Things To Remember When Using Essay Writing Services</h1> <article> <h1>Things To Remember When Using Essay Writing Services</h1> <p>Nancy Silva — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:15:36 GMT</p> <p>Essay Writing is difficult for some students that they have opted to use essay writing services. These kinds of websites offer research works and even completed papers to students in order for them to save time or guide them in doing their own assignments.<br /><br />However, essay writing services are not the be all and end all for students who are in need of help. They also need to remember and prepare some things in order to fully utilize the services that they use.<br /><br />Here are some things that a student must remember before they use essay writing services.<br /><b><br />1. Essay writing works are not meant to replace actual learning –</b> These services, while thoroughly researched and mostly plagiarism free, are not meant to make students forget about learning. They are there as an option for students who need a guide when essay writing.</p> <p><br /><b>2. Ensure that the requirements relayed to the website are accurate –</b> Essay writing services would work according to the client’s guidelines. This means that format, pagination and topic must be right in order to guarantee good <a title="essay writing" href="http://www.bestessays.co.uk/">essay writing</a>.</p> <p><br /><b>3. Communicate with the writer –</b> These kinds of services would usually allow the student to communicate with their team of writers. This is done so that the student can update the writer about developments regarding the orders.</p> <p><br /><b>4. Check for plagiarism –</b> Sometimes, there are plagiarized content that still pop up from the works that the student’s receive from this type of service. They must be vigilant enough to ensure that what the work that they have accepted cites all the resources and does not simply copy and paste from other pages.<br /><br />By remembering these things, students would be able to maximize the work that they received from <a title="essay writing services" href="http://www.bestessays.co.uk/essay_service.html">essay writing services</a>.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Why Outsource Document Scanning/OCR?</h1> <p>Janet Wiggins — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:19:49 GMT</p> <p>It seems so easy. You have, let's say, 50 (or 5000) pages or so of material, printed or in a file format like PDF, that you very much need in a word processor, database or spreadsheet. What's the big deal? Just fire up the scanner, run the pages through, use some OCR (optical character recognition) software and voilà, all done. Ah....if only it really worked that way. Most who try this approach end up with poor quality results due to inexperience and/or inferior equipment. Usually the errors that result from this process take more time and effort to clean up than it would have taken if you just typed it in the first place, as laborious as that would be.</p> <p>Scanning documents and gleaning 'usable data' is more of an art than a science. It takes the knowledge, expertise and skill of specialists to turn that seemingly simple process into a workable solution. Outsourcing is about matching needed skills to the project at hand. Every organization has limits on its resources, especially in this challenging economic environment. By outsourcing your document scanning you save time, effort, and money; allowing you to dedicate your time to higher value business functions.</p> <p>Outsourcing these projects to a document scanning/OCR service that has the staff, equipment, expertise, and experience to produce exactly the results you need makes business sense. It ensures that your core business does not get sidetracked and the scanning project is completed on time, in budget and satisfies your need. Document scanning/OCR service providers working with a variety of clients with similar requirements produce quality results.</p> <p>Document scanning/OCR service is a very affordable business solution. Many businesses find that outsourcing their document scanning is more efficient. The expenditure in time and effort (and, I might add, aggravation) of trying to process these projects in-house is usually greater than anticipated. Having the work done by well-equipped professionals with expertise in document scanning, optical character recognition and PDF or other file format conversion is quite cost-effective.</p> <p>By outsourcing document scanning/OCR service projects you gain access to world-class capabilities and resources by leveraging the talent, technology and skills of others. Going high tech without the extensive investment in equipment, highly trained technicians and expensive software gives you the competitive advantage and helps avoid the cost of chasing ever-changing technology. Outsourcing is a viable alternative to building the needed capability from the ground up.</p> <p>The most successful businesses of today outsource many of their non-core business processes and now have time and money to spend on standing out in the marketplace. If you are looking for ways to reduce costs and focus on your core business, consider outsourcing solutions that meet your business needs. Many businesses and organizations are now realizing the benefits of outsourcing their document scanning/OCR projects. By outsourcing your scanning you achieve a balance of good value and quality results. Document scanning/OCR service provides an economic solution to many business needs.</p> <p>About the Author: Janet Wiggins is the Technical Director of Document Scanning Pro's - specializing in converting basically anything on paper, in pdf's, in image files, or on the web into high quality computer editable files. To know more and to use these services visit http://www.documentscanningpros.com</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>10 Good Reasons to Outsource IT Infrastructure Support</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:43 GMT</p> <p>Most business leaders today understand that office technologies (like email, web sites and e-newsletters) are critically important to everyday business operations. More technology-centric businesses employ their own technical staff to build, deploy and support software that is a unique part of their business. </p> <p>Regardless of your level of IT sophistication, the management and support of business infrastructure (servers, network, workstations, firewalls, laptops, mobile devices, and office applications) is likely not, and should not be, a core competency. </p> <p>Here are 10 good reasons to think about outsourcing this part of your business. </p> <p>1. Technology infrastructure management is not a core competency of your company. You may be great at helping your clients with their go to market strategy, provide them with a wide variety of legal services or even manufacture airplane parts for them. Since planning for and analyzing how best to support your IT infrastructure and managing the people who provide that support is not what generates revenue for you, you should consider outsourcing those functions. If you already outsource them, you should make certain that you are using service that matches your business needs. </p> <p>2. You can save 20-30% on overall costs to support your IT infrastructure. Most companies are not accounting for all the costs associated with employing good technical resources and tools to support their infrastructure. The cost of internal IT staff includes salaries, vacation, sick time, software for help desk management, upkeep on technical training and certifications, and general business overheads – not to mention the cost of employee turnover. These costs also do not include hiring specialized IT resources when more complex issues arise – a service usually provided as part of an overall service agreement with an IT outsourcing company. </p> <p>3. Experienced IT services companies provide you with the control over the work that gets done so you always know what you’re paying for. The best IT outsourcing companies provide you with the right kind of tools so you can monitor work being done real-time. This gives you visibility into how infrastructure support work is being assigned and completed and how satisfied your systems users are with the service they are receiving. </p> <p>4. You can supplement employed technical staff to improve overall performance and efficiencies. A fixed schedule maintenance and support agreement that covers specified areas of technical support can be an important part of a proactive approach to supporting your IT infrastructure. This can ensure that the basics are getting covered while internal staff focus on new demands. </p> <p>5. If you feel like the only way to support your IT infrastructure is by hiring employees you should explore your options. There are several options for IT outsourcing that most business leaders do not realize they have. There are free and easy ways to explore your needs, potential costs and qualified IT services firms with no obligation to buy and keeping your name private so you won’t be solicited. </p> <p>6. Your business might be growing or changing and your existing IT resources may not be adequate to keep up. If your IT support is having trouble keeping up with the pace of change they often are not fulfilling requests on time or are ‘learning on the job’ to try to support your business – it’s time for a change. </p> <p>7. Your business has a frequent need for specialized technical expertise so you hire them as needed. If you find yourself needing to bring in technical expertise on a regular basis this might be a signal that your existing IT resources are not adequate. You might be able to contract with an IT service company on a fixed-fee arrangement to handle your specialized needs and reduce spikes in expenses due to hiring a specialist. </p> <p>8. You are experiencing more systems outages or down-time than you would like. This may be an indication there is no one monitoring your machines to warn you before outages occur. The best IT outsourcing companies have monitoring options for a fixed monthly fee that helps you be more proactive about system stability to reduce outages. </p> <p>9. You are looking for more ways to make your business competitive and feel your existing IT resources ‘just don’t get it’. Sometimes the best hired technical resources are exceptional at fixing problems with technology, but don’t seem to understand where you are trying to take your business. Improper IT planning for changes in business strategies can lead to more costly IT problems. </p> <p>10. To save money you have given the responsibility to manage the IT resources to an executive who has other responsibilities. Sometimes a Controller or a person with additional responsibilities is handed the task of managing the IT infrastructure. Companies think they are saving money by having one person play dual roles. In reality performance in both job functions suffers because more time is spent on problems the area that person is weakest – productivity goes down. Hiring an outsourced IT professional improves productivity because qualified resources can focus on what they do best. </p> <p>There are three fundamental areas of infrastructure support that you should consider outsourcing if you don’t already. </p> <p>1) IT Planning and Project Management </p> <p>2) End-User Support Desk and Maintenance </p> <p>3) Systems Monitoring and Configuration (includes patches, asset management and security). </p> <p>If you are an IT service company CoreConnex can help you take your business to the next level of performance. If you are a business employing 10-150 people, CoreConnex can help you evaluate the costs and benefits of an outsourced IT service that fits your business needs at no cost or obligation. Contact Tony Lael at <a href="mailto:tony@coreconnex.com">tony@coreconnex.com</a> to see how CoreConnex can help your business today.</p> </article> <article> <h1>How to Get the Most of Your Online Marketing Dollars</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:50:56 GMT</p> <p>If you’re a small business owner looking for help getting online, getting found, or both, you may not have the funds to hire a pricey designer or marketing firm. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a solid website and online marketing services that will help you reach your business goals. <br /> <br /> The secret to getting the most out of your online marketing dollars is simple. It all boils down to knowing your business, sharing that knowledge with your Web professional, and staying on schedule. <br /> <br /> And when you use a service that requires more involvement on your part, you get even more.<br /> <strong><br /> Know Your Business</strong><br /> <br /> When you choose an online marketing company to build your Web presence, you will be asked early on in the process to describe your business and competitive market in detail. This is where a value-based online marketing service differs from a higher priced creative boutique: You’re responsible for doing the legwork, clarifying who you are among your competitors and how you want to project your business brand. Then you must convey this to designers, SEO experts and other Web professionals. <br /> <br /> If you already have a handle on this and you’re clear on what kind of Web presence you want, you can simply provide the details. If you’re not sure, this is a fantastic opportunity for defining your business and customers and for getting a better idea of where you sit in your market.<br /> <br /> So take advantage. You can get much more than your money’s worth when setting up your Web presence includes articulating your company’s value and mission. <br /> <br /> <strong>Share What You Know</strong><br /> <br /> Web designers, developers or other marketing professionals are experts in their industry. If they work for a service that provides great value for less, they don’t have time to become an expert about your business and industry. So once you have clarified your business and industry, it’s up to you to communicate this information.<br /> <br /> If it’s a great deal for the money, the online marketing service you choose is designed to help you build a robust Web presence for less. They are able to do this by:<br /> <br /> • handling multiple projects for many customers and <br /> • completing tasks within a designated timeline<br /> <br /> Consider this when you sign on with your affordable marketing provider. Know that how well you communicate has a big impact on the success of your Web presence (design, optimization, social media marketing, etc.). Then keep the following in mind to get the biggest bang for your buck:<br /> <br /> 1. <strong>Be invested and enthusiastic.</strong> Staying focused on this project and letting your Web professional know that you’re enthusiastic can really pay off, plus it’s just good for you.<br /> <br /> 2. <strong> Be up front with your goals.</strong> From the very beginning, let your Web professional know what you hope to achieve. If you’ve done your homework (see “Know your Business”) this will be easy as pie. <br /> <br /> 3. <strong> Ask questions. </strong>This is uncharted territory for many small business owners, so designers, developers and others are anticipating your questions. Take advantage.<br /> <br /> 4. Know the expectations and timelines. Get on the same page with everyone you work with (including your sales rep). Know what you will be expected to provide and what the timeline looks like. If you don’t understand what you are being asked to provide, ask for clarification. <br /> <br /> 5. <strong>Provide more than enough assets, including</strong></p> <ul> <li>A completed text questionnaire (TQ)</li> <li>Polished pages of content for website design</li> <li>Examples of website design and content that you don’t like: You can browse websites and compile a list of their URLs, including comments explaining what you don’t like about them. Surprising to many, this is actually more effective than just telling a designer, developer or copywriter what you do like. It also helps you get a better idea of what you’re after.</li> <li>Brochures, logo samples, any documents needed to help your online marketing professional create your website and/or help you get found</li> <li>The more, the better</li> </ul> <p>6. <strong>Stay on schedule. </strong>Help your designer be better prepared and build the best website possible with abundant assets and solid content. Make the most of your Web professional’s expertise; if you do what needs to be done to stay on track for monthly work, you’ll avoid delays. That’s time and money, in terms of getting traffic and conversions.<br /> <br /> 7. <strong>Respond. </strong>Small business owners know all about the large amount of time wasted on phone tag and unanswered email requests that must be sent out repeatedly. The same goes here. Respond promptly so your Web professional can spend those minutes better on designing and/or optimizing your site.<br /> <br /> If you commit to the process of building your online presence, provide what is needed, ask for clarification and stay on schedule, you’ll come away with much more than a good, solid, affordable Web presence. You’ll emerge online and in your industry with a better understanding of your business, your objectives and your competition. It’s a win-win situation all around.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Point Of Sale Systems: How to Choose One That's Right for Your Business</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:10 GMT</p> <p>A point of sale (POS) system can have a dramatic impact on the way you run your business -- and on your bottom line. Choosing the right one requires careful planning. </p> <p>Here are some of the things you need to think through to make a good decision when selecting POS equipment and systems for your business. </p> <p><b>Use this list as a starting point for your planning process.