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Managing Expectations: How to Keep IT Project Clients Informed and Happy One of the most critical responsibilities of an IT project manager is keeping a project on track. Clients donï¿½t like surprises, especially the kind that cost time and money. Managing Marketing Clientsï¿½ Expectations: Itï¿½s About Trust Working as a marketing consultant is as much about finessing the client relationship as it is about developing effective marketing campaigns. Your businessï¿½s survival depends on customer satisfaction, so earning and keeping your clientï¿½s trust is a big part of your job. Lessons Learned: Building on Success with Marketing Post-Project Reviews In business as in life, learning from our mistakes and successes is the best way to improve. As marketing consultants, the most informative feedback comes from our clients. Thatï¿½s why formal project reviews are one of the best ways for marketing consultants to get better at what they do. Management Consulting Project Review: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly As is true with any profession, management consultants get better at their jobs with time and experience. Thatï¿½s particularly true for consultants who make a point of conducting project assessments, gathering their clientsï¿½ feedback at the end of a project, and then using that feedback to ensure improved performance on future engagements. Key Word in Managing Customer Expectations: Communication As a management consultant, you know that customer satisfaction and your business reputation are closely linked. If your consulting engagement misses the mark ï¿½ or even if your client just perceives it that way ï¿½ your future business prospects are on the line. Ongoing Quality Testing Cuts IT Project Management Risks Because risk management and IT project management go hand-in-hand, experienced IT project managers never start a project without a risk-management strategy in mind. Often, at the heart of that strategy is a strong focus on quality control. With Systems Integration or Programming Projects, an Informed Client Is a Happy Client When itï¿½s your job as the systems integrator or custom programmer to make sure that a project stays on track, your reputation ï¿½ and future business prospects ï¿½ are on the line. No client wants to hire a consultant, only to be surprised to learn months later that the project is over budget, beset by technical problems or plagued by unexpected delays. Formal Change-Control Process Helps Keep Complex Projects on Track With almost any complex information technology project, there are bound to be scope changes along the way. Often, the difference between a successful project and one that gets bogged down by ï¿½project scope creepï¿½ is the way those scope changes are managed. Use Project Management Tools to Stay Ahead of Marketing Project Scope Creep When marketing consultants are hired for a project, itï¿½s common for both the consultant and client to come up with new ideas along the way. But beware of ï¿½scope creepï¿½: those little changes to the scope of a project that ultimately add up to a big change of direction ï¿½ and a big impact on the budget. Management Consultants: Take Control of Scope Creep Often management consultants are hired to accomplish a specific goal, but before the engagement is complete, the projectï¿½s scope has expanded to include more than you or the client bargained for. Because scope creep often happens quietly, itï¿½s easy for a management consultant to spend time dealing with it without even realizing that he or she is doing a significant amount of extra work. No. 1 Rule for Working with Subcontractors: Put It in Writing Many growing IT companies find that working with subcontractors a great way to keep clients happy and overhead in check. Without having to bring on a full-time employee, IT companies can hire independent contractors on a per-project basis, extending their companyï¿½s scope and geographical reach, while giving clients part- or full-time support for a defined period of time. ASP Contracts Help Developers Keep Control and Cut Risks Whether your company is a large-volume application service provider or a smaller IT company offering a single, specialized application or licensed software for one or more clients, an ASP contract can help you keep control of your work products while reducing risk for your business. Clear Documentation Equals Better Results from Your IT Project Subcontractors Many IT project managers find that using subcontractors is an excellent alternative to hiring full-time staffers. IT project managers may choose to hire independent contractors to assist with one project, or bring them on-board on a long-term basis. Change-Control Process Reduces IT Project Surprises and Delays Scope changes are so common in IT projects that many IT project managers have learned to expect them and simply take them in stride. But thereï¿½s no reason to let ï¿½project scope creepï¿½ slow your implementation down. Starting out with a good plan for managing scope changes can help you keep your project on track and your clients happy. Two Key Words When Providing Ongoing Software Support: Be Specific Once you\'ve developed and installed software for a client, your work may not be done. In many cases, software developers provide ongoing software maintenance and support for their clients. Offering this service is an excellent way to build a longstanding relationship with your client while potentially gaining a long-term source of income. Software License Agreements Protect the Value of Your Hard Work As a software developer, you know how important a good software license agreement can be. Without one, thereï¿½s nothing to stop the purchaser of your software from redistributing the products of your hard work with no profits to you. Employment Contract Can Be a Valuable Part of Your Hiring Process For many small businesses, success goes hand-in-hand with the need for more employees. While growth is something to celebrate, adding people to your team also adds a new level of risk to your operation. Most small businesses don’t have a legal or human resources department to protect the company’s interests as an employer. Project Timelines for Marketing Engagement: Keep It Realistic As a marketing consultant, you know that timing is everything. To keep your consulting engagements on track, you need a good project management strategy, centered on a solid project timeline. But as