Author: Eric Norton

Selection to Success in Three Months

Is it conceivable to automate a 100% paper-based process in less than three months, even for a complex State environmental program? The answer is yes! This week, one of our clients at the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) delivered a presentation that recounted…

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IT Procurement 101: The Myth of the 50/50 Procurement Evaluation

A growing trend in public sector information technology (IT) procurement is the 50/50 evaluation: assigning 50% of available points to cost and 50% to the solution. The logic is that weighing cost at 50% forces bidders to reduce their costs and assures the buyer the…

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CalTech Announces New Project Approval Lifecycle

Last week, the California Department of Technology (CalTech) celebrated the release of the new IT Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL). A result of the State Technology Approval Reform (STAR) initiative, the PAL replaces the current feasibility study report (FSR) and procurement processes with a new iterative…

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May is Bike Month

May is Bike Month in Sacramento, when everyone is encouraged to trade vehicle trips for bike trips. With one day left in May, Sacramentans have logged 1,557,929 biked miles! Truly impressive. Highlands Consulting had two “cyclists” logging miles this year: Eric Norton (me!) and Abby Darrah. Combined, we logged 18 round trips…

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PMP Renewal

Congratulations to Eric Norton and Jim Turko, both completed the Villanova Lean Six Sigma certificate course — we plan to apply the principles, methodologies, and tools to our business process improvement activities. The 50 personal development units (PDUs) earned them enough total PDUs to renew…

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About the Highlands Consulting Blog

From the desk of Eric Norton Why does a management consulting firm have a blog? We created this blog as a way to share ideas, accomplishments, tips, and tools in a “casual” format. We spend a great deal of time and effort writing very formal…

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New Office, New Website, New Blog, Twitter, and more!

Spring is a time of change, and we have taken that to heart here at Highlands Consulting this year. We have a lot of recent changes to share with you. First, we have a new office! Due to continued project successes and growth, we needed…

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