</b> </p> <ul> <li>First of all, price should not be the main consideration when buying a POS system. The improved efficiency, greater flexibility and better reporting should pay for the investment in a reasonable period of time. </li> <li>Don’t start off by calling for lists of features of various POS systems. Instead, start with a comprehensive analysis of what your business requires. </li> <li>Do you have operations spread over multiple locations? What are the implications? </li> </ul> <p>If you run a restaurant, for example, you may need to keep some parameters common across locations while varying others. For instance, your menu may be identical at all locations, but prices of some items may vary from one outlet to another. The system you choose must be capable of implementing such differences. </p> <ul> <li>How easily can you make changes to the system? You can be sure that your business will keep changing in many respects -- employees join and leave, prices go up or down, your product range expands, locations get added or deleted and so on. </li> </ul> <p>Ask yourself if the programming interface will easily allow your employees to execute such changes. </p> <ul> <li>Will it be possible to make changes ahead of time? For example, if you’re beginning a special promotion on November 15, can you input the price changes well in advance and set the system to automatically effect the changes on that date? </li> </ul> <p>This as well as other types of flexibility are essential for many retail operations. </p> <ul> <li>To what extent will the POS system need to integrate with your accounting system? Does it have to be real time? Or is it enough to have an export of entries at day-end? </li> <li>If you are running a bar, does the POS system need to work with liquor control devices? A liquor control device tracks pours from bottles. This makes billing easier and reduces shrinkage. </li> <li>Will the credit / debit card processing system in the POS equipment work well with your merchant account? </li> <li>Will the system allow you to implement special deals for frequent shoppers? For instance, each purchase could have points associated with them and these points could eventually translate into lower prices or free gifts. </li> <li>What reporting capabilities will you need? If you work across multiple locations, will the system give you an online real-time report of transactions completed? </li> </ul> <p>Most dealers will have sample reports available. Ask to see them so that you can compare better. </p> <ul> <li>In most cases, the POS system will have to be upgraded as your needs evolve and expand. How quickly can the dealer respond to your needs? </li> </ul> <p>Also, most dealers put out regular software upgrades. Are they included in the contract or does the dealer charge extra for them? </p> <p>For the sake of avoiding compatibility problems, plan to purchase new hardware of the same kind as the original. That way you’ll ensure everything works well together -- and even if there are problems, you can get the dealer to handle it. </p> <ul> <li>Support is a critical consideration. What happens if your POS system goes down? This can have a serious impact on the business. You need to get a detailed written agreement on how the dealer is going to handle breakdowns. </li> </ul> <p>The dealer may try to diagnose and solve the problem over phone initially. If that doesn’t work, they may send support staff to your location. And if the problem can’t be solved quickly, you may need to get equipment on loan till your system is repaired. </p> <p>POS system downtime can have serious implications. Make sure you get the support you need. </p> <p>The above list should help trigger ideas about the kind of issues you need to look at. Do your planning well before deciding on a POS system for your business.</p> <p> </p> <p>About the Author: Mark Henry is a systems consultant and has written extensively on POS systems. His articles at http://www.pos-equipment-guide.info/ and at http://www.pos-equipment-guide.info/choosing-pos-systems.html offer tips for choosing the right point of sale equipment how point of sale systems need to fit in with the business environment and more. </p> <p>Article Source: ArticleDepot.net</p> <p>Link: <a href="http://www.pos-equipment-guide.info/">http://www.pos-equipment-guide.info/</a><span style="font-size:x-small;font-family:Courier New;"></span></p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Making Layoffs Strategic</h1> <p>Tara Rethore — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:03:11 GMT</p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">News of layoffs - in the US and abroad - continues to headline in most geographic areas. Most layoffs are cited as critical to helping the organization to compete more effectively (via reduced operating costs) amid tight credit markets and low consumer demand. However, we're hearing among our clients and on the street that organizations have cut 'too deeply' or 'not cut the right folks'. True or not, these kinds of comments beg the question: How do we ensure that the outcomes of our layoffs support the future picture versus providing just a short term fix?</font></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">We suggest three key ingredients to balance your short term needs against insuring your future success.</font></span></p> <p style="margin-left:0.25in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;">1. </span><font face="Verdana"> </font><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;">Determine your future organization structure - look 18-24 months ahead</span></strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">. Set your layoff targets versus that future need, NOT on today's structure and current issues or demands. Even when lay-offs are required, it's critical to retain those team and individual skills that will accelerate your organization through the upturn. Cut too deeply (or not in the right places) and you risk not being ready to capture emerging opportunities. And for small business, that agility is critical to beating the competition.</span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.25in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;">2. </span><font face="Verdana"> </font><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;">Calculate the cost of rehiring.</span></strong><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">It's tempting to take out cost quickly through layoffs but there is a cost associated with choosing wrongly. Reviewing your current situation in the context of your future structure <em><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">before</span></em> layoffs can help to avoid the future cost of rehiring. It can also provide the backdrop for other decisions, such as the cost-benefit of redeploying and re-skilling employees.</span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.25in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;">3. </span><font face="Verdana"> </font><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;">Survive and thrive in the meantime.</span></strong><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">How do you do this? Think and act differently, counter to intuition and without the 'doom and gloom'. Consider these actions to decrease the likelihood of layoffs and to increase productivity. </span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.5in;tab-stops:.75in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;">·<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span></span></font><font color="#444444"><em><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Think 'innovation'.</span></em><font face="Verdana"> </font></font><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">Jeff Immelt, GE's CEO says: "Technological innovation is going to be more important then ever."</font><a name="_ftnref2"></a><a href="http://www.gather.com/#_ftn2"><span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;">[2]</span></span></a><font color="#444444"> While so many organizations are contracting, it's a great time to really be creative. Tap into your top talent. Focus their ingenuity on the key success factors you'll need post-recession. Follow Intel's lead: It will 'invest $7billion in innovation, upgrading manufacturing technologies, redeploying assets and people, and accelerating product launches as part of its 'investing in the downturn' strategy'.</font><a name="_ftnref3"></a><a href="http://www.gather.com/#_ftn3"><span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;">[3]</span></span></a></span></p> <p style="margin-left:0.5in;tab-stops:.75in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;">·<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Tackle the recurring issues.</span></em><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Again, it may not feel like the right time to start a new initiative, but in fact, it's potentially a great opportunity to use your talent differently, including those experienced 'old hands' whom you may otherwise be tempted to retire early. </span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.5in;tab-stops:.75in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;">·<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Rethink how and where 'work' is done.</span></em><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Consider different operating models to amortize fixed costs and retain key talent. Appeal to different generations of employees who have new ideas of how, where, and in what way they want to work. Small business has a real advantage in this area, as many already work flexibly. Still, take another look at the way you work and where; what new opportunities do you have to reduce infrastructure costs and retain people? </span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.5in;tab-stops:.75in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;">·<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Deal with average performance</span></em><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">as part of a mitigation strategy to counter the need for future layoffs. We assume you've already addressed poor and substandard performance as part of the initial strategies. Place the range of C and B- performers who remain on very specific, performance improvement / capabilities expansion programs - and follow through! Meanwhile, it will send crucial signals about your willingness to help employees, while also enforcing accountability.</span></font></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">Layoffs have become a fixed strategy in North America to respond to unfavourable economic cycles as an acceptable strategy to restructuring current costs; gradually, they've also become more common across the globe. Nevertheless, like other tools, layoffs must be used judiciously and always with an eye to your desired future since layoffs can also reduce core competencies or disable emerging competencies. In turn, that can inhibit future growth potential, attract additional cost and time just when you need to be fast-tracking emerging opportunities. We encourage you to continue to take the long view and resolve your current challenges utilizing an array of options in addition to lay-offs. Doing so can not only help you to survive this recession, but also can position you to truly accelerate up the curve at the first signs of recovery. </font></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">Excerpted from a larger article. For the full article or more information, contact the authors:</font></span></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">Tara J. Rethore, President</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">M. Beacon Enterprises, LLC</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">TRethore@MBeaconEnterprises.com</font></span></p> <p class="ListParagraph" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;mso-add-space:auto;"><font face="Calibri"><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;">703.625.9124</span><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;"></span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">Marian Bradshaw-Knapton, President</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">Avocet Organizational Performance Inc.</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">avocet@sympatico.ca</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;"><font face="Times New Roman">416.436.4782</font></span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Interview with Dawn Goldberg: How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business</h1> <p>Jill Rafalowski — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:36:27 GMT</p> <p> I recently had the opportunity to ask Dawn Goldberg, virtual-assistant extraordinaire, some questions about her experiences in the emerging field of virtual assistance. Many small business owners could benefit from a virtual assistant like Dawn: virtual assistants are less costly than traditional, in-office assistants, and their number-one priority is ensuring that their clients' businesses run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. You can read my interview with Dawn Goldberg below: <br /><i> </i><br /><br /> <i>1. For those not familiar with virtual assistants, can you please describe some of the most common areas in which you help your clients? </i><i></i><br /><br /> Since my specialty is writing, everything I do seems to revolve around writing. I do a lot of editing and even full drafting of anything from website copy to marketing campaigns to special reports to regular customer communication. One of my other gifts is the ability to see the big picture and strategize. Most often, business owners are too deep in their businesses to see an objective, more global picture. Not only am I a champion for them and their businesses, but I also help keep their dreams and visions safe. I can see clearly whether an idea is a step in the right direction or a possible departure from their goals.<br /><br /> <i>2. What are some of the responsibilities you take on as a VA? </i></p> <p>Managing my clients' businesses, which includes corresponding with their clients and customers, billing, customer support, troubleshooting, appointment making, website design and maintenance, Internet marketing campaigns, and creating a professional image (which in and of itself includes that big picture - making sure actions and goals are in line with the vision of the company, as well as writing and editing).</p> <p><i>3. On your Web site, you state that the work between a virtual assistant and his or her client is "all about the relationship." What can both parties expect to give and receive from this relationship</i> <br /><br /> The relationship between client and VA is one of equality and partnership. I treat my clients' businesses as if they were my own. I care for them. I'm constantly thinking about them. It's happened more than once that I've gone for a walk and woken up in the middle of the night with an idea for their business, just as I've done for my own business. It means that the "who" is more important than the "what." I may not love sitting on hold with American Airlines to make changes to a ticket, but I can honestly say I love my clients, the businesses, and what they bring to the world.<br /><br /><i>4. What are some of the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant over an in-office assistant? </i><br /><br /> A client only has to pay a VA for the time he or she works. The VA brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, and if they can't get it done, they have the huge resources to get it done. The client doesn't have to provide space or equipment for a VA. The client also doesn't have to pay employee taxes or benefits.<br /><br /> <i>5. Can VAs help both the small business and large business worlds? Are virtual assistants for everyone, or are their certain types of clients that can reap more benefits than others when working with a VA? </i><br /><br /> Of course, most clients are small business owners because they don't have the resources or the desire to hire an in-house employee. That being said, all sorts of people use VAs. Some are retired executives who are used to having great secretaries efficiently manage them. Others are people who want VAs to handle personal tasks, like putting ads in local papers, hiring nannies, vacation research, and so on. Anyone can use a VA. Those who use them the best or who are most suited are those who can work virtually and from a distance and believe in the value of people.<br /><br /> <i>6. The VA field is one that is still relatively new. How has the emergence of virtual assistants changed the business world, and how do you predict it will continue to do so in the future? </i><br /><br /> In a world where we can't depend upon corporations to keep our jobs safe and where we see a large number of jobs being eliminated or outsourced, the need for working creatively and connecting with people becomes more important. The VA/client relationship is a perfect example of how those who collaborate, connect, and create are going to be seen as more valuable than those who can do one discrete task.