rate. As a client, you might be promised “the best,…
“Wait, your sales team promised xyz. What you’re saying now is not what I am expecting.” If you hear this…
“You’re the expert – we pay you to make our problem go away.” Many businesses think that hiring consultants is…
One of the reasons for companies engaging Consulting Partners when implementing a system is getting that kick in the butt…
“Here’s what I want – go forth and build.” Consulting engagements doesn’t really work that way. When clients engage a…
The word “consultants” sometimes conjure up mixed feelings from the ‘end-user’ community. “Consultants charge a lot”, you say “And sometimes…
Apart from a poor attempt at doing puns (I normally leave that to hubby!) that is exactly what a Salesforce…
Ok, it’s not real ‘peril’ if you ignore these elements. It’s not like you’re going to crop down a cliff edge…
When I was around 8, Nostradamus set me off on the path that led to where I am now. He…
I was reading an excellent article written on Vantage Consulting‘s blog yesterday: “Finding the Right Salesforce Partner for your Business“.…
4.2 million Salesforce jobs by 2024? That’s the latest from IDC Salesforce Economy Whitepaper released in October 2019. That figure…