tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85465886330066557902024-03-10T00:20:52.848-08:00Making !T WorkFrom Data to Wisdom ...... The journey from the past to our future.Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-36143412550102785732010-11-03T17:02:00.001-07:002010-11-03T17:05:38.091-07:00It doesn't need to be this way<p>The last little while has seen the full spectrum of management and leadership. I would like to explore these two words that seem to be abused of late in an effort to assist the young executive, manager or supervisor.</p> <p>I had the recent joy of having a few drinks with colleagues and the discussion invariably turned to leadership and management. The other parties knew this was like throwing fuel on an open fire with me.</p> <p>As stated in earlier blogs, I have a very strong opinion on leadership and management. My basic position is this. Management ensures the work is done. Leadership ensures the work that is done has purpose. Managers inspect and leaders motivate. This may seem simple but trust me it is not. Leaders can be taught to be better leaders. I firmly believe you cannot make leaders, you can only make them better. Managers can be created, taught and guided. Being a manager does NOT make you a leader. Being a leader does not make you a manager. Hence the dichotomy of the words.</p> <p>I would like to use two recent major incidents to emphasize my position.</p> <p>The first incident is the BP oil spill and the second is the Chilean mine incident. Both topics are overused but I believe my use of them may be different. BP is an example of excellent management, truly. The mining incident is an example of excellent leadership based management. Let me explain.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_TpxJCdNJbFpoPVAn7a_iQO5pBuvntxH1ODj3TUsVHo668EIFHg1Gq09RnJj8d3QAqub4M4jhodykRPnemRAbpV4qCmZJbn34tza_V_R6JA_ZK1fDx1dz2VejPFARicBGD1rhn_xqr8/s1600-h/chile_vs_BP%5B7%5D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="chile_vs_BP" border="0" alt="chile_vs_BP" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW14A9Z0AeNFHs3OW-zkZuj-lExiDH_FNqYPiYmPzgwCMCTCaL30xtGfNOL2OKZGd0397RyJleTMoI88aht1yd7Wjg0jLAywW0qn65XuzE45rARPikD_RT30tamB8kNo5Dte3to66mFXI/?imgmax=800" width="212" height="240" /></a></p> <h2>THE OIL SPILL</h2> <p>The media has covered this story to death and I will not go into all the details but some serious backdrop is needed before the press makes some lazy engineer's email into a hero story.</p> <p>Background on the management decisions without leadership that were made.</p> <p>Drilling into the deep trough instead of the shelf. This was purely done due to cost saving. It is easier to drill water than rock. Yes, it is sad but true. This is why it took so long to dig relief wells. This also added to the extreme complexities due to depth and going too deep. Leadership management would have drilled on the shelf with a relief well being deployed in the trough. The accountants won the first round and the engineers too enamoured with the cool toys won until the disaster happened. Further evidence that engineers and accountants are just really high profile score keepers.</p> <h4>Management when the accident happens</h4> <p>Focus becomes on saving the well and not stopping the oil. Stopping the oil is a risk issue. By now we have competing management objectives on how best to save the well and mitigate the risk of the oil. Scientists, engineers and accountants are working the numbers and not the problem. The result is that some very bad remediation occurs. Plans become asynchronous and not synchronous. The fact that they never had more than one plan on the move is pure management. Leaders work as many options as possible to get the most out of the people, the resources and the situation.</p> <h4>Layers of abstraction</h4> <p>BP creates a condition of abstracting the business units to defer risk and to manage the bottom line and NOT the long term. By creating distance between the executive branch, the operations group and the consultants the firm is insulated from financial and litigation exposure. This is an excellent fund management strategy but a very poor business execution strategy. In times of crisis an organization needs to gel and be cohesive not fragmented and dysfunctional.</p> <p>The overall effect here is to have as many layers as possible between risk elements and decision makers. So anyone complaining about a problem cannot get directly to the person who created the condition or who can remedy the situation.</p> <h4>Defer the risk (blame game)</h4> <p>Management decides to spread the risk and share some of the monies with contractors. The contractors as explained to the shareholders are lower cost and are NOT burden by our restrictions. This is the first red flag for poor accountability but a great management strategy. In most cases this strategy works. BP projects have a very poor safety record but BP as a corporation has a good safety record.</p> <h4>Containment</h4> <p>To this I have to tip my hat to management. In the midst of this chaos they were able to prevent the US government from intervening, and for technology to be deployed to demonstrate the gravity of the issue. This was mind boggling to me.</p> <p>The US government has the largest navy in the world and not a single one of its massive assets was sent to act as a barge to stop the oil and to assess the damage. The was Obama's time to shine and he blew it. Millions upon millions of Americans were put in harm's way by this and he sat there neutered. It was painful to watch. All the talk in the world will not stop the oil from spreading. This was classic analysis paralysis. His country is being crushed by banks taking over his country and when his country is being attacked by a runaway oil spill he trusts the "company" that created the problem to own up to its mess. The really sad part of this, is that it was allowed to happen. His only feint moment of truth was when he was going to stop BP from paying its dividends. That almost worked till he found out that too many of his starving pensioners have BP stock and depend on those dividends. How very sad for the young president. He cannot blame anyone for his complete lack of leadership during his watch. He did, however, do a fair job managing it though.</p> <p>Most times, action will trump inaction. The Obama administration so failed on this one. It was his country at stake with its shoreline and its livelihood.</p> <p>The second containment issue that was too bizarre to believe was the "live spill cam" showing the oil spill. Ok, this is another sign of the apocalypse. They can get a camera down there and get it on the web but somehow they can't get a good camera down there. Much has been said about James Cameron offering his camera and technology to the cause. He was serious and it would have been very effective if BP was actually trying to do what they said they were trying to do. Here is the deal, grainy pictures give the illusion of action but they also knew the risk if good quality pictures where broadcasted to the world. Their quess-timates of the volume being poured out would have been challenged by sharper minds then whom they had on staff. Trust me, this was by design and not by accident.