October 2008: Commandments for Consultants (Part 2 of 3), WF Courseware, The Problem with Certifications, Hot Courseware

Commandments for Consultants (Part 2 of 3), WF Courseware, The Problem with Certifications, Hot Courseware

Hello,

Thanks again, for all of the great feedback over the past months on this newsletter. Based on your feedback, it seems our heavy on content, light on advertising approach works! In this issue we have:

• The second part of a three part article on how to work with customers when delivering training and consulting
• Workflow Courseware--Our featured courseware title
• An article on certification myths
• A list of the top-selling and new courseware titles

As always, feel free to contact me at 800-866-9884 +23 to discuss how our courseware can help your business.


Dan McCabe
Director of Training Sales
Intertech

Commandments for Consultants (Part 2 of 3)

Commandment 2: Get clear upfront.

Nothing sinks an effective consulting engagement faster than misunderstandings about a project’s definition and scope. While most consultants approach new clients with the best of intentions, misunderstandings invariably arise if a project begins without a clear definition of assumptions upfront.

The situation is similar to the love-struck couple who, after a whirlwind romance, decide to get married. They’ve been so preoccupied with moonlit strolls and candlelight suppers that they’ve neglected to discuss who takes out the trash, how the bills get paid and how they’re going to deal with pesky in-laws. Once those mundane aspects begin emerging (and they always do!), the romance quickly fizzles and the couple soon may be heading to divorce court.

Write it down

Consultants with foresight and experience never let a new client relationship get underway without first hammering out all the details that really matter in the thick of the engagement. Here’s what the upfront assessment should describe in writing in as specific language as possible:

• What services will be included.
• What will be excluded.
• Aspects of the engagement for which the consultant is responsible.
• Aspects of the engagement for which the client is responsible.

To be honest, a written project assessment protects consultants as much as clients. This was the case at my company when a piece of software we were building needed to be installed on the client’s database by another party. We were clear in the assessment that the timely implementation of our software project was dependent on that second party. When the server installation deadline was missed, while regrettable, it was clear that Intertech had delivered on our part of the project on time as promised.

(Final Part Next Month...)

WF Courseware

Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is an API introduced with .NET 3.0 which allows you to execute and monitor business processes workflows directly in managed code. In this course, attendees will gain a clear understanding of the use of workflows, activities, and the visual tools which allow you to design them. We will also examine how to interact with the WF runtime engine, create custom activities and survey the integrated feature WF set.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the role of WF
• Use standard activities and build custom activities
• Work with sequential and state machine workflows
• Understand the WF architecture / intrinsic WF feature set

Full WF Courseware Information...

The Top 10 Problems with IT Certification in 2008

"Less than 10 years ago, I had no reservation about recommending a certification to a person interested in entering the IT sector. Certification and the training needed to "earn" an IT certification was a great way for a career changer, a displaced worker, or someone simply looking for a career to get a foot in the door on a growing field and land a good job with a lot of growth potential..."

Read the article...

The Hot List

The top-selling courses purchased by training firms throughout North America and Europe.


Hot Releases
1. WPF Courseware
2. WCF Courseware
3. WF Courseware



New Releases

• iBATIS Courseware Using Eclipse -- Updated


• iBATIS Courseware Using RAD -- Updated

www.IntertechCourseware.com info@intertech.com 800-866-9884 +23