I'm writing another article in my "5 Things the CIO should know..."
series, which includes "7 things the CIO should know about
telecommuting" (http://www.cio.com/article/108501),
"5 things the CIO
should know about software requirements" (http://www.cio.com/article/
29903), and "...about fighting spam" (http://www.cio.com/article/
28830).
This time, I'm asking contractors and consultants about their
experiences with clients -- in particular, with the upper management
at the client company. I'd love to include your input. (Nominally,
this is about information technology consultants, which would include
everything from Java contractors to web site design, but -- since I
spent several years as a consultant myself, I know that the business
is the same no matter what the technology is. So don't be shy.)
There's just one question to answer:
If you could get the (client) boss(es) to understand JUST ONE
THING about computer consulting and contracting, what would it be?
Or, to put the same question another way: If you were given a single
wish of something to change (about a current or past client) what
would it be?
If you're an active consultant or IT contractor, I'm sure you have
more than one response. But by asking you to give me only ONE answer,
I can prioritize the issues that matter most to consultants and
contractors. (I spent several years in that role myself, so believe
me... I have my own list!) I'll turn the responses into a list of the
top items, and -- since this is for CIO.com -- in this case the upper
management at your client might actually read it. If I do my job well,
he or she might actually learn from it.
If you aren't a consultant, that's okay -- I'll still be happy for
your input. Because there are plenty of problems that consulting and
contracting causes for IT staff. (I'd give a few examples here but I
don't want to make suggestions that cause you to say, "Yeah, just like
that!")
In either case, your "just ONE thing" can be something tiny and
annoying, or a wide generality. This is about what gets *your* shorts
twisted in a knot; you don't have to worry about whether it bugs other
people too.
Anecdotes are wonderful. Please, share horror stories.
Two im****tant requests:
* PLEASE do not make your single answer a rant about outsourcing
overseas. We have plenty of material on that subject already and it's
entirely predictable. I'm much more interested in writing this article
with specific advice that's more, well, close to home.
* Remember that I'm writing an article and I need to quote my sources.
I generally can't get away with anonymous quotes. So please *please*
give me your name, company name ("self employed consultant" is fine
though your company name is better), some idea of your company size
(that is, a solo developer may have different perspective from a
larger consulting firm), your personal role (i.e. "a consultant who
specializes in web development" or "a Java programmer on staff"),
number of years consulting, and location. If you refer to a client,
supply some kind of description for credibility (i.e. "a large
insurance company in the midwest" if you don't feel comfortable
saying, "When I was a consultant at State Farm..."). At a minimum,
send me a private e-mail message at esther at bitranch dot com. The
point is that I need to provide references, or the article lacks
credibility.
I'll check back here -- because I'm sure this will be a fun topic for
the community to discuss -- but I'd also be happy to hear from you
privately.
I'll collect input until, oh, sometime this week. Say, the end of
July. Then I'll collate the responses and turn them into something
(arguably) brilliant to which you can point prospective clients.
Esther Schindler
Senior Online Editor, CIO.com
http://advice.cio.com/blogs/youre_the_boss
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