</p> <h4>"who is in charge"</h4> <p>The BP incident and Katrina both suffered from this greatly. Who really was in charge. You have groups dropping oil containment socks and another spaying dispersants to dilute the oil. One counter acts the other. But we are doing something, please be patient, trust us. Then they only had one plan at a time. This wasn't some lab exercise it was suppose to be real. Even when they were able to pump the oil they didn't bring enough ships to hold it. But they did manage to save the oil.</p> <h4>The winners</h4> <p>BP and all its shareholders won on this one. The company survived, maybe a little bruised but functional. They will pay their billions and marketing companies will make a fortune spinning the new BP.</p> <h4>The losers</h4> <p>The poor souls who lost their lives and their families. For BP has and will not change their ways and other workers are still at risk. They just don't happen to work for BP directly.</p> <p>The American people have lost their coast line and their ocean based economy.</p> <p>Obama lost a real time to lead. Kennedy had his "Cuban Crisis", and NASA had its Apollo 13. Obama had the resources, the timing, and the will of the people but he lacked the execution. People do want to be managed they want to be lead. The sad part is that his bid for election was about leadership and he did show signs of actually understanding that. However, never confuse "the sell" with "the install".</p> <h2>THE TRAPPED MINERS</h2> <p>A Chilean deep hard rock mine that has seen its share of turmoil and ownership changes. The mine suffers a major rock burst and it is shut down from access. The emergency procedure are followed and they determine 33 miners are unaccounted for. The search for survivors commences. It was this natural use of the emergency procedures and its execution that would lead to the most dramatic rescue in recent mining history. </p> <h4>Leadership management before the incident</h4> <p>The leadership of the company, had emergency shelters, food, ventilation and more importantly emergency protocols. These protocols were not just pieces of paper but regularly checked and validated procedures. Workers were trained and practiced on the procedures. This was considered a cost of doing business and the right thing to do.</p> <h4>Leadership at the time of the incident </h4> <p>On the surface the emergency response teams started to execute a prepared emergency plan. All elements of the plan were put in motion. There was no one waiting to see who was in charge. The plan had factored this in, the mine management engaged the resources and drew from internal and external resources. It was not about saving the mine it was about saving the miners. Immediate action trumped any naval gazing. Teams were devised to search for survivors and to drill ventilation tubes into underground emergency shelters in the event miners had made it to the safe houses.</p> <p>After days of executing the plan without deviation and doubt, the first real miracle occurred. The miracle was a note stuck to the drill rod of the vent shaft. The note was simple, there are 33 of us and we are fine.</p> <p>From underground the miners had already rationed the supplies, natural leaders emerged to execute the plan and to assess the situation. Work was broken down and each member had something to do to ease the stress and to improve the situation. These men just did not sit down and blame an external force on their misfortune. They started to work the problem and were coming up with plans and options on their own.</p> <h4>Leadership when the miners where found</h4> <p>Once the trapped miners were found, the country stepped in and released the full power of resources and not the ego. The broke the problem down and had several teams working several options. All the time there were communicating with the miners and their families. They took the approach "Success is all 33 are coming home", failure and the associated risks were understood but not the focus. Leaders have doubts after decisions are made and not before.</p> <h4>The extraction </h4> <p>Once the true realization of the facts were known, the rescue was broken down into major parallel tasks. All factors were considered, health, hygiene, body sizes, mental health, extreme exposure to no natural light, geological issues, access to equipment, food, shelter, extraction bullet, physics, engineering, emergency services, etc. Each area had a lead and each lead reported back the executive. The key here is that they worked on many issues at the same time but with a solid communications and control mechanism.</p> <h4>The celebration</h4> <p>Here was another part that showed the true leadership of the event. The celebration was about the miners and NOT the company or the rescuers. Their reward was seeing the 33 happy faces not the padding of their paychecks (the latter occurred naturally for doing a good job, not by demanding it).</p> <p>The president of Chile and Bolivia (one miner was from Bolivia) were there not for the glory but real leaders, lead by example. The photo ops happened of course they do, but for the right reasons.</p> <h4>The winners</h4> <p>The family and miners, the Chilean government for it showed the world how to deal with a crisis, the mine for it has been able to maintain its reputation of taking care of their own and lastly the people of Chile, for they have a restored hope in hope.</p> <h4>The losers</h4> <p>The media that played to the drama of the one miner who had a mistress. This was noise for the west and irrelevant to the event. Big mining companies who freely admitted prior to the extraction that it could not be done and they would never take the risks. The only risks they wouldn't take was to their back accounts. It was a sad statement from some of the largest mining companies and the some of the larger mining labour groups.</p> <h4>In conclusion</h4> <p>The Chilean leadership based approach pre, during and after the incident if applied to the BP incident would have had a better ending for all parties. If the BP management approach had been applied to the Chilean incident, families would have been given compensation payments in front of the media and a tombstone at the base of the mine to lay claim to 33 dead miners.</p> <p>We as a society need to promote and demand leadership. Our people in leadership positions today are so concerned with management of numbers, expectation and the next poll or quarter that they have missed the bigger opportunities.</p> <p>This is being echoed by governments and what the media is trying to call national debates. We need real discourse and engaged communities not people who are being managed (read manipulated) by 30 second sound bites.</p> <p>In the technology field this is such an easy trap to fall into. Groups will hide behind management decisions and chase the new shiny tool instead of making the current ones work effectively and with purpose.</p> <p>You lead from the front and with you head held high. Build a strong team that is armed to execute plans and to be creative to gain a better end result. The more we allow basic management to prevail, the softer and less competitive we all become.</p> Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-74334369006077014752010-09-23T13:23:00.001-07:002011-02-10T11:12:58.214-08:00Detention time verses dwell timeRecently, I was asked to explain the difference between dwell time and detention time. This is a common question that plagues the transportation industry and as such there is likely more than one explanation. Here is how I explained it.<br />
