You have a head spinning with business ideas but you encounter difficulties in financing? Or you have recently started your great potential business but are not yet turning profit? A fundamental aspect for your business, financing is usually the most frequent obstacle in starting a business. You have the option of resorting to a business incubator on condition that your business idea seems viable and promising. Now if you wonder how they are going to find out whether your ide ...
Author: Laura Ciocan
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Four Reasons Why Small Businesses Succeed (or Fail)
The American system of business management has been admired and emulated around the world. This system is characteristic of two traits in the American psyche: (1) enthusiasm for the future and making things better, and (2) an openness and willingness to change in order to achieve that end.

No society in the world is better or more prolific at creating new businesses than the United States capitalistic system but often we are so busy commercializing ideas and starting new ventures that we ...
Author: Robert A.Normand
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The Demise of the Mittelstand
According to a survey of German executives by the influential Ifo think tank, German business confidence rose in January for the first time in eight months - albeit imperceptibly, from 87.3 to 87.4. A poll conducted by ZEW, another brain trust, confirmed these findings. On past form, though, this confidence level heralds a contraction of 5-6 percent in industrial production.

This is consistent with other dismal figures: negligible growth, stiflingly high real interest rates imposed by the ...
Author: Sam Vaknin
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The Economies of the Middle East
Last year, in the Islamic Financial Forum in Dubai, Brad Bourland, chief economist for the Saudi American Bank (SAMBA), breached the embarrassed silence that invariably enshrouds speakers in Middle Eastern get-togethers. He reminded the assembled that despite the decades-long fortuity of opulent oil revenues, the nations of the region - excluding Turkey and Israel - failed to reform their economies, let alone prosper.

Structural weaknesses, imperceptible growth, crippling unemployment and ...
Author: Sam Vaknin
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Famous Business Strategies

Either simply a looker-on or a player in the world of business, you see millions piling into the accounts of world's most famous businessmen and naturally the question pops "How?", wondering what is the alchemy they've discovered? Yet, there is no magic here - it's mostly pure strategy. And what it takes to spot it and make it real.

Strategy

Identifying the best strategy for your business is the key to all success.

It should give you the lift ...
Author: Laura Ciocan
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What To Consider Before Approaching Lenders
Dealing with a bank doesn't have to be like walking through a maze in the dark. Keeping the following points in mind when you approach a bank should help you through the process.

Lenders are looking to satisfy themselves of the following:
1. That the business can make the regular interest and principal payments
2. That the lender can get its money back if something goes wrong

When approaching a financial institution, you are effectively selling the merits of your business a ...
Author: Jeff Schein
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It's Okay To Negotiate - REALLY!
Sarah is a young woman who attended one of my sales negotiation training programs shortly after taking a new job. When I asked her how she did with her salary negotiation, she replied, "Well, I didn't negotiate. I was offered $44,000 and I took it. "Why didn't you negotiate?" I asked. "Because I didn't want to start off my new job on the wrong foot" she replied.

Donald works for a small weekly newspaper. He likes his job and his employer, Jeanne. He doesn't get paid much, but he likes his ...
Author: Michael Schatzki, MPA, CSP
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Auditing Improves Effective Planning
Speak of operations assessment, and we’ll hear its significant value. Speak of an audit, and we’ll run for the nearest emergency exit. There’s no difference between the two, yet that word audit chills us. But is an audit really designed to help us or hurt us?

Improve Effective Planning

Problems most often arise from poor planning. Sometimes we’re uncertain if we’re tackling the correct issues and dealing with them the right way. However, we can improve our assumptions about ...
Author: Auditing Improves Effective Planning
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Policies and Procedures Used as Management Key
Managers know the difficulty of getting people to do the right things the right way. And employees need their expertise and understanding of the way things should be done. But how do you get it across so it actually sticks? The answer is well-defined policies and procedures.

Quickly Convey What’s Right

Managers can convey the exact way things should be done with policies and procedures, and they can do it faster than ever with pre-written documents. This speeds an organizati ...
Author: Policies and Procedures Used as Management Key
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Those Little Things
Moving to another state meant finding a new dentist. I tried one a neighbor recommended who seemed friendly, competent and eager to please. But, I never went back. His office was a case study on the importance of little things.

