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Availability

I am now taking a year off to do an MSc in Renewable Energy, and don't expect to be available for major projects until at least August 2010.



Read my blog on renewable energy and student life



I'm still available for small consulting assignments, so please feel free to contact me if that's of interest.

Why Do Service Level Agreements?

Posted by Cathryn in : Miscellaneous , add a comment

I’ve been doing some procurement work lately, negotiating with a client’s supplier and putting a Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place for a new service. This morning, I found myself having a conversation with a colleague about what the point of all this work was. (more…)

Engaging Consultancy Suppliers

Posted by Cathryn in : IT Project Management , add a comment

Most projects will need some external service or consultancy, whether that’s technical expertise you don’t have, extra staff because your own organisation is too stretched or (please!) someone to help you manage the project. Whether you’re engaging a major consulting firm or a one-person band, it is very important to make sure that they are given a clear understanding of what they’re expected to deliver, when its needed and your criteria for accepting their work. The easiest time to agree all this is at the beginning, before you’ve given them a purchase order and before they’ve committed a lot of time and effort.

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A Sense of Place

Posted by Cathryn in : Miscellaneous , add a comment

When I’m not being a project manager, I’m studying (slowly) for a degree in Earth Sciences at Birkbeck College. It’s a hobby, but at the back of my mind I wonder if I could ever use it professionally. That curiousity led me to the first meeting of the British Computer Society’s Geospatial Special Interest Group last night, where the speaker was Ed Parsons, CTO of the Ordnance Survey.

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