Difference between revisions of "Consulting"

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UFRC Consulting service allows a research group to pre-purchase a number of RC staff hours and use RC staff expertise to, for example,
 
UFRC Consulting service allows a research group to pre-purchase a number of RC staff hours and use RC staff expertise to, for example,
  
* Facilitate or accelerate a group project
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* Facilitate or accelerate a project
* Get priority help in solving an issue
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* Get priority help with software, hardware, coding, or architecture
* Get support for issues that are out of scope of the RC support included with your investment into RC resources. The complexity of the support issues that would be crossing the consulting threshold is such that each issue needs to be considered individually, so it’s extremely difficult to define a limit. As an example, support effort of any type beyond 1-4 hours of staff time may qualify as consulting.  
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* Get support for issues that are out of scope of the RC support included with your investment in RC resources. Complex support requests may require consulting, each issue needs to be considered individually, so it’s difficult to define a limit. As an example, support effort beyond 5 hours of staff time may qualify as consulting.  
  
The availability of RC staff is limited, so RC Consultants cannot realistically be the main or even major contributors to most projects. The goal is to remove bottlenecks, facilitate and accelerate work by utilizing specific expertise from RC staff. As of 2022 it would be reasonable to expect from one to four hours of consulting time per RC staff member per week. In addition, consulting projects cannot be open-ended. Each engagement should last at most a few weeks to avoid having a small number of research groups monopolize limited RC consulting staff effort. We’ll be happy to expand these limits if staff availability increases.
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The availability of RC staff is limited, so RC Consultants may not be available as the main contributors to projects. The goal is to remove bottlenecks, facilitate and accelerate work by utilizing specific expertise from RC staff. As of 2022 it is reasonable to expect a half day of consulting time per RC staff member per week. In addition, consulting projects cannot be open-ended. Each engagement should last at most a few weeks to avoid having a small number of research groups monopolize limited RC consulting staff effort. We’ll be happy to expand these limits if staff availability increases.
 
 
==Purchasing Consulting Hours==
 
To start the consulting process consulting hours need to be pre-purchased using the appropriate [https://www.rc.ufl.edu/get-started/pricing/training--consultation-rates/purchase purchase form].  
 
  
 
==Initiating Consulting Effort==
 
==Initiating Consulting Effort==
  
Since our staff members have a variety of expertise please open a ticket in our [https://support.rc.ufl.edu Support System] to start a conversation. A project ticket category can be used.
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Since our staff members have a variety of expertise please open a ticket in our [https://support.rc.ufl.edu Support System] to start a conversation. The project ticket category should be used. The ticket will allow us to determine the the right expert to communicate with your group.
  
The ticket will allow us to determine who would be the initial person to communicate with your group as we'd like to make sure you get help from a person or people with the right expertise.
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For virtual or face-to-face interactions, once consulting effort is commenced, organizational calendars or any [[Remote_Support|RC Remote Support]] method can be used for meeting scheduling or discussions.
  
For face-to-face interactions, once consulting effort is commenced, organizational calendars or any [[Remote_Support|RC Remote Support]] method can be used for discussions or meeting scheduling.
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==Purchasing Consulting Hours==
 +
To start the consulting process it may be helpful to make an initial contact to discuss the potential consulting engagement. See [[Get Help]] for our support contact options.
 +
 +
Consulting hours need to be pre-purchased using the appropriate [https://www.rc.ufl.edu/get-started/purchase-allocation/training--consultation-rates/ purchase form].
  
 
==Progress Reporting==
 
==Progress Reporting==

Latest revision as of 18:33, 13 June 2023


This is a Draft. Expect changes.

Introduction

UFRC Consulting service allows a research group to pre-purchase a number of RC staff hours and use RC staff expertise to, for example,

  • Facilitate or accelerate a project
  • Get priority help with software, hardware, coding, or architecture
  • Get support for issues that are out of scope of the RC support included with your investment in RC resources. Complex support requests may require consulting, each issue needs to be considered individually, so it’s difficult to define a limit. As an example, support effort beyond 5 hours of staff time may qualify as consulting.

The availability of RC staff is limited, so RC Consultants may not be available as the main contributors to projects. The goal is to remove bottlenecks, facilitate and accelerate work by utilizing specific expertise from RC staff. As of 2022 it is reasonable to expect a half day of consulting time per RC staff member per week. In addition, consulting projects cannot be open-ended. Each engagement should last at most a few weeks to avoid having a small number of research groups monopolize limited RC consulting staff effort. We’ll be happy to expand these limits if staff availability increases.

Initiating Consulting Effort

Since our staff members have a variety of expertise please open a ticket in our Support System to start a conversation. The project ticket category should be used. The ticket will allow us to determine the the right expert to communicate with your group.

For virtual or face-to-face interactions, once consulting effort is commenced, organizational calendars or any RC Remote Support method can be used for meeting scheduling or discussions.

Purchasing Consulting Hours

To start the consulting process it may be helpful to make an initial contact to discuss the potential consulting engagement. See Get Help for our support contact options.

Consulting hours need to be pre-purchased using the appropriate purchase form.

Progress Reporting

RC Staff will maintain an accessible document (e.g. a spreadsheet) listing the total and remaining consulting hours and reporting used hours and activities.

A periodic review of the progress towards the originally agreed upon deliverables can and should be scheduled by the research group.