Installment 002 of The Custom Integrator Show has been posted.  Enjoy!

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheCustomIntegratorShowInstallment2841.mp3[/mp3]
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We continue to lay the initial groundwork by looking at “The Process” from a requirements and lifestyle assessment perspective.  This includes defining the sets of features you feel comfortable building into your designs, those that you can implement and support successfully, and then selling those as the deliverables to your clients.  One of the more difficult tasks of any system is being able to categorize those components well enough so that you can convey how your vision of what the customer wants turns into getting them to sign on the dotted line once you deliver them.

This week I use some examples from Group Gerhardt, LLC (http://www.groupgerhardt.com/) to help investigate ways to understand the technical prowess of your clients.  I reference the following graph in the show, so I am publishing it here as a reference for you to use.  I think it really reflects the state of the Windows Media Center market and how “non-enthusiast” customers view technology in general.

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This show wraps up the initial business aspects of “The Process.”  Next week we start looking at ways to start turning the requirements into product recommendations and how to evaluate the specific aspects of the hardware platform you choose.

 I do want to apologize in advance if the flow does not quite fit together as well as we had hoped.  Ian and I are just getting the hang of how we want to present the material and we actually recorded this installment before the first one (it’s a long story).  The initial Installment 001 sounded like I was giving a PowerPoint presentation, but you could not see the presentation.  I even fell asleep listening to it J.  We chopped out a lot of it and will cover those sections in a future installment.  I also hope to start posting more information to the site both as material to augment the discussions and as a way to start laying the foundation for how we are going to dive into the heart of the technology later.  Thanks for bearing with us as we find our way….

   =D-

3 thoughts on “The Custom Integrator Show Installment 002”
  1. I have a small company in Ireland, we install and maintain business telephone systems and structured cabling (cat5e, etc).

    I’ve been thinking of branching into this area for a long time, so this new podcast is just what I needed.

    Thank you for taking the time to share this information and experience with us.

  2. Another good show, I’m really looking forward to this series as it’s aimed at people like me who are moving in to the custom installer industry for the first time. The information is helpful and gets you thinking about things you might not have thought about otherwise.

    I hope the series goes in to much more depth about the products and solutions and methods custom installers are using in conjuction with Media Center and it really helps enthusiasts bridge that cap towards custom installer.

    Thanks

  3. This episode lays the fundamental ground work to properly understanding the client’s vision, setting the expectations, and designing a solution that is a “right fit” for all users in the home, office, or wherever a Windows Media Center may find itself. These essential concepts are often overlooked and are explored here in terms of analyzing the process one must follow to avoid disappointing results. While there’s deliberately little discussion on technology, this episode emphasizes the importance and describes proper system design goals. While this methodology requires patience and discipline, the result is worth it. Thanks Derek!

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