<br /><br /><i>7. What inspired you to become a VA, and what were some of the first steps you took in starting this practice? Do you have any advice for those considering a career as a virtual assistant? </i><br /><br /> A few years ago, I had been playing around with the idea of starting my own business for some time, partly because I'm a stay-at-home mom, and partly because I liked the idea of owning my own business, setting my own hours, choosing with whom I work, etc. I was reading a book by Cheryl Richardson, <i>Take Time For Your Life</i> (I was really trying to get some balance into my life), and in the book she mentions virtual assistants as a way for someone to get help. I was intrigued and researched it further. Cheryl noted <a href="http://www.assistu.com/">AssistU</a> in the reference section, and that was the first place I went.<br /><br /> As I read more about it and investigated their website, I became really excited. As I can get excited about a lot of ideas (interior decorating, etc), I put the idea on hold for a few days. When I came back to it, I was still really excited about it, and I decided to go for it and apply to AssistU for their training program. The training program was 20 weeks long and pretty intense. The program, of course, talked about the logistics of being a virtual assistant-communicating virtually and even long-distance, what equipment you should have, invoicing, pricing structure, and so on. It really got me started on the process of setting up my own business-registering, coming up with a name, doing a business plan (complete with a marketing plan), developing marketing materials (brochure, marketing letters, etc.). We even talked about dealing with clients-the good and the bad, finding your ideal client, dealing with problems, etc. More importantly, it gave me a language for life. I found I could create my own high standards and expect other people to honor them. People valued me for who I was and saw me as an asset. I was appreciated, and my gifts blossomed. Becoming a VA truly changed my life.<br /><br /> <i>8. How have social media tools, like Twitter, Linked In, and blogging, helped grow your business? </i><i></i><br /><br /> These social media tools are all part of that connecting that is core to who I am. I'm able to be a person, not just a professional persona. I connect with all sorts of people, including my clients, on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I let them in to my life so that they see who I really am. Again, it's more about the "who" than the "what I do." The "what I do" <i>is</i> important, don't get me wrong. It's just that the "who" is what draws me and my clients together. Social media tools help that along. <br /><br /> <i>9. Reflecting on your work with past and present clients, if you could share one piece of advice with small business owners and budding entrepreneurs, what would it be? </i><i></i><br /><br /> To be your authentic self. To love that authentic self and to not be afraid to show it. You'll attract clients, customers, and associates who are naturally attuned to you, and you'll be more successful as a result.</p> <p> </p> <p>If you would like to contact Dawn Goldberg or read her professional bio, please go to: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mysolutionspot.com/DawnGoldberg/">http://www.mysolutionspot.com/DawnGoldberg/</a></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>A Few Ways to Cut Costs</h1> <p>Nit Sujatanond — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:38:18 GMT</p> <p>Everywhere we go, we hear more and more bad news about our economy. We've heard about layoffs, buyouts, bankruptcies, and large corporations asking for sizeable government loans. Therefore, while we all want to be optimistic, we know we must take precautions.</p> <p>The best way to protect your business is to cut costs. There are many ways to help control your budget during a tough economy. First, you can cross-train your employees. Cross-training is a cost-effective way to run your business more efficiently. Employees who are trained in other roles can step in whenever other departments are short-staffed or overwhelmed with heavy workloads. This eliminates the need to hire additional help.</p> <p>Another way you can save money is by re-evaluating your marketing plan. Once you identify which strategies generate the most success, you can put a hold on the strategies that have a history of producing minimal results. When re-evaluating your marketing plan, you should concentrate on finding more economical ways to continue using your most effective marketing strategies (e.g., sending your mailers via email will cut printing, packaging and shipping costs), and you should consider utilizing free media, like social networking sites and <a href="http://www.thinklocal.com">online business directories</a>.</p> <p>You can also cut costs by keeping travel to a minimum. Sure, there are some circumstances where face-to-face communication is vital, but for the remainder, Web conferencing and teleconferencing should suffice. Both types of conferencing are effective methods of long-distance communication. By using Web conferencing and teleconferencing, your business can save thousands of dollars that would otherwise be spent on unnecessary flights, car rentals, hotel stays, meals, gasoline and more.</p> <p>Cost-cutting tips usually vary depending on the type of business you own. To keep up with new small business tips and trends, continue to read business resources like MySolutionSpot. </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Better Website Requirements = Better Website Satisfaction</h1> <p>jen mercer — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:37:56 GMT</p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">When you decide to do some landscaping, you have an idea of how big you want it, what stones you want to use and the variety of plants, shrubs and trees you want to plant.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Some of your ideas may change once you get to the store but you have a starting idea and this is what you measure your success by when you have completed the job.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Did the completed landscaping look like the design you had imagined at the beginning of the process? These ideas are requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>When wanting to create a website for your business, you also have ideas (or requirements) of what you think the site will look like and how it will work.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">If you think it, ink it</span></b></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Writing down your requirements becomes a very important document when creating a website.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>It is your words of what you want that can be given to a website designer to work from.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>If the designer has questions about what the requirements, a conversation can easily take care of it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Many people do not take the time to write down requirements and think they can describe what want in a phone conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, the web site they get may or may not be what they had envisioned.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>This can happen due to a variety of reasons which I will not get into here.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">When writing requirements, be specific.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>The more general the wording allows for more misunderstanding of what you want and the more dissatisfied you will be with the website.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Here is an example of a general requirement “I want a website that displays all the items that I sell”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>That statement can leaves the door open to a lot of interpretation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Rewritten to be more specific, it might state “I want a website that has a homepage and 3 product pages for each of my three product lines”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Now the website designer knows how many pages you want and what kind of content will be on each page.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">How much is enough?</span></b></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">There is no set amount of requirements that you should have for your website.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>The time it takes to think about them and write them down it completely up to you but you want to take some time with this process.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Look at other sites that are similar and not so similar to what you want.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Write down what you like and do not like about those sites.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>This is a good starting point for developing your web site requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Also write down any questions that you have along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>These questions are good conversation starters when you meet with your designer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>When you feel that have thought about and written down all pertinent ideas about your website, then you are probably done at least for now.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Now what</span></b></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">You have just spent a few days reviewing websites, making notes, written down a few questions and have written down two pages of requirements. Now what? You can take this list to your web site designer and review it with them. They should ask questions to clarify your intentions and they will probably suggest a few more requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Take this time to ask your questions that you came up with.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>These questions could lead to more requirements or just a clarification to make you more at ease.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Write down any additional requirements that are discussed and provide a copy to the website designer.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">When your site is complete, it should match or closely match what you had envisioned when you decided you wanted a website. You can look at the site and verify if each of the requirements that you documented are met.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Because the site met your requirements, your satisfaction with the site is higher than if they did not.</span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Hiring Virtual Assistants</h1> <p>Nit Sujatanond — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:33:56 GMT</p> <p>It is common for small businesses owners, especially home-based business owners, to reach a point where they can no longer efficiently handle their administrative tasks on their own. In the past, they had no other choice but to expand their facilities and add to their current staff, but today, they have another option - to hire virtual assistants. <br /><br /> Virtual assistants are highly-skilled independent contractors who provide a variety of administrative services, such as typing, editing, data entry, dispatching, bookkeeping, faxing and answering emails, but from a remote location. The roles of virtual assistants vary by industry. Some specialized assistants are also able to fulfill customer support roles, marketing tasks, website maintenance, legal assistance and travel management roles. Furthermore, many virtual assistants cater to their clients' personal lives by carrying out a wide range of duties, like making doctor's appointments, picking up dry-cleaning and pet-sitting.<br /><br /> Hiring a virtual assistant can cost you more than $40 an hour. However, most virtual assistants are very advanced, with past experiences in customer service, office management or executive assistance.<br /><br /> Virtual assistance is a great option if you need to lighten your workload. Be sure to carefully evaluate each candidate. Because virtual assistants work on their own premises, you will not be able to monitor their productivity; therefore, you will want to make sure the assistant you hire is extremely reliable.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Simple Ways of Decorating when on a Budget</h1> <p>Robert Spears — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:56:09 GMT</p> <p>The recession has affected worldwide with Home Renovations and Improvements, more and more people have tighted their money spending. </p> <p>Here are some simple ways of Decorating your home that can make a difference especially if you are trying to sell your home to leave a impression on potiental Buyers.</p> <p>Try not to clutter your rooms, this will make your rooms appear to be a lot smaller then what they appear to be. </p> <p>Color mixing your Decorations adds an eye attraction away from any other features.</p> <p>Adding a new Quiltcover to your Bed will change the astompshere in your room. </p> <p>Plants whether a artifical or Real will spuce up a room to make in with your decor.</p> <p>Keyholders will organise your keys instead of having them losely on your countertops.</p> <p>Candles change a mood that you are trying to organise, whether you are having a romantic dinner for two or soaking in the tub for sheer relaxation.</p> <p>Bird Baths are a excellent way of attracting Bird wildlife not to mention a added attraction to your garden.</p> <p>Lamps - There are so many out there, some modern, Unique, Old fashion no matter what sort of lamp - It can save on switching on your main lights when it comes to Electricity.</p> <p>Throw Rugs - A great idea for those who have pets staying indoors to avoid pet hair going over your favorite couch. </p> <p>Mats or Rugs - Especially through the colder months can drawn in heat to your room. Avoiding colder feet. There are all sorts of rugs you can get, from cane, Bamboo, Arycilic, Lambs Wool coming all different sizes.</p> <p>Wall Hangings - To be Especially Different - the 3d Wall Hangings tend to stand out more. </p> <p>Pillows - How about changing the pillows on your sofa to brighten up your room and give new life to your favorite spot when relaxing.</p> <p>To save heaps of money on Home Decor - There a places on the web where you can lots of money buying Bulk or giving Free Shipping.</p> <p>If you are tired of being in the same routine when it comes Home Decorating try to do some things different. Invite your Friends or Family over and see if they can give you an opinion or wait for them to say something.</p> <p>It's all about being Creative, you dont have to be a expert - Look up the Color Basic Chart to Mix and Match your colors. </p> <p>Wishing everyone best of wishes in their Home Improvements.</p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Strategies for Reining in Energy Costs</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:33:35 GMT</p> <p>As energy prices continue to rise, small businesses are scrambling to find ways to lower costs. While it may be tempting to try a patchwork approach to saving energy, making slight alterations to a variety of areas, it is more practical to concentrate on the biggest energy consumers to save the most money with the least effort. </p> <p>For example, restaurants can focus on installing highly-efficient refrigeration systems and lighting, as those tend to be the biggest energy costs, says consultant Virginia Lacy. </p> <p>Other strategies include energy-efficient water heaters, switching to high gas mileage vehicles for deliveries, and giving drivers access to GPS systems or mapping sites such as MapQuest so they can find the most efficient route to a destination and not have to drive around to find a location. </p> <p>Once the large energy consumers are taken care of, focus on small changes in behavior that could lead to big savings. For example, turn off equipment and lights when not in use and make sure buildings are properly insulated. Energy-efficient light bulbs can be a significant investment initially, but they can pay for themselves in three years or less. </p> <p>A building recommissioning, essentially a professional building tuneup, can help a business save up to 10 percent on energy costs by checking for leaks in heating and air-conditioning systems, among other strategies, Lacy says. </p> <p>An energy audit can also help save money by helping businesses determine which energy-strategy project will garner the fastest returns. Energy auditors thoroughly analyze a business' energy usage by examining energy bills and inspecting equipment and the building. Many local utility companies offer free energy audits to small businesses. The power company can also help businesses find utility rate plans that best fit their usage patterns.