Essentially my clients are IT professionals who are responsible for overseeing the successful delivery of a custom software system, written specifically for their company, but who do not have the necessary technical knowledge or experience to avoid the numerous pitfalls of contracting a third-party vendor - or even an internal department - to build the system.
In particular, I help people to differentiate between a potential vendor that can actually deliver a high quality system, and do so on time and within budget, and one that promises to deliver but cannot support those promises with material technical evidence. In other words, one of my most important services is to help clients spot and avoid the large number of professional sharks that infest custom software development waters, and who take advantage of the limited technical knowledge of their customers.
I work with people who need a partner to help them make sound, informed technical decisions at any stage of a project life-cycle. If your position is similar to any of the following, I may be able to help you out.
You have a great business concept, you've secured funding, you've found premises for your team, and now you need to build the killer system to make your millions. You can't afford this to fail.
Having committed capital to an IT-based company, you want to protect your investment by guaranteeing the technical quality of any third-party company brought in to implement business-critical systems built for your clients.
When there are perceived problems with internal software groups, you may need an independent audit of the technical quality of these groups, to support your decisions and actions.
You've been tasked with implementing a new system, where in-house resources aren't available, or don't have the necessary skills. You need to find an experienced, reliable partner, but you're not sure how to do so.
If your previous projects failed because you were let down by an cheap offshore company, you may need help finding a better partner. Failing twice may not be an option.
You've been promoted because of your past technical knowledge, and everyone now expects you to deliver, but your grasp of current technologies isn't good enough. Mistakes could be embarrassing, or worse...