<h4>Background</h4>The first question that some of you will ask is why is this even a discussion? The answer in the transportation industry is that you generally only get paid when assets are being utilized. The challenge becomes knowing what has moved to make money and what has just moved in general.<br />
For the purposes of this discussion the following definitions are required for the reader to continue.<br />
<h5>Detention Time</h5><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYB2vq-oZx_t1kztL9NppoA2o52GBJPYIohkBeAwmOkBNRCgXiov9OGBVbaxUvasZlHizetRuN4XtB-wZpLWroG4HJRgR2zpoqbpWi7Jnq-OA96ZfwiFiR7Zz4yvEMTs_1MD6cjK0D_kw/s1600-h/detention%20Time%20graphic%5B5%5D.png"><img alt="detention Time graphic" border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3qRILGnt8tGRt4FrpinxAZ7FEYkQBsuZIZbnGzgQ3joWyGei_wYNID9eaSTnXUvgu9FcKrgkf8pxVJjt44C1tgzt0PJLbuunQtAqREtURwa3V8mh24yUc1xQPmmEga3cMjQ9gxqasVI/?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px none; display: inline;" title="detention Time graphic" width="244" /></a> <br />
This is the calculation that something has actually physically not moved. This uses the specific latitude and longitude reading of a GPS device and checks to see if the asset actually moved. This can be very helpful to find assets that are “static” regardless of where they are. An example of this is a dropped trailer that has been forgotten or that has been abandoned by a tractor. <br />
<h5>Benefit</h5>1) See what is actually not moving, literally.<br />
2) Find misplaced or static assets regardless of where they are suppose to be.<br />
<h5>Challenges</h5>The biggest challenge is to account for GPS drift. GPS drift is when the latitude and longitude can shift due to GPS tracking precision. GPS location is based on triangulation. As the number of satellites change over time the accuracy of the latitude and longitude can vary. This is called drift. The 4 decimal place precision is roughly 11 meters. What this means is that over time a very static GPS location device could look like it moved up to 11 meters and it did not actually move. This is addressed by using math to account for the drift and then comparing the results against a drift algorithm. The answer will come back with it did or did not move + or – of the drift value.<br />
<h4>Dwell Time</h4><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvEvQkpxictzdKzIKssfG3MvQD1bBuHRiiN7CN4-FssKoAIAcqHNiQAMsC1WKL4lKNoMS8_0oWTeF3qGrQIJZzttBWfpBmP5IkQCALTlhcHpCTqVe4dKruSqIkv0aB1aWIWeI_f6iLh0M/s1600-h/Dwell%20time%20graphic%5B2%5D.png"><img alt="Dwell time graphic" border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5kzevMtxIx4iwVCAgVjcLyzc4p55YwrHN0UgFdqANQ95QH-L2E-AyxvKg8VOGkblxHIoDCyRv8VytLi-EdXP_TSg4gx4UjJDJlLSDz-7Ub8u9UA3CPFWOWk9WeltPXajE6wurWXyujiA/?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px none; display: inline;" title="Dwell time graphic" width="244" /></a> <br />
Dwell time time is very similar in thinking to detention but with one large variance. Dwell time is primarily focused on assets that have NOT left a geo-fenced area.<br />
A geo-fenced area is when you place a boundary around a specific landmark. This landmark could be a terminal yard, customer site or any other geo-spacial location that has a complete closed logical perimeter (circle, square or polygon).<br />
Dwell time will tell us if an asset has NOT left a defined location.<br />
<h5>Benefits</h5>One of the biggest benefits to the organization is that it will tell you if an asset has not left a location. What can cause this is if the asset has been shunted around the yard for various reason but has not left the yard. Customers will do this with trailers specifically. They could be using them for mobile warehouses yet from a latitude and longitude perspective the asset is moving and would not be caught by using latitude and longitude only.<br />
<h5>Challenges</h5>The biggest challenge facing dwell time is the interval of the GPS latitude and longitude reporting. Let’s say that you have a device that is reporting location every 8 hours. It is possible for a pulse to happen within the location, then, the asset leaves the location and returns prior to the next pulse. This condition would give a false positive. To combat this you may have to look at both detention and dwell to isolate patterns. Another alternative is to increase the polling cycle.<br />
<h4>Business questions answered</h4>1) What is not moving = Detention <br />
2) What is not moving and I do not care where it is = Detention <br />
3) What is hanging around a yard and not making money = Dwell<br />
4) What is at my customers and not moving or leaving = Dwell<br />
5) Looking for lost revenue for assets domiciled at customer locations = Dwell<br />
6) Misplaced assets = Detention <br />
7) Dropped trailers = Detention<br />
<br />
Visit my<a href="http://www.tgi-connect.com/"> trailer tracking site </a>to learn more.Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-84885987975070615762010-05-08T22:38:00.001-07:002010-05-08T22:38:57.743-07:00Strategic Planning<p>This post will deal with the specific issues around strategic planning regardless of organizational size. The same rules apply for all.  I am a big proponent of planning and specifically strategic planning.  It is critically important to know how to plan so you can build the road ahead.  It provides for downstream direction and more importantly a reduction in dysfunctional behaviour.</p> <p>There can be as many methodologies for planning as there are plans.  Do not let the different approaches confuse what is the purpose of the plan.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey9L4INB0sqaQ2S4MWAL0ZxUhyTrmHIkYsLKRvL1DKhJTtzi2nniMjD19Kz8Pt-cKq6v2_Q773p_bhqE85BmyI3MBsJGpf2yoLTujTbpnb7fEdBDvOK9d_lnbB48J08l6a8xrKc_Ix8o/s1600-h/Strategicblocks14.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Strategic blocks" border="0" alt="Strategic blocks" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6A3Bay2mEyYlJ2vuwbacf6cCwTvkMevbrVP7TMHsAGvNB_GphNb-TPL0SVdo3p_vRAJmlFvJQDZ6ldQg6djyC7fxgvu64_4aWGryB6i1futcQr-elfzzyPwsvBO5krFVJ7NcGO6M2zGs/?imgmax=800" width="359" height="246" /></a> </p> <p>The information for the plan flows from the bottom up and is distilled from the higher levels to make the plan.   Once the plan is made then it must be lead from the top down.  The vision must come from the top.  It may seem simple but all to often this is not the case.  When the plan is driven from the bottom the phrase “the inmates are running the mad house” comes to mind.</p> <h4>What is the function of each of the areas?</h4> <h5>Strategic </h5> <p>The strategy function is the high level that defines where is the organization and why does it want to be there.  