</p> <p><span class="cite"><b>"Strategies for Reining in Energy Costs"</b><br /><i>Wall Street Journal (07/05/08) Spors, Kelley K. </i></span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Achieving The Power of Enterprise-Wide Project Management</h1> <p>Dennis Bolles — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:01:37 GMT</p> <p> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:small;"><font face="Arial">Achieving the Power of Enterprise-Wide Project Management</font></span></b></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Dennis L. Bolles, PMP, President DLB Associates, LLC</span></span></b></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Darrel G. Hubbard, PE, President D.G.Hubbard Enterprises, LLC</span></span></b></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span></b></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span></b></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;"><font face="Times New Roman">Project Management Is a Business Function<span style="font-weight:normal;"></span></font></span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">In a world where every enterprise is striving for the most effective competitive weapon, project management has become renowned for keeping initiatives on track. There is a growing recognition in business management circles that project management is an emerging business function that enables enterprises to become world-class leaders in their markets. In the project business management methodology an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">enterprise</i> can be a company, business, firm, partnership, corporation, or governmental agency, and includes associations, societies, for-profit entities, and not-for-profit entities. An <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">enterprise</i> can also include many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">organizations. </i>An <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">organization </i>is a group of persons organized for some purpose such as to perform some type of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">work</span> within an <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">enterprise, and</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"> </i>includes business units, functional groups, departments, divisions, or sub-agencies.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Enterprises are doing more service and product development and product enhancement through projects. This is driven by intense competition, the fast paced technical obsolescence of products, and the need for product innovation. This means that more and more of the enterprise’s financial assets are being expended performing non-operational project work rather than operational work. Project work is very different in many areas than operational work. Many enterprises have so many strategic initiatives which generate so many projects that those projects need to be assembled into programs and portfolios for effective management and status reporting. This creates a growing pressure on enterprises in the marketplace to more formally apply some form of business management as well as project management to their non-operational portfolios, programs, and projects. This also means that project management must be implemented at a senior executive level on an equal management footing with the operational oriented organizations within the enterprise.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Meeting and exceeding customer expectations by consistently completing projects successfully is also a goal of every enterprise and is the basis for receiving excellence awards from most customers, executive management, and stakeholders. Also, many business enterprises find the task of keeping there business units aligned with larger business initiatives and objectives and the enterprise’s philosophy and mission very daunting. These are just some of the driving forces influencing enterprises to implement project management practices and processes on an enterprise wide basis. The challenge now faced by those enterprises is how to incorporate project management into their business operations and how to integrate project management as a business function into their organizational structure.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Enterprise-wide Project Management</span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> (EWPM) is the application of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Project Business Management</i> practices and processes on an enterprise-wide basis, using an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Enterprise-wide Project Management Office</i> as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">business unit</i> organization to support management of the enterprise’s non-operational portfolios, programs, and projects. Where <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">business unit </i>means<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"> </i>any sized functional organization within the enterprise that is charted to perform a relatively well defined business support operation, such as accounting, safety, quality assurance, human resources, marketing, or a project management office.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The principles and concepts of project-related portfolio management, program management, and project management are complex, and the management processes involved are many fold. The blending of these principles and concepts with the principles, concepts, and varied processes of general business management motivated the authors to develop the concept of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Project Business Management</i> to eliminate any confusion and suppress assumptions as to just what the term <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">project</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"> management</i> means when used in a business context. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Project Business Management (PBM)</i> is defined as the utilization of general business management and project management knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques in applying portfolio, program, and project processes to meet or exceed stakeholder needs, and to derive benefits from and capture value through any project-related actions and activities used to accomplish the enterprise’s business objectives and related strategic initiatives. The PBM methodology blends the terminology from the vocabularies of both general business management and project management, which allows the PBM methodology and model to be easily understood by business executives, business unit mangers, and portfolio, program, and project managers.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">If projects are an integral part of the business, it stands to reason that there should be a clear understanding of what is and is not a project, what is required to complete projects to the customer’s satisfaction, and how projects are combined into programs and portfolios to accomplish the enterprise’s strategic initiatives and business objectives.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Properly implemented project management principles, processes, and practices can have a significant impact on an enterprise’s time to market, cost to market, and quality to market and customers’ recognition of the enterprise as a world-class leader. If executives and business unit heads can recognize that managing projects has a significant impact on an enterprise’s bottom line, and that their ability to successfully manage projects depends on the proper application of specific project management processes, knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques, then it makes sense to establish ownership and management of project management practices enterprise-wide at the upper executive management level of the enterprise.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>How else can the executive management of an enterprise ensure that limited funds and resources are effectively applied across the enterprise to only those projects that support approved business strategies and objectives and that those selected projects are given the best opportunity to succeed from the very start?</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;"><font face="Times New Roman">Enterprise Project Management Office</font></span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Therefore, enterprise-wide adoption of project management processes and best practices calls for the development and single ownership of an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Enterprise Project Management Office</i> (EPMO) function. However, establishing common processes and practices across an enterprise is very difficult, if not impossible, without establishing exclusive ownership of the EPMO. The EPMO must be recognized as an independent business unit function at the highest level of the enterprise. This recognition provides the EPMO’s executive management with the authority, acceptance, adoption, and autonomy required to establish, monitor, and control the distribution of the resources required to successfully apply PBM best practices enterprise-wide. The EPMO is established as the organizational structure within the enterprise that will institute and manage the project business management processes for portfolios, programs, and projects. To be effective in managing the initiating, authorizing, planning, controlling, and executing processes of project business management, the EPMO is positioned at the executive level of the enterprise.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Establishing project management within an enterprise is a significant undertaking and may meet with resistance at various organizational levels for many reasons. One major reason behind some resistance is the most obvious, but it is seldom given sufficient consideration.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>People generally resist changes because they do not understand why the changes are necessary or what impact the changes will have on them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Most prefer the status-quo to something new, especially when it involves how they perform their work. So, communicating the benefits of establishing project management as a functioning business unit at all levels enterprise-wide is a critical step in making project management an integral capability within the enterprise. Implementation also requires dedication and commitment over an extended period of time.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><a name="_Toc134523055"></a><a name="_Toc128815914"><span><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">PBM </span></span></a><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">Model Structure</span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The Project Business Management Model is based upon the components of the Enterprise-wide Project Management House of Excellence. Exhibit 1 illustrates the four major elements, or pillars, and related foundation that form the frame-work of the house of excellence.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>This two-dimensional integrated framework and foundation is useful in understanding and building a structurally sound enterprise-wide project management capability and is a requisite to building and sustaining a successful EPMO, as represented by the roof of the house of excellence. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;tab-stops:.25in 276.0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1;"><span style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;tab-stops:30.0pt 258.0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span>Exhibit 1, PBM Two-Dimensional View<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span>Exhibit 2, PBM Three-Dimensional View</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The various components of the two-dimensional house of excellence used to organize the elements of the PBM Methodology Model and enable enterprises to achieve the full power of EWPM, are as follows:</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Pillar One – Governance:</span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> Establishes the EPMO as a management business unit, sets policy, establishes charters, and develops the organizational model for the business management of projects, programs, and portfolios. The function of the EPMO is to lead the project management efforts of the enterprise and may, if required, be composed of multiple levels.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Pillar Two – Standardization:</span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> Identifies and integrates processes and practices, and develops standardized project business management processes and documentation of enterprise-wide portfolio, program, and project management process methodology models, including their associated policies, practices, and procedures.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Pillar Three – Capability: </span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Assess the enterprise’s abilities, develops a project management competency model, lays out an education and training program, establishes a career path progression plan, and documents various key enterprise environmental factors. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Enterprise</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"> environmental factors</i> are any or all external environmental factors and internal organizational environmental factors that surround or influence an initiative’s, portfolio’s, program’s, or project’s success. These factors come from all of the various enterprises involved in accomplishing a strategic initiative and its associated business objectives and include organizational culture and structure, infrastructure, existing resources, commercial databases, market conditions, and software.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;"><font face="Times New Roman"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Pillar Four – Execution: </i>Establishes strategic business planning, tactical business planning, business objective and project prioritization, selection, and initiation, stage-gate reviews, portfolio, program and project execution planning and applies enterprise environmental factors and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">organizational process assets</i> that will be used to manage programs and projects or need to be applied during planning or re-planning activities. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Organizational process assets</i> are any or all process related assets, from any or all of the organizations involved in the programs and projects that are or can be used to influence success. These process assets include formal and informal plans, policies, procedures, and guidelines. The process assets also include the organizations’ knowledge bases such as lessons learned and historical information. </font></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Foundation – Maturity:</span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> Establishes the measurement basis for project business management process and practice maturity, and evaluates the maturity of institutionalized project business management best practices enterprise-wide. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Project business management maturity</i> is the maturity of an enterprise’s policies, plans, procedures, organizational governance, management personnel, and the project business management methodology and processes that identify, plan, implement, control, accomplish, and communicate the enterprise’s business strategic initiatives and related business objectives and supporting portfolios, programs, and projects.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span></span></span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">PBM Methodology Model</span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The discipline of project management has matured and is becoming an identifiable part of the fabric of general business management. The purpose of the PBM Methodology is to show executive management how to implement project management to serve the enterprise’s strategic business initiatives and business objectives and how to harness the enterprise’s existing project management capabilities. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Exhibit 2 provides a three dimensional construct for the PBM Methodology Model. The two-dimensional view is incorporated into the right-side of the cube. This view shows how operational business management and project business management are two related and integrated aspects of the management of an overall enterprise. However, PBM is only concerned with the planning and management of the non-operational portfolios, programs, and projects. The graphic also shows how, for some enterprises, about two-thirds of the funds go to operational work while about one-third goes to non-operational work. This also leads to a factual based conclusion that many processes, procedures and management methods have usually been developed and deployed by most enterprises for the operational side of the business, while the non-operational work side has been neglected. Even though the products and services that result from the non-operational work will shape the financial success and business future of the enterprise.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The PBM Methodology Model as illustrated in Exhibit 2 is a comprehensive, practical, and simple top-down hierarchically integrated blend of strategic, tactical, portfolio, program, and project management and associated processes. PBM is a proactive approach to managing the non-operational project-related business of an enterprise and making the most of limited resources. It enables enterprises to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and to derive benefits from project-related actions and activities used to accomplish the enterprise’s non-operational business objectives and related strategies. The processes used within the PBM Methodology flow down from strategies, to objectives, to portfolios, to programs, and to projects. This hierarchically integrated set of processes is used to produce the required deliverables and to assure the values and benefits desired by the enterprise can be attained. