Every organization I've worked with has had a contingent of unsolved problems related to software and information systems, be it in their products or their infrastructure. While these problems would be valuable to solve, there is almost always something more pressing for staff to do, and the problem usually has to be fairly significant before one even entertains hiring a consultant.

There exists also an inherent uncertainty to problem-solving. As a professional problem-solver I can say that to date I have yet to observe (and not for a lack of searching) an effective means of estimating the cost of solving a specific problem, since doing so is effectively attempting to predict when I will gain an understanding of what the problem is or find somebody else who does (which would entail understanding enough to constrain who to look for and explain it to them). I can, however, state the following observations:

• Many disparate organizations have similar problems related to software and information systems;
• Access to solutions to these problems is valuable despite their level of business-criticality;
• Many of these problems fall well within the capacity of a single competent individual to solve quickly and efficiently once he or she gains comprehension;
• Over time, as this individual learns more about the idiosyncrasies of a given organization, he or she can proactively address problems for which solutions are conveniently available;
• These problems are easily pooled and amortized across a cohort of subscribers;
• If the pool is large enough it is overwhelmingly likely that there will always be a valuable problem which is convenient to solve right now;
• The economics of software and information systems afford results on a frequent (e.g. sub-monthly) basis;
• Likewise, the cost of this process to the individual subscriber can be brought far below that of a dedicated employee or consultant.

What I'm offering can effectively be understood as serendipitous software/IT R&D. For a flat subscription fee (to be determined), I maintain a dossier (i.e. an extranet) where I accrue what I learn about your organization (the fee also covers communication). To this dossier I attach the findings I deem relevant (relevant ones are curated, though you have access to all of them). Findings, in this case, refer to artifacts such as bookmarks, notes, reports, data visualizations, tutorials and software prototypes. What I work on is determined partly by demand from the subscriber base, partly by whatever problem is handy to solve at the time.

What I'm aiming for with this configuration is a means of providing affordable access to useful strategies and tactics to organizations who have to deal with information systems—that is to say, every organization in some capacity. I am currently in the preliminary stages of gauging interest; I will be answering questions and arriving at a price for this service in the coming weeks.

Please send me an email if you would like more information. Thank you for your attention.