The vision in short. The goals are based typically on the <strong>SMART</strong> acronym of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and finally Time Framed.  This is typically driven from the mission.</p> <p>Let’s break this down.  The goals have to be <strong>specific</strong> and not some nebulous touchy feely element.  You want to grow the company by X or you want to have all products under one group, or you will acquire companies for volume or product growth.</p> <p>You need to <strong>measure</strong> the goal so you will know when you have gotten there and more importantly, what needs to be done to get there.  People do not do what you “expect” they do what you “inspect”.  The inspect portion is the measurement.  Another caution here is to measure what gets you somewhere and not burden down the system by too many measures.  I have seen firms spend more on  the measurement then on what the function brings in value.  This is a real concern and as a leader of the strategic plan you need to have your measurements be part of the overall plan and with the correct tools to measure effectively.</p> <p>The goals have to be <strong>achievable</strong>.  You cannot put a goal out there that no one believes is reachable.  You want to create stretch goals that make the organization better but not so stretched that buy in to the goal will not be supported.</p> <p><strong>Realistic</strong> goals are those goals that fit the culture of the organization and the overarching team to achieve the goals.  This part of the discussion leads to comments about hiring new skills or rethinking some approach to realistically attain the goal without undo harm to the overall organization.</p> <p>Without a <strong>timeline</strong>, most goals are not reached.  The interest wanes and the prospect dims.  Once the timelines are in place then you need to have regular checkpoints to see how you are progressing.  Failure to do so may surprise you when you are getting close to the deadline and you are not there.  This goes hand in hand with measurements.  Your measurements should have expected values for each of these checkpoints.</p> <p>The strategic plan should be an inclusive approach from the bottom up to gather as much information as possible.  However, the final decisions have to come from the leaders in order to be executed properly.  Strategic plans can be managed to success but they are lead to greatness.  You want to give a clear picture of the plan and why you want to get there.</p> <p>The strategic plan should span years and have regular checkpoints to ensure you are on track.  It also gives you time to adjust elements in order to achieve the goals.</p> <h5>Tactical</h5> <p>The tactical plan is how you break down the goals into major functions so you can achieve the goals in the timelines specified.</p> <p>This part of the exercise is where everyone takes their areas of the goals and breaks them down into relevant and meaningful objectives.  These objectives are the building blocks to achieve the goals.  The increment steps to success.</p> <p>Objectives will span disciplines and departments and will require coordination between the major players.  These objectives can also use the SMART acronym but have a lower context view of the issues.  You may need several objectives to attain just one part of the goal.  The issue and focus has to be on how do we deliver the parts of the solution for the goal in a structured deliberate way.</p> <p>The tactical plan is typically 6 months to a year and involves shorter checkpoints.  These shorter checkpoints allow for quicker decision making and minor adjustments.</p> <h5>Operational</h5> <p>The operational plan are the short term tasks to achieve the objectives of the tactical plan.  These may projects that deliver key elements for the tactical objectives to attained.  These short term tasks are very specific and will be larger in number than objectives.  The objectives may create many tasks in order to achieve the objective.</p> <p>The teams required here are more specialized and rarely cross boundaries.  These smaller units are able stay focused on the tasks and have insight into the objectives.  They will know of the goals but will have little insight into the actual progress of the goals.  They should have insight into the objectives.</p> <h4>What are the elements of a strategic plan?</h4> <h5>Vision</h5> <p>The vision is what you want to be.  A future statement of how and what your organization will be know for.  It is a small statement that reflects a line in the sand that can be defined.  It should not be a novel with legal, politically correct statements.  If you need to have a coffee and muffin to read it, then the vision can be effective.  The vision is the point in the future.  An example is </p> <p>“To be the #1 choice of our customers”</p> <h5>Mission</h5> <p>How will you get there is the mission.  The mission statement is the action item to deliver the vision.  Using the example above the mission statement could read</p> <p>“We will focus on value, a superior customer experience and innovation”</p> <h5>Goals</h5> <p>Goals are the key elements to execute the mission to realise the vision.  The Goals to support the fictitious Mission and Vision above could be.</p> <p>1) Reduce order process times to 1 day</p> <p>2) Provide a new major release every 6 months</p> <p>3) Decrease billing errors to .01 percent.</p> <h4>What are the impacts to the plan?</h4> <h5>People</h5> <p>People need to buy in in order for the goals to be achieved the mission to be executed and the vision to be realized.  To do this you need to open communications from the bottom up.  Get the input from the operational people.  Distil this information and let it provide insight into your vision.  The vision, must be reflective of what your people can achieve.  They may need assistance to get there but that will be flushed out in the goals.</p> <p>I cannot stress enough you need input NOT decisions from the bottom.  All too often I hear, well that is what the department wanted.  This is so wrong on so many levels.  How can we expect a line person to understand the entire machine.  Their insight is very helpful in how we deliver the end product or service but their view is limited to their area.</p> <p>All too many projects have failed for they tried to please everyone and when you are trying to perform structural change this is not a realistic condition.  Fess up early and get the people to understand or at least know the reason why of the vision.</p> <p>Remember people respond to what you inspect.  Your measurements should be sensitive to positive outcomes and not compliance.</p> <h5>Process</h5> <p>The day to day processes need to be aligned with the objectives and goals.  Failure to do so, will make the attainment of the objectives and goals highly unlikely.  </p> <p>The measurement components should be non-obtrusive and the analysis of them part of the process.  </p> <p>Processes may need to change to support your goals and objectives.  Ensure everyone knows why this is being done.  When processes are aligned you will get buy in and you will not get trapped in the bureaucracy of management of measurements.  