The coat hook was missing a screw and falling from the wall; waiting room magazines were outdated; the posted office hours were taped over with an index card and new hours written in marker; the credenza was overflowing with mail and claim forms. There are plenty o ...
Author: Nan S. Russell
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Understanding Document Management
The term "document management" and "paperless office" is
the subject of countless articles and books. Everyone wants
to achieve this lofty goal but not everyone understands what
the terms really mean. Before you can embark on the journey
of achieving total document management, it's important that
you have a good basic knowledge of the terms and concepts
that go with it.

Once you start investigating the various software solutions
that are available you're going ...
Author: Cavyl Stewart
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Losing momentum while others plan ahead?
CONTENTS:
1. Are you losing momentum while others plan ahead?
2. Is your brainstorming getting the action you want?
3. Are you starting your new employees the right way?
4. Are you maintaining your documentation correctly?
5. Call to Action.

============================================================
1. Are you losing momentum while others plan ahead?
============================================================

Now is the best time for you to create your 2nd-h ...
Author: Mike Hayden
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ISO 9001 Compliant Program: Steps to Build
Implementing an ISO 9001 system represents a major effort. However, all of that effort can represent a significant shift for a business - from quantity to quality. And this could make sure your business gets the desired results.

Shift Focus to Performance

Developing, implementing and maintaining your ISO 9001 program can be crucial to the core issues of a business. The focus is designed to help:

•Satisfy customer requirements for compliance
•Increase profits with ...
Author: ISO 9001 Compliant Program: Steps to Build
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Let Your People Shine
PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required. Email him at eagibbs@ureach.com.

"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated", once stated William James, the philosopher. A ...
Author: Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW
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Maximizing Your Potential: Using Your Brain to Think
PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required. Mail to: eagibbs@ureach.com

The Chicago Times once printed that Henry Ford was an ignoramus. Mr. Ford sued, challenging the paper to prove it.

The proof was attempted in court. During the trial, Mr. F ...
Author: Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW
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Virtual Assistants... Even Santa Needs One!
Permission is granted to use this article, as long as the "About
the Author" section including the link to
http://www.organizedassistant.com remains intact. An email
letting me know which article you have used and where would be
appreciated.

Virtual Assistants... Even Santa Needs One!
By Janet Barclay, Organized Assistant

Trying to fit all the planning and preparing and celebrating of
the holiday season into an already busy schedule can bring a lot
of stress t ...
Author: Janet Barclay
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If one does not do any planning, one is planning to fail.
MARKETING STRATEGIES
An enterprise may adopt different marketing strategies dependent on the size and position of the business in its industry. The marketing strategy adopted may prove crucial to generate sales. These marketing strategies are often the result of competitive forces. The different techniques to tackle marketing opponents, or defending one's turf against competitors, are dealt with.

•Market challengers
In order to expand market share it will often be necessary to comp ...
Author: The International Business Foundation
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Your Customers Are More Than A Number
“Next!”
Have you ever been waiting in line when you heard that inviting call bellowed over the counter? Inevitably, when you finally are “next,” the person waiting on you is looking at you with disdain waiting to hear what problems you’re going to cause them. They might just as well be saying in a disgusted tone, “What do you want?!”
Many times jobs on the front-lines are repetitive. There’s no getting around it. We run the registers and check out our customers’ purchases or work the phon ...
Author: Scott Brown
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How You Can Learn to be a Better Manager
How You Can Learn to be a Better Manager
When you first take over a department, expectations are usually high but operations are sometimes in disarray. The staff is disorganized, goals aren’t being met, and hours are spent on unproductive tasks. Just when you think the company would never get on track, the CFO recommends that you learn more about something called operations assessment.

Crucial Management Skills Help Avoid Mistakes
At first, you aren’t sure how operati ...
Author: How You Can Learn to be a Better Manager
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How to Meet Quality Standards with ISO 9001
In today’s hectic business environment, it is vital that we are all on the same page, right? But how do we know if we meet those standards? Business owners and executives can avoid the uncertainty, and that’s where ISO 9001 certification comes in.

Standardizing Quality Systems

The ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, was established in 1947 to develop international standards for everything from electronics to management systems. Having over 13,000 standard ...
Author: How to Meet Quality Standards with ISO 9001
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What's Keeping You at the Office (9 Tips to get home quicker)
"Work smarter, not harder" is a clichй that has darted in and out of the workplace for years. But it's still as true as ever. And it's often overlooked advice that truly works. "Working smarter" means think strategically about how to improve your productivity. For starters, think about how you spend a typical day. Then eliminate the time robbers. How? Like this...