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The PBM practices and process for strategic and tactical planning are taken from business management and include the use of business cases. The business case articulates the intent of a specific strategy in a feasibility study format. Each business case provides the bases for authorizing further PBM planning activities, so that an adequate definition of the intent of each strategy initiative and supporting business objective can be developed. Each business case applies the business implications of the known <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">enterprise environmental factors</i> to determine if the strategic initiative is plausible. The list of defined <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">organizational process asset</i>s is applied next during tactical planning to determine if the proposed supporting business objectives will be able to be accomplished. During strategic and tactical planning executive and senior management establish the values and benefits to be derived from the strategic initiatives and associated business objectives and include them in the business case. Performance measures and key performance indictors, related to each value and benefit, are also developed as tools to be used during management of the work. The business objectives and associated portfolios, programs, and projects are next prioritized and selected for execution. This methodology requires that executive management operate the strategic management process until the strategic initiative and associated business objectives have been accomplished. This includes appraising results against desired benefits, redirecting as needed the strategies and objectives, and monitoring the tactical implementation of the associated portfolios, programs and projects through mandatory status reporting.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><a name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a name="OLE_LINK1"><span><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The PBM practices and processes for portfolio, program, and </span></span></span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span><span><span style="font-size:11pt;">project</span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> management are based upon the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) five process groups: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & control, and closure. The practices and processes are similar to PMI’s issued standards for portfolio, program, and project management. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;">The portfolios, programs and projects supporting each selected business objective are next planned in detail. The plans and products from the portfolio management processes flow down into the program management processes, whose plans and products flow down into the project management processes. Specific performance measurement metrics related to each business objective are also developed at the portfolio, program and project levels. These performance metrics are used as measurement tools during management of the work. The set of metrics must be both necessary and sufficient to determine if a portfolio, program or project can be re-planned, should be terminated early, or was successful.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The set of processes and the steps within each PBM process and the structure of the EPMO can be adjusted and modified to suit the business size of the enterprise employing the PBM Methodology Model.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Knowing what specific actions are required and how to proceed after executive management gives the go-ahead is a key implementation objective of the PBM methodology model. The success of an EPMO as a project management center of excellence for project business management processes enterprise-wide is the end goal. Another objective is to understand that acquiring executive recognition of project management as a business function is the critical first step in establishing project management as a core business management competency. The basic PBM methodology model is useful in understanding the key success criteria required to establish an EPMO as the vehicle to integrate project and business processes, thereby creating and establishing PBM and enterprise-wide project management. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">Initiation and Authorization Theme</span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The PBM methodology places an emphasis on strategic and tactical planning and on the start-up processes for portfolios, programs, and projects.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Executives and senior management need to become aware of the impact these initial processes have in their business practices. The importance of initiation and authorization is evidenced by their positioning in the first two of the five common “process groups” in portfolio, program and project management. It is during those initiating process<span style="color:black;">es</span> and supporting planning processes, starting with identifying a single strategic initiative down through planning a project that will accomplish that initiative, where up to 80% of the value and benefit of the desired outcome can be created. It is also during these initiating and authorizing processes that executive and senior managements’ involvement and decision-making will have its maximum impact.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><a name="_Toc134523053"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">Relevance to Management</span></a></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Project business management and the PBM methodology are a unique approach and structured solution to managing the non-operational project-related business of an enterprise. Enterprise-wide Project Management (EWPM) is a business management function driven by executive and senior management. EWPM utilizes an executive level EPMO to apply the standardized PBM methodology to manage non-operational work. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Most books and presentations on project management discuss the concepts and problems that affect the development of enterprise project management and project management offices. Most of the books on project management are written primarily for project and program managers. The primary target audience of the PBM methodology, and our book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">The Power of Enterprise-wide Project Management</i>, is those executives and senior managers who recognize project management is a business function and want to establish project management as a core competency enterprise-wide within their organization. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The relevancy of having project management as a business function, implementing PBM best practices as a core competency, and instituting an executive level EPMO to implement the PBM methodology is best understood by executives and senior managers through the following EWPM value and benefit statements.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Integration</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>PBM <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">integrates and harmonizes</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;"> </span>management concepts, processes, and practices contained in <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">Project Management Institute’s standards</span> for project, program, and portfolio management <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">with</span> those of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">business management</span>. It i<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">ntegrates </span>strategic initiative planning and tactical planning of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">operational business objectives</span> with the tactical planning of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">non-operational business objectives, </span>as part of overall methodology. It provides seamless integration and harmonization of general business management, operations management, and project, program, and portfolio management principles, policies, processes, and procedures</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Direction and Decision</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">: PBM supports <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">centralized management</span> of the enterprise’s non-operational portfolios, programs, and projects. Management can exercise their prerogatives and can make a profound impact during the strategic and tactical planning processes. Management can adequately and successfully control and obtain an ROI on the significant assets being expended on non-operational work.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">Work and Resource Alignment</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">: </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">PBM <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">organizes, applies,</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">and manages</span> an enterprise’s non-operational<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"> resources</span> in direct <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">alignment</span> with the enterprise’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">vision, mission, strategic </span>initiatives<span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">,</span> and business <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">objectives. It a</span>ssures work and <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">deliverables</span> for authorized portfolios, programs, and projects <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">stay aligned</span> with their approved business objectives. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Performance</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">: <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">PBM establishes key performance indicators</span> (KPIs) and related metrics for strategy and business objective accomplishments and for project / program / portfolio performance. Success is only recognized via performance measures, KPIs, and related metrics for strategy and business objective accomplishments and for project / program / portfolio performance. Management can set, during the PMB processes, their required enterprise-level benefit and value outcomes and the related KPI measurements. They can thereby assure desired strategic and business objective values and benefits are attained.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="PMIbullets"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;">EPMO Functionality</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;">: The EPMO is an </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">independent executive-level business unit</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> for project / program / portfolio management. It maintains an enterprise level </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">focus on</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> achieving all approved </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">non-operational</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> business </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">objectives</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> and related </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">strategies</span><span style="font-size:11pt;">. The EPMO is organizationally an equal player in company politics and executive power, thereby assuring the enterprise is both </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">doing the right things and doing things right. The </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">PBM methodology mitigates those project management office (PMO) implementation and operation issues identified in the Project Management Institute’s 2007</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> research <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">white paper entitled<i> “The Multi-Project PMO: A Global Analysis of the Current State of Practice,</i>” prepared by Dr. Brian Hobbs, </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"><font size="2">PhD, PMP Chair of Project Management Research in the Department of Management and technology of the School of management Sciences, University of Quebec at Montréal (UQAM) in Montreal, Canada.</font></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 1.5in 0pt 0in;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Sizing</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">: The PBM methodology and model are<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"> adjustable</span> to various enterprise sizes.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">Conclusion</span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The time for project management to be recognized as a business function has arrived! The enterprise needs to employ an enterprise project management office (EPMO) as the managerial vehicle to govern the integration and application of the project and business processes that comprise project business management. The EPMO project business management governance should be a blend of several of the enterprise’s governance methods, particularly those of executive, operations, portfolio, program, and project management. It must be employed at the different decision-making levels of the enterprise and at different stages within the PBM methodology to support accomplishment of specific business objectives and their related business strategic initiatives.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Executive management, to assure a high probability of establishing and effectively employing project business management on an enterprise-wide basis, must initiate and authorize two major strategic business objectives that need to be performed in parallel:</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Develop and formally document a mature, integrated set of standardized project business management processes, known as the PBM methodology, and institutionalize those processes within the enterprise and its organizational process assets.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Establish an enterprise project management office (EPMO) as an operational business unit at the executive level and staff it with competent managers and support personnel.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Executive sponsorship is required to accomplish the two strategic business objectives. In addition, the enterprise must ensure that the necessary supporting organizational structures, systems, culture, and business practices are sufficient and available.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">To achieve these two business objectives, a senior manager should be assigned to plan and manage the required development work and the resulting non-operational project business management processes should be incorporated into the enterprise’s day-to-day operations. Developing, establishing, distributing, and implementing project business management on an enterprise-wide basis must not be treated as a trivial undertaking; it requires project business management to be implemented both horizontally and vertically within the enterprise’s organizational structure.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The full benefits of PBM are only realized when the two business objectives are fully accomplished. The enterprise will then have a low-cost and high-performance project business management operation supported by an executive-led EPMO that can provide a consistent positive return on the investment in project, program, and portfolio management. However, the success each enterprise will have from project business management depends directly on the maturity of its project business management methodology and the associated involvement by executive and senior managements in the initiating and authorizing processes where their decision-making will have its maximum impact. The understanding by executives that implementing a PBM methodology using an EPMO can and will positively affect the enterprises financial bottom line is the key factor in any successful implementation.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">It is executive management’s responsibility, with the support of portfolio management, to assure that the correct business objectives and supporting projects are authorized or terminated at the correct time. It is the responsibility of program and project management to ensure that the selected projects are properly completed and meet the enterprise’s performance measures.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="PMIBodyText"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">References</span></span></b></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="PMIBodyText"><span style="font-size:x-small;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>Hobbs</span><span>, B (June 2007) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">The Multi-Project PMO: A Global Analysis of the Current State of Practice, </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">PMI Website (www.pmi.org.