I too see this often.  If the measurements are not part of the process then people start to manage the numbers and not the process.  This is very dysfunctional.  The measure has to support the end means and not just be a box to fill in.  </p> <h5>Tools</h5> <p>In most cases in order to truly be successful, the people need to have bought in and the processes have to aligned.  Typically doing this will also ensure you have tools to easily measure the outcomes and to provide this information to the people required to action this to achieve the goals and objectives.</p> <h4>In Conclusion</h4> <p>Plan the work and work the plan.  It is as old as the Romans and still very relevant.  Strategic planning is very important and should be part of any organization regardless of size.</p> <p>Larger organizations will have formal processes and will have disciplines in place to adhere to the processes.  When and if you become part of these plans, be proactive, probe deeper and find out why certain goals need to be achieved.  It will go a long way in making sure your objectives meet the overall goals.</p> <p>If your organization does not have a formal process, make one for your area.  The rest of the organization will follow.  If you do not have vision how do your expect your people to follow you.</p> <p>Another question I get asked often is “I am only a manager how do I do strategic planning”.  This is actually quite simple.  It is a matter of perspective.</p> <p>The executive branch makes the strategic plans for the whole organizations, Directors then provide tactical plans to achieve this.  Their managers will then in turn be given tasks to achieve the objectives.</p> <p>Now comes the fun part.  To the organization above you are providing operational tasks.  However, to your staff you are providing strategic goals.  Then the supervisors below you are now giving you tactical plans  and the line staff are given operational tasks to achieve their tactical goals.  It is the water fall effect.</p> <p>I am currently a Director.  I get my marching orders from the CFO.  I then translate them into tactical plans and operational plans.  To my staff I am providing strategic direction but to my boss I am providing tactical leadership.  You just keep doing this till you run out of reporting layers.</p> <p>Information and metrics follow the same path.</p> <p>The executive team decide where they want the ship to travel based on forecasts, staff input and their personal leadership positions.  They they ask the staff to ensure all the elements of the ship can be monitored and managed to arrive at the destination.</p> <p>By everyone focussing on their role and contributing in a positive way the organization will achieve the plan and hopefully the plan was a good plan.  If the plan was faulty but is being followed correctly then adjustments become easier to apply.  When there is no formal process and everyone is rowing at their own pace and direction, the ship will go nowhere but everyone will be working hard.  Working hard is not the way to success, working effectively is. </p> Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-60826771031654273632009-11-26T14:25:00.001-08:002009-12-01T06:27:15.721-08:00Circling the dragon<p>This is a phrase I use frequently when I am trying to find a stubborn or elusive problem.  I am not always sure everyone understands the statement.  The short definition of the phrase is to keep chipping away on the periphery issues to get to the root (dragon) of the issue.  It also means sometimes you cannot solve the problem in one step and you have to plan your way to resolution. <br /> <br />I will explore both options in this post. <br /> <br />The graphic below shows the dragon in the midst of the <a href="http://buchiviews.blogspot.com/2009/02/ooda-loop.html" target="_blank">OODA loop</a>.  This is by design.  The approach to basic and pragmatic trouble shooting is to follow the loop. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKT8Hs5HoLgWI-dtEeOrl1lBXIJSrNkcBUF8s9Eh3FNAx8I_4CKMwZ7NT0zn_5PrE2zrnAEWQtySY8xI6Msncsy8mMHiO3Bh5rzRY5Smqt2BexN5Riplq5VPTBGuXaWjFFUUKgw4vcggM/s1600-h/circle-the-dragon%5B9%5D.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="circle-the-dragon" border="0" alt="circle-the-dragon" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOECjpIyNbGcwaYeVO_0ZuIata-pZZhAgwQECvk78dkiEwGsNWqo4ruZUsLAVc6e8k0LGQFwTk3BapCbCSR7OqbP-WpVTfrlOTRIqO2ulgHJma2LFJqKJ23NJ01p6fbaInvF4hynPXaEM/?imgmax=800" width="349" height="344" /></a> <br /></p> <h4>Getting to the dragon by process of elimination</h4> This approach is used when you are not entirely sure of what or where the dragon is.  An analogy would be of a dragon slayer going on a quest to find the dragon.  The dragon slayer would follow the trail and the evidence till the dragon was found.  <br /> <br />You need to really focus on the OODA loop here.  The first step is to clearly observe all the elements not just one the ones you are comfortable with.  Look at it from different angles and from different perspectives.  In the orientation phase of your observation you are likely seeing just a symptom of the deeper problem.  If you could see the root problem (dragon) you would take a different path to solution.  For this discussion we are going to state you are just seeing the symptom.  <br /> <br />Once you have oriented yourself to the observation you need to list the options (decisions) you have.  Play it out in your head what happens with this test or with this action.  Visualize the process.  This will give you what you expect to learn or gain from the exercise.  This is where I see most trouble shooters fail.  They tend to hack away at things and in doing so miss the relevant.  They also, end up wasting time and more importantly they tend to add to the problem.  <br /> <br />The approach of elimination is just that.  Break down the issues in systematic and measured steps.  You should have an expected result from the effort.  Sometimes the effort is to just prove what it is not.  This is OK, sometimes you need to validate the known so you can find the unknown.  As Spock use to say in Star Trek, “if you eliminate the possible all that is left is the impossible”.  There is a lot of wisdom in that.  All too often we jump on the obvious, only to find out it did not solve the problem and we have learned little from the exercise.  By taking a step back before we jump in, we can see if jumping in is even worthwhile. <br /> <br />Once you have played out the possible decisions you need to act on them.  I am amazed at how many people freeze here.  They have a solid basis for their approach, it is based on solid observation and alignment (orientation) with the decisions and yet they do not act.  My favourite clue for this, becomes the accountability blame game.  It manifests itself in statements like “I do not have authority to do this or I sent an email and no one responded”.  This shows lack of ownership and commitment.  If you do not act then how do you expect to solve the problem.  Hiding behind email shows lack of personal accountability and leadership. <br /> <br />Once you act on your decision then you need to start all over again.  