Thanks for your help with my article! I'm happy to report that it's live.

Getting Clueful: Nine Things CIOs Should Know About Computer
Consulting and Contracting

When the workload becomes overwhelming, the project is in trouble, or
expertise doesn't exist in-house, it's common to bring in a consultant
or contractor to fix the problem. The hired guns of IT explain (in
gory detail) the mistakes that enterprise IT managers make, and how to
get the most out of the consulting budget.
http://www.cio.com/article/129250

I had an impressive amount of input, for which I am very grateful. Not
everyone's comments made it into the final article (1500 words had to
be left on the cutting room floor) but I'm pretty pleased with it
nonetheless.

Esther Schindler
senior online editor
CIO.com


--- In agile-testing@yahoogroups.com, "estherschindler" <esther@...>
wrote:
>
> Sorry for the OT post but I'm positive that several people here are
consultants... or work
> with them.
>
> 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.
>
> 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 important 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 next 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
>