</span></span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"></span></b></font></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Web site Testing: Ad Hoc</h1> <p>jen mercer — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:41 GMT</p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Testing the Unexpected</span></strong></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Ad hoc testing is unstructured, unplanned, unscripted and spontaneous; whereas low- and high-level testing is planned with expected outcomes based on the requirements. When you are executing ad hoc testing, you are finding out the answer to the open ended question “What would happen if”. The various combinations of choices you make on the screen could produce some very interesting results and potential problems with your online business web site. Predicting what a customer will enter or select on your Web site is difficult. I believe the most effective way to ad hoc test is to ask people who have never seen or used your website before to use it and let you know what they find. You will be amazed at what they do and start wondering why anyone would ever do that on an e-commerce site. But it is those things that can potentially break your site and may need to be fixed before launching it. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Unexpected Becomes Reality</span></strong></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">In case you still do not believe that people would do out of the normal things on a Web site, some examples came to mind needed to be mentioned. Here are two real-life examples that were never thought about to be tested.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">On a company’s internal website, an employee selected View, Source on the browser toolbar, changed the HTML code, saved it and rendered the site unusable from his computer.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">A public website had an option to perform a primary and secondary sort on their contacts list. A customer set both sorts to ascending on Last Name and caused the site to produce an error.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Of course, you will never be able to check all of thing different possibilities, but ad-hoc testing is a great way to at least minimize your risk. Sometimes, the unexpected may<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>be really obvious when it actually happens!</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><strong>About the Author:</strong></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Jen Mercer is a Quality Assurance Engineer with Network Solutions<br /></span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Security Products</h1> <p>Visionary Products — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:39:21 GMT</p> <p> <br /><br />Everyone has had a feeling of insecurity or a feeling of uncomfortableness at one point in time. We here at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.visionarysafetyandsecurity.com/">Visionary Safety And Security Products</a> are here to help you feel more secure and confident in your everyday life. We have a variety of products as well as a wide range of fields and situational products to offer to you (with a guarantee of personal safety.) A lot of people can argue that a Handgun well make you feel confident and secure, but how many people are willing to carry a hand gun around with them everywhere they go? You can’t take handguns inside of a courthouse, a post office, any state, government, or pretty much any established buildings anyway. On the other hand you can carry many of our Personal Safety products with you anywhere and have it within reach incase someone tries to violate your safety or if you threatened. The fact that handguns are extremely dangerous and you have to think what happens if someone else gets there hands on your gun i.e. An attacker or even a child this would not be acceptable. You will feel better knowing that your are carrying around a type of personal safety that will temporarily stun and disable your would be attacker allowing you to get to a place of safety and structured security.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Easier Project Management with Teams of 10 or Less</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:43 GMT</p> <p>The success of business relationships as an IT service provider is largely affected by how well client projects are managed. Many of today’s IT service providers, small and large, use Microsoft Project as their tool of choice, simply because they see no other alternative and it comes free with their Microsoft Partner Action Pack. </p> <p>If you are managing multiple projects with teams of less than 10 people there are better tools which more closely follow the 7 Guidelines to Successful Project Management. There are several sophisticated project management tools available on the market today. Microsoft Project is one of them and is specifically designed to manage large, complex projects involving a wide variety of resources, but is likely overkill if your project team is 10 people and less and not taking multiple months to finish. </p> <p>Regardless of which tool you choose to use, here are 7 Guidelines to Successful Project Management to make sure you are putting your attention on the right things to make managing multiple IT projects across your client portfolio. </p> <p>1. Estimate level of effort in terms of time and cost to clients </p> <p>2. Give attention and focus on the right client priorities </p> <p>3. Give real-time visibility to clients on progress before they ask for it </p> <p>4. Manage work dependencies to make the project run smoothly </p> <p>5. Have a process for managing a change in client priorities and workload </p> <p>6. Make sure the right resources (yours and your clients’) are performing appropriate work </p> <p>7. Integrate schedules for all the project resources to keep everyone </p> <p>The main objective is to complete projects on-time, within budget and leave the client satisfied with the results produced from the project. As an IT service provider there is likely never going to be a time when you are managing just one project for one client. It is important that you are efficient with your time managing all your client projects at once. </p> <p>Project management tools like Microsoft Project are very powerful, but can create complexity and more work when it is not necessary. There are also some limitations on how much real-time visibility Microsoft Project allows you to give to your clients. </p> <p>Managing multiple projects with several different clients is hard enough, make your life easier. Be sure to work smarter with a project management system that is designed for the type of projects you are managing, is easy to use, provides real-time client visibility and integrates into your regular service delivery processes – you will do more with less work!</p> </article> <article> <h1>Web site Testing: Low-Level</h1> <p>jen mercer — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:41 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Low-Level Testing Makes a More Effective Web Site</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">When you are looking to buy a car, do you look at the car from 10 feet away and say “I’ll take it”? You are probably going to take it on a test drive first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want to know that what you are buying works the way you expect it to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same principle applies to your e-commerce website. You are not going to look at it for a few seconds on a screen and say “Looks good, let’s launch it”. You are going to test drive, or unit test, your site to make sure it works the way you expected to also.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Unit testing and low-level testing are synonymous. The unit test is done for a single webpage and tests all the functionality of each and every field, button, link, drop-down list, text box and whatever else is on the page. Just like when you are test driving a car, you are checking to make sure the radio works, the windows work, there are 6 cup holders and the car actually starts and moves. All this is done based on the requirements or what you want and expect it to do.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Requirements and Unit Testing</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Each field on the webpage should have corresponding requirements for it that dictate things like how many characters a field is, what is allowed to be entered in field and what type of field it is. You are making sure that all the fields displayed are the fields that should be there and behave the way the requirements say they should. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">How do you unit test? Look at the requirements for a specific field and make sure you can meet them then exceed them. Let’s say you have a field called First Name on your Web site and the requirements state that the field is 20 characters long, alphanumeric and no special characters allowed. First, make sure that the webpage has a field called First Name. Then, enter 1 letter and click off the field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try 10 letters, then 20 and lastly 21. At 21, you should not be able to enter a character per the requirements. If you can, there is a problem with the webpage and a defect needs to be entered to be resolved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now try to enter an asterisk and see if that is allowed or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Per the requirements, it is not allowed so if you are prevented from entering it, the test passed. This type of scrutiny is performed throughout your website.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Once is Not Enough</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">One low-level test of your website is not enough. Defects have probably been found, reported and are now fixed. The same unit test needs to be performed on that web page again to ensure that the bug was resolved and nothing else was affected. This process can be repeated multiple times until you are satisfied that all the bugs are fixed or the bugs remaining to be fixed are not a priority to launch your website and can be fixed at a later time.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Save Money</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Another reason you should perform low-level testing is that finding the problems at this point is easier and cheaper to fix than finding them later. The cost of fixing a bug grows exponentially if it is not found in the unit test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, testing at an individual level eases the frustration when you test things as a whole. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>About the Author:</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Jen Mercer is a Quality Assurance Engineer with Network Solutions<br /></span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Web site Testing: High-Level</h1> <p>jen mercer — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:41 GMT</p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">A Little QA is Better Than No QA</span></strong></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">You know that quality assurance testing your online business website is important or you could run the risk of losing customers and therefore sales as well.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>But, you don’t have the time to perform a full suite of tests.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>What do you do? You can execute high-level QA testing to ensure, that at the very least, that the major functionality works on your website.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">This can also be referred to as enterprise testing. You are looking for major things that stand out immediately when using your site. Specific field functionality is not a goal in high-end QA because it is considered part of low-level or unit testing.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">End-to-End Flow</span></strong></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">When testing End-to-End flow, you decide the various “paths” or ways that a customer may take through your website from start to finish and execute them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Entering an order may be one way or path to use your website.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>First, launch your home page, choose to enter a new order, select purchase, enter your information and submit the order, and the confirmation page is displayed. You have just executed a high-level test to ensure that your customers can successfully enter an online order with your business.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Broken Links</span></strong></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">It is very frustrating for a customer to want to use a link on your site and find out it does not work.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>You want to make sure that all your links work.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Also, validate that the link will take to the appropriate destination site and not somewhere else.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Duplicate Content</span></strong></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Read through your Web site and remove any duplicate information. It may appear as if you did not proofread your content or you ran out of things to say and wanted it to be more than what it was.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Read through your Web site and remove any duplicate information. This could have an additional benefit because it may help improve your search engine rankings. Some search engines, such as Google, may penalize sites with duplicate content.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Use Other Browsers</span></strong></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Not all browsers display the same way. Your e-commerce website may look awesome in Internet Explorer® but unattractive in Firefox®. It is a good idea to test in multiple browsers to see how your site looks.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>There are many browsers that can be used by customers.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>It is hard to determine which browser your customers are using and do not want to lose a potential sales because your e-commerce site does not work with their browser. Some examples of browsers to try are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari. </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are there resolutions below 1280 x 1024?</span></strong></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">The higher the resolution, the better tings look on the screen. But, not everyone uses the higher resolution since it also makes things smaller. View your Web site at various resolutions to see how it looks. It is up to you to determine if changes are needed to make your site more attractive at the lower resolutions. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">End-to-end flows, checking your links, reviewing your content and viewing your website in various ways are good high-end QA testing efforts. If time allows, it is recommended that you perform more lower-end testing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>High-end quality assurance testing may not check if a customer can enter an invalid state name or not, but it will ensure that a customer can use your online business Web site as it was intended for – making sales.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><strong>About the Author:</strong></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Jen Mercer is a Quality Assurance Engineer with Network Solutions<br /></span></p> </article> <article> <h1>What to do before you QA test your website</h1> <p>jen mercer — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:41 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Test Planning = Better QA Testing</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Most people would not break ground to build a house without first drafting a blueprint. The blueprint serves to relay the house requirements the homeowner to the builder as well as guide the construction workers on what to do. When it comes to QA testing your online e-commerce website, you need a test plan, or blueprint, to ensure that you are testing what you required the site to do as well as guide the person testing on what to test.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Test Plan – What is it?</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">A test plan is a high-level document that states what the documents purpose is, how testing will be done, who will perform the testing, and what will be tested. This does not dictate specific steps that are to be taken to test a particular page on the Web site – those are your test scripts and we will discuss that. Depending on the size and complexity of your site, a test plan takes an average of 40 hours to create.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a guiding document to ensuring that all the requirements are being tested so you know that when QA testing is completed, your e-commerce site works as you wanted it to.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">When a blueprint is being created, the homeowner knows how many rooms, what size and where to place the rooms in the house. This type of information is the requirements for the blueprint. To create a test plan, you need to know what the requirements are for creating your online business website. Hopefully, the requirements are in a document that you can reference but if not, think about the information to communicated to the website developers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you request the ability to have e-mail? Can a customer submit an order? Will you have blogging capabilities?