many marketing consultants know from experience, developing and adhering to a timeline can be tough. Reduce the Risk of Working with Subcontracted Marketing Consultants For some projects, a marketing consultant may need outside expertise or just an extra hand to get the job done. For engagements like these, hiring a subcontracted marketing consultant to assist with the project can help you meet your deadlines without having to bring a full-time employee on board. Protect Your Interests When Hiring Subcontract Management Consultants In an ideal world, management consultants would be able to do it all. But in reality, no one can be in two places at one time. For some engagements, it makes good business sense to hire a subcontracted management consultant to assist with specific aspects of the project. Project Timelines for Marketing Engagements: Keep It Realistic As a marketing consultant, you know that timing is everything. To keep your consulting engagements on track, you need a good project management strategy centered around a solid project timeline. But as many marketing consultants know from experience, developing and adhering to a timeline can be tough. Placing Temporary Personnel with a Client? You Need a Staffing Contract Placing personnel at a client company to perform IT services can be a great solution for everyone involved. Your people get work, you get income, and your client gets the service it needs without the expense of hiring a full-time employee. Creating an IT Project Timeline You Can Stick To Developing a project timeline is a cornerstone of any project management strategy. But as many IT project managers have learned, developing and adhering to a timeline isn’t easy. From technical glitches to human resource problems, unexpected complications can pop up at any time, quickly throwing an IT project off-track. Control Your IT Projects by Creating Timelines The project timeline is a cornerstone of project management. But as most system integrators and computer/software programmers know, developing and sticking to a timeline can be easier said than done. From technical issues to personnel problems, unexpected complications can arise at any time, throwing an IT project team off-schedule. Got Subcontractors? Protect Your Interests with a Subcontractor Agreement It’s hard to find a talented independent contractor you can trust to represent your company when working with a client. Once you do find a good one, however, it's a person that you want to keep on your team for future projects. The downside is, your favorite independent contractor is more than likely someone that your clients would love to have on their team – and in the absence of a subcontractor contract, they could very well hire your best contractor away. Mastering the Management Consulting Project Timeline A project timeline is a central component in any good project management strategy. But as many management consultants have learned the hard way, creating and sticking to a timeline is not as easy as it sounds. Depending on the type of consulting engagement, many project elements – from people to technology to operational and market factors -- can generate unexpected complications and delays, quickly throwing a project off-track. Creating Project Agreements for Your Custom Programming Jobs Before engaging in a formal business relationship, system integrators and custom computer/software programmers need to protect their business interests with appropriate legal contracts. During the initial stages of project development, IT professionals often keep informal records by hanging on to e-mails sent back and forth with the customer. Got Marketing Clients? You Need Project Agreements Before beginning work on any consulting engagement, it’s a good idea for marketing consultants to protect their business and reduce their liability by getting their client’s signature on a comprehensive marketing consulting contract. Smart IT Project Managers Get It in Writing Before establishing a formal business relationship, wise IT project managers protect their business interests with appropriate legal contracts. During the initial stages of project development, IT professionals often rely on informal records based on e-mails sent back and forth with the client. Contracts Protect Management Consultants from Liability Before beginning work on a consulting engagement, smart management consultants protect their business interests and reduce their liability with legally binding contracts, signed by their clients. Creating a Website Development Agreement Developing even a simple web site can quickly become a complex job, so clarifying expectations at the beginning of the project is always a good idea. That’s why an experienced web developer's first move is to get the client’s signature on a comprehensive website development contract before starting any project. Why Architects Have Specific Insurance Requirements If you’re working in the architecture field, you’ve probably run into situations in which a client requires you to carry liability insurance. Maybe you run a small architecture firm with a few employees, or perhaps you’re a solo architect, draftsman or designer. Tips on Creating Successful Marketing Projects for Your Clients More than ever before, companies are hiring marketing consulting businesses with one important criterion in mind: “How can this marketing consultant help me get the most out of my marketing dollars?” Understand Your Clients’ Needs Is the Key to Developing Great Websites Behind almost every web site development or graphic design project is a set of business requirements. The hard part is making sure that the site you build meets those business needs, 100 percent. Tips on Creating Great Software Development Contracts Congratulations! You’ve been chosen to do a software development project, and you’re almost ready to get started. But before you jump in, you need both you and your client’s signatures on a contract that clearly defines all aspects of the project. Creating Programming Projects Based on Customers’ Needs Behind almost every IT project is a business requirement – but how do you ensure that the end product truly meets that business need? Turn Your Customer’s Needs into Successful IT Projects Every IT project is driven by a business requirement. For an IT project manager, the hard part is translating that business requirement into an end product that fully meets that business need.

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