What did your action do to change the situation at all?  Even a nothing change is telling you something.  If nothing happens, you may have to undo your action.  If it did in fact change something what did it change.  The exercise of “what is it telling me?” is critical in the orientation step of the repeatable loop.  Force yourself to dig deeper and in doing so you will be given different decisions to draw from.  Once a list of decisions is made act on your plan.  Once the action is done, start all over again.  Are you sensing a theme yet? <br /> <br />Eventually, even if it is just shear will power, you will find the dragon and reduced it to its smallest elements.  The result is the dragon is gone.  Now like all dragon slayers you have to go and find a new one to battle.  How you defeated this dragon now becomes knowledge you can use for your next encounter. <br /> <h4>Slaying the Dragon in steps</h4> When you know what the dragon is and where the dragon can be found you may need to take several steps to get to it.  If so, then it becomes all about the planning and execution of the plan.  It is the deeper, more mature, application of the OODA loop.  When you have found the root cause and you know it cannot be slain in one cut then you need to plan and prepare for its exorcism.  To be fair, of late, this is lacking in so many firms and people in  our industry.  We have become obsessed with the tools and the analytics but little work is actually done solving the problem.  We have better diagnostic tools then we ever have had and yet we still are falling behind in solving issues.  This is not unique to the information technology field, all one has to do is look at our health care and you will see we are more focused on the problem then we are on the solution. <br />In building your plan you need to break it down into its appropriate steps.  Once each step is defined you need to mentally validate that the steps are in the correct order and what is the expected outcome of each step.  <br /> <br />Doing so is critical to the OODA loop execution. <br />So once you have made your plan, you observe the environment.  This can be done by doing a baseline test and measurement.  You then orient yourself to the observations.  Has this baseline highlighted anything or shown a pattern you were unaware of?  Note these observations for future reference.  Make a decision as to the plan execution.  Execute (Act) on the first step of the plan. <br /> <br />Once the plan is in motion, observe what is happening.  Orient yourself to your expected outcomes.  Are the expected outcomes being realized?  If not, what have you found out?  Do you need to change the plan?  Once you have made up your mind then act on your decisions and the next step of the plan.  Start the loop again at the observe step.  <br /> <br />Doing so will quickly, and hopefully, predictably slay the dragon.  The key is that you must be adaptable to what you are seeing and you must be able to orient yourself to your observations.  Your decisions need to be based on what you see and what the context is of what you saw.  Lastly, without action you become the victim of inertia and in problem solving inertia or inaction is the enemy.  <br /> <h4>In conclusion</h4> Problem solving is about bringing solutions to bear.  There are many who can write emails and memos on the problems facing us all.  The real challenge is to bring solutions so the problem are resolved.  To the naysayers who wax poetic “there will always be dragons”, I say to them clearly and with purpose, “Lead, follow or get out of the way”. Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-45051854358359344102009-10-18T22:38:00.001-07:002009-10-19T09:25:35.917-07:00The people side of problem solving<p>As of late the amount of work hitting our team has been staggering. The initial response by the team is that we are overworked. Fair enough….. or is it?</p> <p>I have always struggled with this comment. My approach is and has always been, if you do it right and pay attention then you rarely have to go back and fix it. If this is a truism then the work you are doing is moving you forward not holding you back.</p> <p>Since not many people give this argument much thought or at least my current team doesn’t, I thought I would take this blog to express my position or stance.</p> <p>To solve a problem you have to first acknowledge there is a problem. Seems simple but it is not that simple based on the observations I make on a regular basis. Frequently, I have been known to say in passing “see a problem, fix a problem”. Typically this is something as simple as fixing a colleagues tangled phone cord when you borrow their phone. A simple gesture, but one I consistently do, just because. Other simple ones like filling the paper tray of a printer you walked by because you heard the error tones. Holding the door open for someone whose hands are full should not be something that has to be “memo’d” to be done.</p> <p>Yet, as I look around I see most of us plodding along and doing as we are told. This is a huge burden for the person that is responsible for telling us work needs to be done. I can’t remember a time when my boss had to explicitly  tell me to do work. Sure, we have meetings to discuss priorities and new projects, but I would be insulted if he had to tell me do something that is clearly in my implicit mandate. An example is doing the annual Disaster Recover Plan. His job is ask what occurred, or to make a decision on if we are going to spend more money on it. He does have to “tell” me to get it done. That is my responsibility and accountability. It makes his life easier and it clears up our meetings for more strategic endeavours. </p> <p>We are in the midst of a very large multi-vendor phone upgrade. It involves the lion’s share of our users and will impact the entire enterprise. It has been 10 months in the planning and will be executed over 5 weeks. We have fundamentally altered the way we use telephony. By all measures this is the single biggest project our infrastructure group as ever worked on. Saying this, my immediate expectation of my group is to be focused and to think of things that are not so obvious. Put yourself in the chair of the users.</p> <p>For months I have been listening to the push backs and complaints of my team of how much work they are doing for preparation. I keep reminding them that this large effort will reduce our overall efforts in out years. The smarter ones get this, but the average ones do not. This is why I am writing this post.</p> <p>Our cabling person is driving 2 hours to visit one of our closest sites to prep for the phone changes. Phones use cables, cable people put in the cable, putting in cables requires tools, cable person should be automatically bringing tools. NOT….. He wasn’t told to, and is very comfortable is stating this. Sadly, this is not such an uncommon event. I have been speaking to my other colleagues and they are experiencing the same type of behaviour. My simple response is “until there is a penalty there will be no change”. Yes I know this sounds harsh and the softer side of me says “you get more with honey then with vinegar”. But what do you do if the honey is not working? Common Human Resource procedure has the manager doing way too much work to get so little in return. So I continue to reward the good behaviour, and then acknowledge the bad behaviour. It makes for a long day at times and many visits to the human resource department.