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These types of functionality are your high-level requirements and this is your starting point to creating a test plan.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Test Plan Content</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">There is a lot of information that can be included in the test plan and it all is useful information. However, you can also end up with a very large document that no one, including you, will want to spend the time to read and understand. The test plan should include the information you want to convey, be simple and concise.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Strategy</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">An overall strategy section defines the scope and objectives of the document.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scope is a one to three line statement that lays out what type of testing will be outlined in the rest of the document.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The objectives define the reasons you created this document – define the strategy, identify and define test levels.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">The test scope section covers what you are and are not testing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to time constraints, all requirements may not be tested, so make sure you know what they are and list them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assumptions, risks and dependencies are listed also.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stating this information in the document ensures that these areas of potential problems are known, documented and can be monitored and mitigated.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">High-level test design states what the test levels are, identifies the test cycles, if the tests will be executed manually or using an automated tool or both, and how to report the results of testing. The defect management process if a bug, or problem, is found during testing needs to be defined.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Test Levels</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">The unit test is done for a single webpage and tests all the functionality of each field the page. You are making sure that all the fields displayed are the fields that should be there and behave the way the requirements say they should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, any drop-down lists have the correct lists per the requirements. In this section of the test plan, list the names of the web pages that will be created and what requirements that page fulfills. By matching the requirements to a unit test, you can check to see if all the requirements will be tested or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Requirements not tested will need to be added to a unit test so they are tested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can have the inverse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A feature may be on a screen that was not asked for and this will be to be resolved as well; either by modifying the requirements and unit test plan or removing the added feature. This reinforces the concept that what is being created is what was asked for. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">An integration test is testing the connection between the units. When the submit button on the registration page is clicked, is the confirmation screen now displayed? Requirements are not listed because those would have been covered in the unit test for the registration page and the confirmation page.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Enterprise</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> testing is putting all the integration tests together and performing end-to-end testing of the entire Web site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will need to define the various ways that your website can be utilized and execute them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Registering a customer may be one way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, launch your home page, go to the registration page, enter and submit your information, and the confirmation page is displayed.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Other testing can be included in a test plan. Load testing is conducted if you expect that your site will receive a lot of traffic that could cause slowness or other problems. Security testing can be performed to ensure that your and your customer’s information is safe and private. Implementation test is a mock production implementation that ensures all the steps to make the site go live are accounted for and will work successfully.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Test Cycles</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">As much as we would love for it to happen, Web sites do not work correctly the first time through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is always at least one bug to resolve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Test cycles are defined to allow time to test the entire website in a first pass, allow for three to five defect passes, testing only the pages with the bugs, and then re-test the all the pages of your site again and hopefully without any bugs.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Test Scripts</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Test scripts are step-by-step instructions to execute a test that include an action and a response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Unit testing will go through a single webpage, select each field and attempt various tests to ensure the field is working properly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These tests can include entering too many characters, enter special characters if the field should not accept them and leaving it blank if it a required field.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Integration test scripts can be at a little higher level. Instead of testing each field, screen to screen connectivity is now the focus. This script may contain steps something like launch registration screen, enter in required information, submit the information and verify the confirmation screen is displayed. Enterprise testing takes that one step higher and connects multiple screens together to accomplish one test.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Next Step</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Now, you completed the blueprint and you’re ready to start testing.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>About the Author:</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Jen Mercer is a Quality Assurance Engineer with Network Solutions</span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Improving Efficiency with Wholesale Software</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:30 GMT</p> <p>In the supply chain that drives the retail industry wholesalers are an important intermediary between the retail store and the manufacturer. It is true that most manufacturers will take orders, and deliver the product right to the retail store but wholesale distributors greatly reduce the logistics of contacting the manufacturers of all the products in the store and maintaining inventory. </p> <p>Wholesale manufacturers rely on sophisticated software that manages all of the logistics of inventory and sales. The right wholesale software can be difficult to find and should be chosen with care. When shopping around don't be afraid to download a trial version and actually try the software out to see if it meets your needs. Getting stuck with software that wasn't designed to do what you want is not fun or profitable. Be careful when buying discount software as it might either be an old version or it might not do everything that it claims to do. </p> <p><b>What can wholesale software do?</b> </p> <p>Take orders - retail software can automate the process of taking orders either by giving you staff an easy way to take and process order or provide a web interface so that customers can fill out their own orders. </p> <p>Quotes - Wholesale software can provide an easy way of giving quotes. They can be printed or emailed and they can even transfer to orders. </p> <p>Place Orders - Depending on the distributor wholesale software can even place orders to the manufacturer. This reduces the man power needed to maintain inventory. </p> <p>Remote Order Entry - Some software can be set up so that sales people can access it from anywhere in the world via the internet. This can be effective when managing a large sales force or when customers want to place orders themselves. </p> <p>Wireless Capability - Wholesale software often has the capability of interfacing with handheld wireless devices used to track inventory in the warehouse allowing the wholesaler to go completely paperless. </p> <p>Inventory Management - Inventory is difficult to track by hand. Computers can tell you much more accurately what you have in the warehouse at any time, what orders have been placed and what merchandise has arrived. It allows accurate and efficient tracking of inventory. </p> <p>Reporting - Wholesale software can spit out reports on just about anything imaginable in concise easy to read formats. </p> <p>Increase Profits - With improved efficiency computers can cut costs and increase profits </p> <p>Be Upgraded - Most software is modular meaning that features can be added in according the needs of the business. Print, Email, </p> <p>Fax - It can print, fax, and email invoices, order and quotes. Usually this can be set to be done automatically. </p> <p>RFID - RFID allows companies to track inventory through every step of the supply chain using tiny radio transmitters on packages Slotting </p> <p>Optimization - Complex computer algorithms make warehouse slotting efficient and easy. </p> <p>Customization - Most wholesale software packages allow customization to meet the specific and individual needs of the company. </p> <p>Wholesale software is an effective way to reduce costs for distributors. As a company looks for software they should consider the features that they need for their line of business and their management style. Companies should investigate several possibilities to see which one will fill their needs as a company. </p> <p>Justin Grover is a Client account specialist for 10x Marketing. To get a free quote for wholesale software go to Comcash. Article Source: <a href="http://www.businesshighlight.org">www.businesshighlight.org</a> Link: <a href="http://www.comcash.com/">http://www.comcash.com/</a></p> </article> <article> <h1>Choosing To Outsource Work Overloads</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:22 GMT</p> <p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Outsourcing is a common practice with businesses today, whether they are home based or not. For the home business operator, outsourcing can be a great way to bring in extra income by taking on additional work. You find this method used frequently with those who perform office related functions as well as in the freelance writing and editing fields. <br /> <br /> If you choose to outsource any of your additional work, you must be sure that those you choose are equal to your abilities and knowledge or you will find that correcting the errors takes more time than it would take if you did the work yourself. If you choose to use outsourcing in your business, remember that the final product falls upon you. <br /> <br /> Your client or customers depends upon you to deliver a finished quality product so if you hire someone else to do the job for you it will be your responsibility to make sure that any outsourced work meets your same high standards. In some business, the clients know that there are others sharing the workload but that does not mean that they expect any less than they expect if the same person is doing all the work. <br /> <br /> Another thing a business owner must consider when outsourcing work is the client for whom he does work. Some clients, especially in the creative fields, tell you directly that they do not accept outsourcing. You could try to come in under but you are taking a chance. If someone does not want their work outsourced, do not expect that they will be unable to tell the difference and if they detect that you have outsourced any of their project, there is a possibility that they will refuse to pay you. <br /> <br /> Since you violated the terms of the agreement, there is nothing you can do. It seems fussy of the buyer but remember, they are the ones paying, so they have the right to decide to whom they wish to give their money. In other fields such as accounting and office functions the clients do not have such a hard line on outsourcing. The other question arises whether you can make money by outsourcing instead of doing the work yourself and the answer to that question is simple. You are being paid a set amount for a project or portions of a project. <br /> <br /> If you outsource the work, you are going to pay less to that person than you are being paid, so the difference is your profit. Think of it like a company hiring someone through a temporary help agency, the employee is paid, for example, $10 per hour but you are billed at least $15 per hour for their services. Outsourcing projects works in reverse you charge less than you are being paid.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.articlesinsight.com/">Article Source</a>: http://www.articlesinsight.com</span></p> <p class="articletext"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Obinna Heche. Los Angeles - California</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> Delivering the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home successfully.. <a href="http://www.homeincomeportal.com/obhmy365" target="_blank">www.homeincomeportal.com/obhmy365</a></span></p> </article> <article> <h1>The Significance Of Productivity Analysis</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:19 GMT</p> <p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Productivity is very important in any existing company or organization today. This is precisely why the concept of productivity analysis is something that all companies and organizations have to be very familiar with. In its very basic form, productivity analysis is just a comparison between the estimated and the actual when it comes to manpower expenses. <br /> <br /> To determine this comparison, there are actually two items that the company would need. A detailed estimate and accurate time sheets. To get this detailed estimate, research is inevitably needed to avoid any semblance of subjectivity in the matter. Each and every aspect pertaining to manpower expenditures should be considered to get this detailed estimate. As for the time sheets, they should contain all aspects related to work, whether they be coded or indexed. These should then be placed against the correct work order. <br /> <br /> A popular misconception regarding productivity analysis is that spot checking is effective. Spot checking is indeed effective to some extent. But the results of spot checking can be misleading at times. This is why trends have to be determined so that the levels of productivity can then be measured more accurately. One way of determining such trends is to develop a chart, so that the results and figures can be seen clearly. <br /> <br /> The chart should then contain the scheduled tasks an ordinary work day would entail. These figures should then be placed against the actual manpower that is needed to finish off the daily workload. This way, the comparison would be fitting enough to show you the trends that exist in the performance of the employees and their rate of productivity. <br /> <br /> In productivity analysis, it is actually important to notice ongoing trends early on. This is to give way to implement corrective measures, should they be needed. The usual corrective measures companies undertake include adding work schedules and increasing or decreasing the workforce for a particular work schedule. <br /> <br /> It is also important to recognize the fact that the productivity of your workforce is not something that you can observe in the visual sense. Visual observation would just give way for subjectivity to arise, and this is something companies have to avoid for the purpose of productivity analysis here would just be defeated. There would be inevitable times when employees would appear idle at the job. Now, some employees are indeed being idle here. However, there are some who are actually working, although they seem to be not. An employee could just be waiting on an order to be signed, for instance. The employee cannot do anything but just stand around while the order is being signed, thus, appearing idle for a few minutes. This is why visual observation is not really reliable when it comes to productivity analysis. <br /> <br /> But why the need for productivity analysis? This is primarily because once the figures are determined, there would then be an avenue for needed changes to be implemented right away. With these changes implemented, then the company’s rate of productivity would then improve significantly. And this is indeed the ultimate goal any existing company has on top of their list of priorities.