1. Discourage excessive visitors. Move the candy dish. Put it far away from your desk. Why? Because food is a friend when you' ...
Author: Karen Fritscher-Porter
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Outsourcing and Your Business
Outsourcing and Your Business

Outsourcing is an established way of doing business today, allowing companies to maximize their budgets and resources — and generate better products.

Also referred to as subcontracting, outsourcing simply means acquiring a product or service rather than producing it in-house. Outsourcing is suitable for just about any industry. In the administrative field, for instance, a variety of activities can easily be farmed out to a subcontractor, including wor ...
Author: Kate Smalley
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Survival Tips For Small Businesses
You may be in Mail Order, Direct Mail or you may be a local merchant with 150 employees; whichever, however or whatever you’ve got to know how is to keep your business alive during economic recessions. Anytime the cash flow in a business, large or small, starts to tighten up, the money management of that business has to be run as a “tight ship.”

Some of the things you can and should do include protecting yourself from expenditures made on sudden impulse. We’ve all bought merchandise or se ...
Author: BrainyBusiness
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How to Improve Your Management Procedures’ Usability
Are your people consistently following your procedures? Each year, organizations lose thousands of dollars through common mistakes and lapses in usability. But what does that mean for business owners and executives?

Ask yourself:

•Are your required actions described thoroughly and accurately, or are the details left open to interpretation?

•Is your content consistent and complete, or are your writers leaving gaps no one has noticed?

•Are revisions controlled, ...
Author: How to Improve Your Management Procedures’ Usability
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Project/Program Management Best Practices for Success in ANY Industry!
Where is our success? Although there have been improvements,
over 60% of projects/programs failed and many were canceled in
2003 (ref:The Standish Report CHAOS)! Our goal for 2004 and
beyond is to contribute to a 60% and better, project/program
success rate! STOP THE MADNESS-MANAGE AND CONTROL PROJECTS
WITH THE FOLLOWING:

Best Practice Processes for Project/Program Success(Outline):
1. Program/Project Management (and Business Management)
(Integration)
- Use of ...
Author: Eddie R. Williams
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Executive ESP : A Pathway To Success
We all have psychic abilities that we use daily, although most of us don't even realize that. The full study of this issue would take many books, and years of experience to grasp all the factors. Since we can't do that here, we can still focus on applying these skills to making informed business decisions. Those of us making constant business choices, effecting staff, ethics , health, and the botton line ,need all the data we can get our hands on. So these tidbits are designed to help you use yo ...
Author: Jeremiah P. Huck
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5 Warning Signals Your Business Might Have A Cash Flow Problem
A key reason for business failure is poor cash management. If you don’t pay attention to your daily cash flow, you face extinction; yet so many business people loss site of their cash flow. No matter how fantastic your company’s products are, you will not survive unless you generate sufficient cash flow to sustain it. It is not the goods or services that are the end-products of your business, it is cash.

1. You are exhibiting a decrease in liquidity (you are running out of working capita ...
Author: Jeff Schein
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MENU DRIVEN BUSINESS PLANNING
So you want to open a restaurant? Many people come to me with their plans, and ideas after they have decided to build or open a restaurant. It is my responsibility to assist them in their planning process and determine how clearly they have thought their concept through. I ask them to show me a menu, and if their initial response is "I haven't gotten that far in my planning process yet," my response is “You haven't started the planning process yet”.

A menu is the foundation of any restaur ...
Author: Monte Zwang
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How to Create Well-Defined Processes
Interested in learning how to reduce development time, save money and stay in control? Business professionals can learn how to create well-defined processes with the easy-to-manage Process Approach of Plan-Do-Check-Act.

Real Tools for Real Business Process

In MBA courses, students come across a lot of buzzwords and the theories behind them. And in the textbook, the terms look and sound great. But after they finish with their classes, they think to themselves: so now what I c ...
Author: How to Create Well-Defined Processes
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The Gibson Company Finds New Building for ResMAE
Newport Beach, CA - November 23, 2004 –The Gibson Company today announced that ResMAE Mortgage Corporation has signed a 79,897 square foot, 10-year lease at Six Pointe Drive in Brea, California. ResMAE Mortgage Corporation will occupy three floors at this 131,687 square foot, 5-story, Class A office building currently under construction and set to deliver in the fourth quarter of 2005. ResMAE was represented by Tom Gibson, of The Gibson Company, and Olen was represented by Greg Brown, of Cushman ...
Author: Bill Ralston
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Why Employee Satisfaction Surveys and Employee Exit Surveys make good sense
In a competitive world with the need for businesses to be more streamlined and productive a company can often find itself with a workforce working under pressure resulting in low moral and high staff turnover. The benefits of a company having a highly motivated workforce can be considerable and the two goals of having a workforce that is both motivated and productive should not be regarded as being mutually exclusive to one another.