</p> <p>As a person you have to want to fix the problem that is on the people side of the equation. If you or your team is not personally engaged to fix the problem, you likely will be dealing with the issue for a long time to come. However, if you are capable of creating a culture where your team cares about their job and their relationship with the larger firm, then you will be able to solve the problem right the first time.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTRgUdf2rZ7sTkXU6S8WlBBQUvbGhCjsJ9LEC5uROi7oetsJfJW-o99_-aVXVCi4_-oD31n4hyphenhyphenX4Kl5NkQfLWMjAEP9yYYXZdWASOvFj1FxgcFswldNRYbPGXa__BPpnl5PMweQFK2ug/s1600-h/pig%20and%20chicken%5B3%5D.gif"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="pig and chicken" border="0" alt="pig and chicken" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBXI-fcKs7R3_qoKczI5wEBIqr8z8IoYF41cKpoB_2FORoWqKX-cAghhjFm0lt1OXC0b78qQUerxWG8JdyQL95cRvqEeaYLQINIQ6rWefPUBi7GWgrddRGD34Qx8_ie9PcKOE_xjKtps/?imgmax=800" width="311" height="283" /></a></p> <p>The above picture is one of my favourites. The saying goes something like this: “Who is more committed to the breakfast meal, the chicken or the pig?”. The answer is the pig, for it has to give up its life to provide the bacon for breakfast. As of late, I am finding way too many chicken’s laying the low fat, low content eggs and spouting off about how much work they have done. Whereas, the pig cannot say anything for it is too busy being the meal.</p> <p>Be a real person when solving a problem, and remember that you are likely solving it for someone else. Also, it is not important who fixed it or who solved it. What is important is that it was fixed respectfully and effectively. Spread the praise of others and do not be afraid to call out the naysayers. If the naysayers want a voice, let it be the voice of self-defence instead of their smug offensive.</p> Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-89895558544983614482009-09-03T08:26:00.001-07:002009-09-03T08:26:52.381-07:00My New Toy<p>Well I finally did it.  I supported the economy in my own little way.  I bought a brand new, gas guzzling, kick ass 4X4 truck. I am so happy.  Can you feel the testosterone?</p> <p>Mine of course is better than this picture. The picture is the same colour but mine has the soft tonneau cover, bug deflectors and the window vent visors.  Are you impressed?</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkEbUJ7xAmLsKkhp-i5cbtu7R_VF7ukpYcfLUcudLuKhxvaM73VllMIo7M-ZDWTZ_mVhvj_YdHr6ALIonDVVGPSdOA0MgTwWkK_JojwyXf-qFfdg6fq8fDyRwCDAMBE_19dhp-vmPDkI/s1600-h/my%20toy%5B3%5D.jpg"><img title="my toy" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="268" alt="my toy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvCb96DFMlZUbkNz82PBxvdN3jV6k6CCOiYX1HphY1p_hi2N1hGBBFOqmIYKotUpjvxcUSRUTTpUzNB4OZlY6AQ28rKd37RdI28RLhueeKawB8lHiQSSR2wf8SfJWu9XxusnAHgEcFJw/?imgmax=800" width="406" border="0" /></a></p> Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-55277053303817299912009-09-02T15:12:00.001-07:002009-09-04T08:29:11.540-07:00Where are “U” in the user experience?<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkS1v1PEzrfARwBAAeWov4RZMRQ0kvlyW2RRHqyviJ6ooYQS3jkdvFtRBTK58lcnWHzu1uJsg16fUCyxftJgwnpVGPRiRgvclKhu2ypO76f1vwDzklnUOs7DKIVa0irQ4dujDlQsq3r0/s1600-h/What%20part%20of%20U%5B3%5D.jpg"><img title="What part of U" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="259" alt="What part of U" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPhJMHreEtz_Cwh0zvbHm7Lx_LQOL-wdEP5G3Pocrb9d9fCI-Zk95oATxlSvazaX-1oygds-NekiFLmsy79Wc796xRCGkFYUKw_mqHga33LDby7ccwRWW1oBdKVB0gQiM5f6XBZhpthE/?imgmax=800" width="340" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>This post is a result of the last few days and the constant reminding I have I had to give me team.  In the midst of a technical system failure it becomes so easy to lose track of the users, your role and the role of the people you are speaking to.  From the people, processes and tools approach I adhere to this post is clearly dealing with people issues. These issues are a direct reflection of how they interact with the tools and the processes.  I am a true believer in everyone is accountable for their actions and interactions with others.</p> <h2>Know your role</h2> <h3>Support</h3> <p>If you are the support person and you are being asked by your superior a question then please do a baseline assessment.  The mental assessment should go something like this “who are they?”, “what level of knowledge do they have?”, “How much context do I have to provide before I give the deeper answer?”.  It should not be “WHY are they asking”.  This is insulting to the person asking the question.  If your superior has asked a question please answer it.  If you want to have an esoteric mind conversation on the “why” and “conspiracy theories” do it on your own time.  For the most part when someone asks a question they really want an answer. If this is the typical courtesy “how are you today?” then by all means feel free to lie.  But when they ask a question of you because you are the support person, then answer with facts and stay on point.</p> <p>If your role is support then please provide some.  Remember that you are being asked for your advice and consul to fix a problem.  It may not be your fault or it may be.  That should not affect the facts. Also get over yourself.  Just because you know more then the person who asked the question does not mean you know it all.  You may be surprised what the user and your superior know that could make you look silly if they choose to.  Do not give them a reason to exercise that option.</p> <p>Treat both the user and your superiors with respect.  You do not have to like them to respect them.  This is a great position to take with anyone you work with, play with or live with.</p> <p>Speak in the language and context of the person you are speaking to.  If the end user is from warehousing don’t be throwing acronyms their way or speak in geek speak.  Try to use their language.  If you do not know and you want to be successful then you should start to ask questions of them to educate you on the problem in their language.  Picture yourself in a foreign land with a foreign language and you need to get some directions.  Break the communications down to that level. They are likely the master’s of their domain and you can learn something from them instead of telling them things that make your world easier.</p> <h3>End user</h3> <p>If you are an end user and there has been a system failure you have a role to play as well.  It is a very important role.  You are the recipient of the direct pain of not having your system working.  You need to provide more insight then “it doesn’t work”.  Or my personal favourite, “I can’t get my work done and it’s IT’s fault”.  It may be the Information technology’s department fault or it may be what you the end user did.  Either way we need each other to get the problem resolved.  