Reporting, Documentation and Expert Testimony
The report is the deliverable
A forensic report must let a competent independent examiner understand and reproduce what you did. Structure it: authority and scope, executive summary, background, methodology and tools (with versions), findings with supporting exhibits, opinion, limitations and assumptions, and appendices (hash lists, exhibit index, glossary). Number exhibits, reference hashes, and map each finding to specific evidence.
Separate observation from inference. "The file was deleted at 14:02 per the change journal" is an observation. "The user deliberately deleted the file to conceal it" is an inference about intent and usually unsupported. State your basis, your confidence, and what would change your conclusion.
For testimony, know the Daubert factors (testability, known error rate, peer review, general acceptance) and the distinction between lay and expert opinion. Prepare for direct examination (methodology and findings) and cross-examination (limitations, bias, alternative explanations, scope of expertise). Avoid absolute certainty; acknowledge what you did not examine.
Traps
Offering opinions outside your expertise. Overstating conclusions. Omitting findings that undermine your client - this destroys credibility on cross-examination. Confusing fact with opinion. Forgetting to state limitations, which opposing counsel will supply for you.
Rule of thumb: write every conclusion so that it names the artifact, the tool that parsed it, the timestamp and time zone, and the caveat. Peer review your report before it leaves the office.