Editor's//Comment

In Your Corner

By David Riggs

It never hurts to have a little extra help ? someone inyour corner, as it were. After all, that?s why we?rehere ? to provide as much assistance to you as possible in your everyday ASP.NETdevelopment efforts. To that end, we continue to offer high-quality technicaladvice; how-to articles, example code, reviews of products that make you, well,more productive, and opinion pieces to make you stop and think about thisindustry.

But there is always room for improvement. To that end, weare pleased to announce a new column, Consultant?sCorner. Created and written by Auri Rahimzadeh, this column targets thoseof you who must make business decisions. Sure, you can write code like nobody?sbusiness ? but maybe you need help with the business side of softwaredevelopment. After all, there is more to this than simply writing great code.

In Consultant?s Corner, Auri Rahimzadeh shares his wealthof experience as a consultant. Auri approached me about writing a column to helpsoftware developers make better business decisions. ?My aim with Consultant?sCorner,? Auri stated, ?is to regularly provide useful information that appliesto running a software development business. Whether you?re an independentcontractor, a development manager, or are just looking for how to manage yoursoftware team, I want to get the right information in front of you.? Auri hasyears of experience, and has many experiences to share. He?s written technicalbooks, been technical editor for Wiley and Wrox, and has held a number ofexecutive positions. His business, TAG (The Auri Group), is a MicrosoftCertified Partner.

?I?ve taken my business,? Auri continued, ?from being justmyself to seven people in a five year time span, and taken revenues from zeroto $1M plus. During that period, I?ve had to grow as a company, as a developer,and as a manager. As I share my experiences, and what I?ve learned along theway, I think we?ll all benefit.?

Auri kicks off his new column with a look at how to improvecommunications and streamline development with the use of an Issue ManagementSystem. Whether you?re a small business or a single, independent contractor, oneproblem with modern development is the lack of centralized communication.Wading through e-mails with different specs, filing those away, andcommunicating with all your client contacts is a time consuming task. You canoften end up in the ?I don?t remember you saying that? conversation, putting yourrelationship with the client at risk. ?I?ve been in that situation,? Auriexplained. ?It?s no way to run a business.?

You will benefit from reading Consultant?s Corner. Butyou?ll learn even more if you?re proactive ? engage Auri in a dialogue, askspecific questions that may be troubling you in running your business. He?shere to help ? he?s in your corner.

Contact Auri at mailto:consultantscorner@aspnetpro.comif you have questions. To learn more about him and his business, visit http://aurigroup.com.

Thanks for reading.

David Riggs is editor-in-chief of asp.netPRO and itscompanion e-newsletter, asp.netNOW. Reach him at mailto:driggs@informant.com.