<br /> <br /> About The Author:<br /> If you are interested in productivity analysis, check this web-site to learn more about productivity scorecard. <a title="http://www.strategy2act.com/solutions/productivity_excel.htm" href="http://www.strategy2act.com/solutions/productivity_excel.htm" target="_blank">http://www.strategy2act.com/solutions/productivity_excel.htm</a></p> </article> <article> <h1>The Serviced Office Is A Comprehensive And Economical Business Solution.</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:16 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">When it comes to gaining comprehensive business support, an increasing number of companies are moving to serviced offices as their solution. So, why is this a growing trend?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Serviced offices provide a resourceful approach to business which, in many respects, exceeds conventional offices. As an extension of your company, a serviced office will cater to your firm's unique needs and adapt according to your changing circumstances - whether this involves start-up processes, growth and development, new locations or individual project support.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">What exactly do you get with a serviced office? Basically, everything you would get with a conventional office, but with greater efficiency, flexibility and at a lower cost. Simply put, serviced offices place more control into your hands; so you can decide how you use it to build your business.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Conventional offices require individual monthly costs as well as capital costs. These expenses include numerous features such as buildings insurance, utilities, furniture, rent, maintenance, IT infrastructure and even reception staff. However, serviced offices combine all of these costs, and more, into one simple monthly payment. And, importantly, it can reduce your total costs by up to 60%. In addition, many serviced office providers do not charge start-up costs, making the deal of optimal value. You get all you need: from project management and support to security services; all for a fraction of the price of a conventional office.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">However, serviced offices do not only save you money - they also save you time, something that everyone is short of in business today. When you choose a serviced office, you will not need to search for company support, such as secretarial staff, facilities management, or IT connectivity, because they will all be included in your business package. After all, when it comes to managing a business, your time is valuable. Spend time developing a business strategy and plan, rather than worrying about basic infrastructural and basic day-to-day office management. In summary, that is what serviced offices are all about. They allow you to focus your efforts where they matter most and will have maximum impact.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Serviced offices are also known for flexibility, enabling you to expand or downsize your business as required and at your own pace. Obtain short or long-term agreements; opt for specialised types of support according to your specific company requirements. You'll even find different serviced office types to suit your specific needs: Whether you require support for a start-up, a growing business, a project team office or a temporary office, a serviced office can be just the resource you need; and no matter where in the UK you take your business, you will have a tailored means of support.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">While serviced offices supply a comprehensive set of benefits, many serviced office providers also offer a range of individual services designed to help your business grow - from virtual offices and meeting venues, to shared offices and hot desks. When you take into account all the advantages of serviced offices and related services compared with conventional offices, including a potential cost saving of 60% per month, serviced offices make business sense.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">So when it comes to gaining business support, you will discover serviced offices not only offer a comprehensive business solution, but that they do so with your financial interests in mind.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: </span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Andrew Regan is a freelance online journalist.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Regan</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></strong></p> </article> <article> <h1>Working Toward the Paperless Office.</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:13 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Paper is both a necessity and a nuisance. One thing is guaranteed, there will always be a constant influx of paper. It just keeps coming into our homes, offices and lives. Most of what we receive is from unsolicited sources such as junk mail and advertisements. Some of it we need to act on and some we need to save for future reference. How do we efficiently handle all of this paper?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Whether you work in an office building or your home office, the first step to take is to sort and purge mail daily. Recycle all junk mail, advertisements and outdated information. Shred all documents that contain personal identification information. Now what do you do with the rest?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Given that paper is one of the top contributors to clutter in an office, learning how to handle it efficiently can save both time and money. Physical clutter leads to mental clutter so creating a paperless or semi-paperless office is a worthy option to consider. We have found that striving for a semi-paperless office is a more practical approach to streamlining most offices than expecting a full blown paperless environment.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">What do you need to go paperless?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">You need a computer, a scanner and imaging software and an open mind for accepting change. Each work station should be set up with dual monitors. This allows for more efficient processing of work as one monitor can be used to display the program you are working in and the other for displaying reference document files. The second screen takes the place of a paper document.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">We recommend that you check with your IT professional to ensure that your computer system and network will support your plan for a paperless office. They can also suggest the appropriate scanners and dual monitor screen set ups that make running a paperless office more efficient. Imaging software is sometimes included with the purchase of a scanner. We recommend Scan Soft Paper Port software which is very user friendly and cost effective for most small offices. You can research software and scanner options on the internet.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">In addition you must also have a plan for how to process the paper into electronic files. It is important to sort and purge documents prior to scanning and filing electronically otherwise you will have an electronic pile in place of a paper pile. Remember the same rule applies to electronic files as to paper files; 80% of what you file will never be looked at again. Be critical of what you keep. Purge your electronic files monthly or at least quarterly. Name your files with the date in the title so you know how old the document is which will make it easier to purge electronic files. Since the office staff will be contributing to shared electronic files, it is important that everyone follow the same procedure when assigning file names. Establishing a file name protocol for everyone to follow will streamline the process and ensure easy retrieval of documents.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It is important to consider the legal and industry specific regulations affecting your business when considering what documents can be kept electronically and what documents must be kept in paper format. Generally speaking all contracts with wet signatures must be kept in paper format. It is also wise to keep paper files as back up for a period of 6 months while you are transitioning to electronic files. You will then be able to retrieve the paper files should you experience a glitch in the paperless system.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Back up is very important when creating a paperless office. You should back up your files on an external drive not just on your hard drive so if something happens to your computer you will still be able to access your files. If you are on a network it is best to back up the files on the server. If you are storing critical files you should consider having an outside source for storing your backups. This provides the security should your office have a fire or a theft. It is important to discuss backup set up and procedures with your IT professional.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Advantages of going paperless in your office:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It reduces the amount of time it takes to retrieve a document. Sharing of documents is simplified as they can be accessed from the shared network drive right from one's desktop computer rather than having to physically go to the filing cabinet to retrieve the document. It eliminates the need for duplicate files. Rather than each individual keeping their own copy, all employees can retrieve the document from the shared drive. There is a recognized savings in the amount of paper supplies that the office consumes which helps the budget and the environment. You can email documents rather than having to fax or mail them which further reduce the cost in office supplies and postage. By removing bulky filing cabinets you will have more physical space in the office.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">If your current paper files work for you then you can simply create an electronic replica of these files and start scanning to reduce the paper load in your office. If your paper files need refining it is best to do this prior to recreating an electronic version. Instituting an electronic documentation system can improve office efficiency and productivity but if you want optimum business performance consider streamlining your workflow and processes first. The key to improving office efficiency is to combine technology with organization.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Dhawn Hansen, CPO® and Tracey Turner, CPO® of Hansen Turner Solutions, LLC are office organizing and time management experts and the authors of Organize Your Office & Manage Your Time: A Be Smart Girls™ Guide. Get on the FAST TRACK to achieving your goals and leading a more organized life. After all, how you spend your time is how you spend your life. Hansen and Turner work with clients nationally and internationally. Please visit our website at http://hansenturner.com</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dhawn_Hansen</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Link</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: http://hansenturner.com</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Workflow Efficiency - Get the Answer to 8 Big Complaints</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:13 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">When things get busy at work and the pressure is on, locating and controlling key documentation is of paramount importance to ensure efficiency and productivity - but how often do you find yourself coming up against any of these eight familiar complaints?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Workflow Efficiency: The Eight Familiar Complaints If any of these complaints are familiar to you, then a document management solution can help:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- I employ somebody just for filing and archiving</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- I can't keep up with customer service enquiries</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- When somebody goes on holiday, we're lost without them</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- I never seem to know where anything is</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- I've had to rewrite important documents because we lost the originals</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- If we were sued, we'd spend ages finding the appropriate documentation</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- We have too many paper records for compliance purposes</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- Everyone in my company seems to have their own filing system</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Workflow Efficiency: The One Simple Response</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Document management is a glamorous name for keeping things organized. Perhaps the truly paperless office might never happen, but at least all the documents you have can be organized properly. Consider for example - what is the true cost of a key proposal which gets lost on somebody's computer because they've gone on holiday and no-one can find it? Or what is the true cost in lost time of rifling through acres of archived documents looking for one sheet from five years ago?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Document management is the result of several useful technologies (printing, scanning, archival and storage) coming together in a useful and co-ordinated way. Good document management software has the following properties these days:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- Easy for staff to use</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- Won't break the bank, and offer a genuinely money-saving ROI</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- Can be installed in-line with your existing IT infrastructure.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Document Management Systems: Save Time</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Forget filing and photocopying (and their associated costs). With document management tools, everything is stored electronically on computer. Everything is named too, so finding documents is simple - helping you improve service to your customers and your colleagues too.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Document Management Systems: Reduce Costs</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Of course good document management saves staff time. But in practice there are so many other cost savings too. Free up your storage space and use it for business! Reduce administration time. Manage projects more efficiently and reduce the margin for costly errors. Improve communication internally, response time, and customer service. Our document management solutions can help you achieve all these cost savings. And you'll spend less on paper, postage and faxing too!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Typically, a good document management system installed and configured correctly can pay for itself in six months- time you can wisely use to push your business forward.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Document Management in Practice</strong> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Here are some key elements to workflow and communication improvements which stem from the use of document management systems:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Creating documents. Whenever a document is created, it's named according to your own conventions (even if it's scanned or copied). Everything's organized from the start and you'll never lose a document again.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Everyone has an In-Tray Documents, pictures, e-mails, whatever... they all come in through your in-tray, where you can categorize them, label them, and then act on them. Send them on, collaborate with other people, and manage versions of documents automatically- so you'll never be stuck working on yesterday's project.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Find and retrieve. Before document management, you had to remember filenames. Now, search by author, client, date, project- even just a phrase, and you'll soon have the document you need.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Out of the office? No problem- we can give you access to your office documents with the same find-and-retrieve functions over the web- at home or on the other side of the world.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Scan it in... No need for huge paper archives. Scan it in and forget about the paper copy. You can even scribble notes in the margin electronically.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">...e-mail or fax it out Electronic documents are so much more flexible than paper. With your documents in electronic form, emailing and faxing them (and making alterations and corrections) is only a click away.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Jimi St.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> Pierre</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> writes for several Office Equipment suppliers in the UK, including Principal Corporation, where you can find out more about INVU document management software on their comprehensive office equipment website at: => http://www.principalcorp.co.uk/</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jimi_St._Pierre</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Link</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: http://www.principalcorp.co.uk/</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </article> </main></body></html>