Laura Nicolas Lorente had first started working with Dynamics NAV back in 2005 in the support department, mostly solving functional issues and doubts. She soon jumped to full deployment, that is, consultation, analysis, development, implementation, migration, training, and support. Right from the beginning, she realized that it was very important for a Dynamics NAV consultant to have a deep knowledge of business workflows. Technical skills were just not enough. So she started to train herself in accounting, taxation, supply chain, logistics, and so on. She discovered a whole new world and she found it very interesting. After having enough consultancy experience, she got to manage the first project on her own. It was then that she realized that technical and business knowledge was not enough; she also needed management skills. This is why, after reading different management books and trying different approaches with the projects she worked on, she decided to deepen her knowledge by doing a Master's in Project Management. She is now transitioning to Agile Management and Agile Development for better success in projects. She continues her training in three areas-technology, business workflows, and management-whenever she gets the chance. The Internet is a huge source of inspiration for her. She actively participates in group discussions, posts on forums and blogs, reads books, and so on. She also contributes by sharing her knowledge and experience with the Spanish Dynamics NAV community. Cristina Nicolas Lorente has been working with Dynamics NAV since 2005. She started in the ERP world as a developer but soon evolved into a complete Dynamics NAV professional, performing all the tasks involved in a Dynamics NAV implementation, such as consultancy, analysis, development, implementation, training, and support to end users. When Cristina started developing solutions for Dynamics NAV, she had no idea about accounting or about any kind of business workflows. They don't teach that kind of thing in a technical university career. Soon, Cristina discovered that it is important to know the set of tools used but even more important to understand the meaning of whatever you develop. Without knowing the accounting rules, practices, and legal requirements, it is impossible to develop useful accounting functionalities even if you are the best developer. Only when you fully understand a company's process will you be able to do the appropriate developments. With this in mind, Cristina has taken courses on accounting, warehouse management, and operations management. She is also willing to take courses on any other company-related topics. Cristina thinks the best way to learn is to teach what you are learning to someone else. She has actually learned almost everything she knows about Dynamics NAV by responding to user questions on Internet forums, writing a blog about Dynamics NAV, and of course, writing the book you have in your hands. When you have to write about something, you have to experiment, try, investigate, and read. It definitely is a great way to learn.