Left unattended employers run the risk of alienating the ...
Author: Martin Day
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Managing Your Business' Cash Flow
You wouldn’t drive a car without a gas gauge or speedometer, and if you’re driving on an empty tank, you won’t get very far. Then why would you make financial decisions without the proper tools? Businesses must master controlling the flow of cash. Cash flow planning helps eliminate uncertainty, identify obstacles and move forward armed with information. With information you can make plans and changes to improve your business.

Why a Cash Flow Statement?
Many business owners believe thei ...
Author: Monte Zwang
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Cash Flow, Profits And The Cash Conversion Cycle
Calculating cash flow is one of the most important tasks of the business owner. Revenue and expenses are rarely constant in a business and cash requirements need to be planned for shortfalls, seasonal factors or one time large payments. At the end of the day, a company that cannot pay its bills is bankrupt. Unfortunately, while many business owners concentrate solely on their revenues and expenses to manage their cash flow, it’s usually poor management of the cash conversion cycle that so often ...
Author: Jeff Schein
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10 Tips to Grow Your Business Plain & Simple
“Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.” Albert Einstein

Recently I heard a statistic that the majority of businesses operate at 60% of their potential. While I was unable to obtain the source of that statistic it seemed rather accurate or maybe even high. The Small Business Association reports that “2/3 of new employer firms survive at least 2 years, and about 1/2 survive at least 4 years.” The language they use is almost as scary as the statistics themse ...
Author: Beth Tabak
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Stop Waste, Fraud and Abuse
Each year, businesses write-off six percent of revenue to waste, fraud and abuse. But why would managers throw all that hard-earned money away when there is a reliable way to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse using accounting policies & procedures to create internal controls. Internal controls eliminate uncollectible receivables; prevent theft or embezzlement; optimize inventory; and stop waste, fraud, and abuse.
Utilizing just a single control will add real money to your bottom line each mon ...
Author: Stop Waste, Fraud and Abuse
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More Uses for Your Business Plan
You have invested a lot of time and energy on writing a business plan just to get a loan or to attract an investor. What do you do when you get the money or, worse, should you be turned down?

Do you just file it away? That's like investing in a boat that remains parked in your driveway after its inaugural voyage.

Instead of filing it away or leaving it on a shelf to gather dust, why not capture more return on your investment? To gain a clearer perspective, convert your investment o ...
Author: Gerry McRae
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Check Yourself for Outstanding Customer Service
How many times have you heard something similar to this in a
customer service situation?

Customer: “Why don’t you just do it this way, and it will take
care of the situation.”

Customer Service Person: “I understand what you are saying, but
we can to do it this way.”

Then the situation magically goes downhill from there and it is
difficult to win back the customer.

What Happened?

The customer service person used the one word that has a
powerful ne ...
Author: Ed Sykes
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How to Get Money Back for Your Process and Procedures Investments
You have permission to publish this article its entirety, electronically, or in print at no charge, as long as the resource box is included with the article along with my full signature file for ezines and my Web address (http://www.bizmanualz.com) in hyperlink for other sites. This article is 443 words long. Thanks for your interest.

Wouldn’t it be nice to get some of your money back that you have invested in developing policies, procedures and processes for your organization? Well, you ...
Author: How to Get Money Back for Your Process and Procedures Investments
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This Job Would Be Great - Except For Those Damn Customers!
We all know customers are not always right – in fact – often they’re completely wrong. But if we allow our customers’ “shortcomings” to be the focus of our employees’ attentions we’re destined to fail.

The inclination to complain about a customer happens to all of us from time to time. After a customer irritates us in some way and eventually walks away or hangs up the phone, we immediately look for a nearby co-worker so we can share our negative experiences.

“Hey Bob. You won’t bel ...
Author: Scott Brown
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Delegate or Die
You Can't Do It All - Learning To Delegate

There is not a single management skill more critical to your personal and professional success as an entrepreneur than learning to delegate. But delegating successfully is much more than simply handing out assignments. It is more an exercise in understanding and accepting our own strengths and limitations.

