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When we think about working on a project, we think about what we need to get across the finish line. But how often do we stop to consider our personal work product? What minimum viable product is appropriate for the work we create and deliver? What is a Minimum Viable Product or MVP? Minimum Viable…

~ by Randy Wagner Consultants Must Wear Many Hats As consultants, we are expected to represent our shop well, provide more value than our fees, and generally speak, look, and act like we’re the ones to call when a client needs help. That’s all great but it goes beyond that simple perspective. It often demands…

~ by Randy Wagner Multiple Clocks Almost everything in our lives is governed, in one way or another, by the clock. Workdays, meeting time, dinner time, release schedules, the list goes on and on. However, the one thing that is easy to lose sight of is that we’re working with multiple clocks and that time…

CastleBay Companies is the recipient of RiskStream’s Innovator Award. This award is in recognition of CastleBay’s work supporting Guidewire Integration insurance-related projects.

~ by Randy Wagner Management Must Balance Opposing Objectives Management is a juggle of contradictions and multiple balance points. Every person on the team has different strengths and weaknesses. Some tasks must move fast while others must wait to fit the correct sequencing. However, the core balance we need to achieve is independence with standardization.…

~ by Randy Wagner What Does it Mean to “Be Essential?” The simplest and most accurate career advice I have ever received is this: “Be essential.” That simple two-word phrase represents a fundamental truth about most things in our lives. It creates drive, offers a roadmap, and last but not least, provides employment opportunities. It…

~ by Randy Wagner Three Common Blockers to Success I came across a TikTok observation on how to succeed that I find translates well to project work. We begin each project with that blush of maximum potential. “We’re going to do great things for the client and find ways to improve over last time.” Then…

~ by Randy Wagner Find Opportunities for Improvement in the Helpdesk As software professionals from various disciplines, we strive to create and deliver quality in the systems, functions, data, and reports that we implement. However, as we all know, there is no perfect system and there’s always opportunity for improving existing code or adding and…

~ by Randy Wagner Why Project Assumptions Must be Evaluated Trying to understand the world we live in is as old as humanity itself, but it is often much too easy to rely on what we think we know rather than to honestly evaluate what is in front of us. Whether you do carpentry, run…