Harsharanjeet Kaur is the co-author of Reimagine Remote Working with Microsoft Teams we got the chance to sit down with her and find out more about her experience of writing with Packt.
Q: What is/are your specialist tech area(s)?
Harsharanjeet : Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Teams, PowerShell, Sophos, MaaS360
Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?
Harsharanjeet : I was introduced to Packt via a friend for authoring this book. I was excited to meet Packt team and appreciate their unceasing support towards completion of this project. In this remote era, end users all of a sudden have to switch to collaboration tools for carrying out their day to day tasks. A contribution towards a smooth transitioning to these remote tools was one of the motivational factor in penning down this book. This book is more of a guide to save from Microsoft Teams’ adaptation struggles.
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
Harsharanjeet : I have been using this product for sometime, not just as an end user but an admin as well. The research was more around the pain points of the end user and how to simply put this product in words for a beginner. It took weeks to collect the inputs from peers so all the queries could be addressed in the book.
Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?
Harsharanjeet : Microsoft Teams is a product of Microsoft 365 suite, so it receives a number of feature and interface updates. The main challenge was the using continuous changing interface images used in the book. To overcome this we tried to explain the image as well adding a revised snapshot at every revision. This will help the readers to understand the context even if the image gets out of date after publication.
Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
Harsharanjeet : Well ! This is a Remote era and technology in discussion is a collaboration tool for remote working. This says it all about the popularity of this product. We are talking about a technology to connect workforce over the internet, which seemed nearly impossible and year back. In future these technologies will be receiving advanced features addressing the requirements of work-from-anywhere culture and will integrate with every known useful tool for business.
Q: Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
Harsharanjeet : This book is a beginner’s guide to use Microsoft Teams and assists end user with the frequently used functionalities of Teams. The books is more of a guide, meaning short and crisp. Also this book contains Tips and Tricks, Teams Etiquette and Best Practices which makes it a must have for any Teams user.
Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?
Harsharanjeet : By the end of this book, the reader will be equipped with enough knowledge to successfully operate Teams and ace in their office meetings 🙂
Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?
Harsharanjeet : For tech, the mantra is to always keep yourself up-to-date. The services/products get continuous feature and functionality upgrades, also to mention that these technologies at times have a short life span. Tips: Keep an eye on Vendor News Forums and announcements.
Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?
Harsharanjeet : Yes, www.harsharanjeet.com
Q. Can you share any blogs, websites and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
Harsharanjeet : Microsoft Learn (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/teams/)
Microsoft Teams Video Training (http://Microsoft Learn (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/teams/) Microsoft Teams Video Training (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/microsoft-teams-video-training-4f108e54-240b-4351-8084-b1089f0d21d7)
Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?
Harsharanjeet : The journey was swift and smooth. The team supported on each step and was highly cooperative. From my experience, I would definitely recommend budding authors to collaborate with Packt.
Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?
Harsharanjeet : Yes, Microsoft Community
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
Harsharanjeet : I usually follow Microsoft News, TechCrunch, Wired, Digit and then some google 🙂
Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?
Harsharanjeet : I would dedicate atmost two hours in a weekday and atleast two on weekends.
Q. What is that one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?
Harsharanjeet : Always check the latest update on the technology before penning it down.
You can find Harsharanjeet’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here