In this fast paced world, we must choose what activities it makes sense for us to do ourselves, and what it makes sense to let go of. ...
Author: Megan Tough
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6 Steps To Laying Out Your Competitive Strategy
6 Steps To Laying Out Your Competitive Strategy

Why do so many companies languish and watch as their business turns into a zero profit zone, while others seem to thrive?

When you look at your business, whether it’s a new venture or a company with a long history, can you answer the following questions?
•What does my company do better than anyone else?
•What unique value do I provide to my customers?
•How will I increase that value next year?

Companies that fail to ...
Author: Jeff Schein
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10 Strategies for Avoiding Overwhelm in your Business
How many of us have been in a position where we have more to do than can realistically fit into one day, or week. So we spend all of our time feeling rushed, being rushed, and wondering how on earth we are going to manage. If you are having that feeling of overwhelm in your business, it’s time to take stock of what’s going on.

How well you manage yourself and the time you have, is crucial to your success. Wasted time equals lost opportunities. Lost opportunities equal lost business and p ...
Author: Megan Tough
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PHP On-The-Fly!
Introduction
PHP can be used for a lot of different things, and is one of the most powerful scripting languages available on the web. Not to mention it's extremely cheap and widely used. However, one thing that PHP is lacking, and in fact most scripting languages are, is a way to update pages in real-time, without having to reload a page or submit a form.

The internet wasn't made for this. The web browser closes the connection with the web server as soon as it has received all t ...
Author: Dennis Pallett
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5 Things You Need To Know Before Deciding On A Certification Training
The right certification training

Trainings vary a lot when it comes to quality. It's essential to choose your certification training provider based on things such as the quality of materials, trainers' competence and skills, counseling facilities, track record etc. A good trainer is essential because you can learn from his real life's experience.

Cost

Usually, the cost of the training is a big issue for people, sometimes even a deciding factor. But the price shouldn't be you ...
Author: Michael Smoke
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Computer Network Installation
Computer network installation can be daunting but with a few guidelines you can install a good network at your home or office. Networking allows computers to share peripherals, and allows one computer to backup the data of another. Also networks can enable a single computer to act as an Internet access point for the entire network without the inconvenience of fitting a modem and telephone extension for each computer.

Planning
This involves defining business requirements and growth plan ...
Author: Adrian Griffiths
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Tips For Optimal Laptop Power & Functionality
Are you sick and tired of your notebooks battery cutting out on you when you need it most? Are you always buying new batteries because your old ones aren’t lasting as long as they should be? If either of these questions apply to you, then read on.

In this article I will discuss some of the things you can do to conserve your batteries power so that your laptop runs longer. I will also discuss some easy things you can do to ensure that your battery gets the long life it deserves.

Fir ...
Author: Cody Kahl
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Can RAID Systems Fail?
Technology, how we love it until something goes wrong and we end up yelling at our computer screens. If you’ve ever lost data, you know how much time, money, and headaches it can cost you to retrieve it, especially if you are a company. Data recovery doesn’t have to be worrisome.

The acronym RAID, first used in 1988, stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks. RAID is an assembly of disk drives, also known as ‘disk array’, which operates as one storage unit. In gene ...
Author: Alexandria Haber
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Successful Documentation Projects – Part 3 of 3 – ‘Writing’
So you understand your user documentation project and you’ve specced it out. Now you’re ready to write. Here’s some tips to help you on your way. This article isn’t about the actual writing itself; it’s about the things which go along with the writing. (For information on writing online help, see www.divinewrite.com/helpfulhelp.htm.)

NOTE: This is the final article in a series of three outlining the key elements of a good user documentation process. (To read the first and second articles ...
Author: Glenn Murray
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Successful Documentation Projects – Part 1 of 3 – ‘Understanding’
The creation of user documentation is a big component of any software project. Unfortunately, it’s often undervalued and left to the last minute. But that doesn’t mean it should be without a good management plan.

This is the first in a series of three articles outlining the key elements of a good user documentation process. It’s kind of an “ideal” process; very few projects will be able to implement every step, and some will require additional steps. Nonetheless, it should provide you wit ...
Author: Glenn Murray
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Console Server
Console Servers - Console Server Management Solutions at 42U.com

About the Author

-