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by Udi Dahan.
Original Post: Free ?! I'll take two !
Feed Title: Udi Dahan - The Software Simplist
Feed URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/UdiDahan-TheSoftwareSimplist
Feed Description: I am a software simplist. I make this beast of architecting, analysing, designing, developing, testing, managing, deploying software systems simple.
This blog is about how I do it.
After almost every presentation I give, I get people coming up to me from the audience and asking me about my experiences as a consultant/contractor. Many are considering making the jump from employee to something better - they hope. The reason is nearly identical every time - they're dissatisfied with their current employer, and keeping with the timeless adage of the grass being greener on the other side, think that everything will be that much better when on their own.
Now, these people are not naive. They know that this move would entail taking certain financial risks. The most common question I get is how to get gigs. This goes directly to revenue. Without revenue, any business isn't viable. However, revenue isn't the entire equation. There are expenses. I believe that everybody who asks me about consulting/contracting is aware about expenses - but for some reason, I never get a single question about them.
I'll be starting a series for the budding contractor/consultant or anyone who's thinking about taking the plunge. It'll cover ( I hope ) all parts of the business. For example, as a part of minimizing expenses, look for all sorts of campaigns that other companies push, that may give you quality products at a significant discount ( or even free ) for a mention on your site.
Note: If you are a consultant/contractor that is just starting out, I'm not sure that I'd suggest such a marketing tactic to get going.
Now, I haven't tried out their product yet, and I can't vouch for its quality, however - for all you contractors out there, those that are just starting out in particular, you must have a defect tracking system. You must use it for every product you sell, or system that you build specifically for a client. I can't stress this enough. You have enough on your mind to deal with besides having to remember what defects exist in which system/product.
So, if you need such a defect tracking system - and someone's offering you one free ( some defect tracking systems can be quite pricy ), I'd say don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Start using it right away. Should something better come along later, well, you can always change. But, I guarantee you, the quality of software you put out when using any defect tracking system, as opposed to not using one, will be much higher.
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