Please keep the drama for your friends in the lunch room and not for the ones who are trying to help.</p> <p>Please pay attention to what you do when you are using a system and/or a process.  I know us IT folks like to poke fun at the dumb users but hey users get paid to do a job too and that job is rarely a direct result of the technology.  Sometimes it is and then I personally get frustrated when for example a programmer who uses a computer all day to do their job has to have the infrastructure group setup the new monitors or keyboards.  Come on .. . .  get real.  This is tantamount to driving a car and not knowing how to put fuel in it.  Yes I know they exist out there and they are also breeding but someone needs to educate them or better yet slap them.</p> <h3>Leader</h3> <p>If you are the leader please pay attention.  First, I did not use the word manager because that is completely different and was explained in a different post.  The leader has to assess all the facts and from all the players.  Do not get caught in the drama.  Stick to the facts, assess what and who is impacted.  Find out “what changed?”.  Have all parties quantify their statements.  I use the line “what evidence do you have to support your position?”  I get amazing results from this approach.  First it disarms those who want to finger point and it also forces the team to stay on facts and not conjecture.  Following my fact based strategy will save many cycles and reduce stress.</p> <p>Prove and/or disprove all the theories coming at you.  Your role is to direct the flow of information and more importantly to get the decisions made.  Sometimes these decisions are not made by you but you need to get these decisions made by the correct people.  </p> <p>You also need to ensure that all parties are not crossing boundaries.  This is very common in large projects and  when people start to influence peddle like a bunch of politicians at voting time.</p> <p>Be confident of your role and do not let others dissuade you from your role.  It is not good for the team or for you.</p> <h3>Conclusion</h3> <p>Each and everyone of us has a role to play and the role changes as the situation changes.  Sometimes you are the leader, sometimes you the end user and other times you are the support person.</p> <p>Each and every time you enter a new situation take the time to observe the roles of others and more importantly yourself.  This goes for when we are in informal situations as well.  The best leaders have proven they were also excellent followers.  </p> Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-84072917585905697102009-08-31T15:11:00.001-07:002009-08-31T15:16:27.534-07:00Sample argument for a Blade Center<p>Here is a sample discussion paper I wrote to assist a First Nation Community in evaluating a blade center approach to infrastructure.  The name of the community and identifying details have been altered or removed.</p> <p>What the following post highlights is that the model changes with blades and virtualization to the positive.  However, an organization’s thinking must change to achieve these benefits.</p> <h3>Issue</h3> <p>The Community administration’s is looking at strategies to upgrade their server infrastructure.</p> <h3>Background</h3> <p>There are currently 11 servers within the community at different stages of their lifecycle. Many are end of life and present a critical risk in the event of failure. The traditional method of creating a business case for each server is both time consuming and may be preventing future opportunities. This briefing note will attempt to demonstrate another alternative.</p> <h3>How does it work today?</h3> <p>In today’s environment when a server becomes end of life the organization is faced with several challenges. The first challenge is to understand the role of the server. Is the role of the server mission critical? Some of the servers today are considered mission critical. The more mission critical a server is the shorter its outages can be. These servers perform functions like email, accounting, grades, Firewall, printing, file sharing etc. Each and every one has its role to play and it may or may not be able to be offline. Only the organization can make that assessment.</p> <p>Once this assessment is done, then the organization has to determine how big and expandable does the new server have to be to last until that platform is end of life. The recommended recycle time for critical servers is three years. If you follow this approach the first years of the server implementation the server is running well below optimum, the second year it starts to realize full performance and somewhere in its third year the server will start to become strained from overuse. This is a typical scenario and is repeated for each and every server. These ebbs and flows are constant in the industry.</p> <p>To address this static hardware replacement strategy the industry is now deploying what is called blade centers. These blade centers take the best of today’s hardware and packages them so they can fulfill the needs of many servers on one hardware configuration. This virtualization of physical servers to many logical servers is well demonstrated and proven in the industry. The technology has been proven and it is being used right here on Manitoulin Island at Manitoulin Transport. They were able to consolidate over 100 pieces of equipment down to 10 pieces of equipment while at the same time expanding their services offerings.</p> <h3>Costing Sample</h3> <p>The following table demonstrate the costing model difference between upgrading 11 servers independently verses using one blade center. The blade center described is capable of running 18 servers of the type and model being utilized by the community currently. I have chosen 18 due to the fact more servers are actually being recommended by all the major vendors today. It will also allow the community to build testing environments without having to purchase new hardware.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRa5IT-KY_wcfHrzjWA4tVM8HMkD24kAwZ4BoxFSBIgaJDaQmTy5gt7jJy63aED1QE0bNocx3JyhOahgHpmRJJeBilM9rWKiXKGHWPEDUcoQFLOPGIZMSJdEYE8Gfq1jLkrUdQafN10I/s1600-h/blade%20costs%5B6%5D.png"><img title="blade costs" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="363" alt="blade costs" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlueMEChHyx-s9xO4wXm0a0_RlDChHzs6eJv29WMbbXnu7G6xyaTbukIeU-noBrNePFZNwgWTUODYWa3eXUam2qHwa8iAYNUHR6cHcHVIrOHoU1BT6hfxAVlaMLd25WgjfUdllTZrXn4Q/?imgmax=800" width="430" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>As you can see the second year of the model the cost structure dramatically switches in the favour of blade centers. If you factor in additional servers then the case for blade center is proven sooner. The third and out years are even more favourable to blade centers.</p> <h3>Benefits of Blade Centers</h3> <ol> <li>Centralized control and management </li> <li>Cost savings </li> <li>Centralized Backup </li> <li>Back and recovery per server is consistent and resilient </li> <li>Annual incremental increases verses sporadic larger capital costs. </li> <li>Autonomous building of servers </li> <li>Integrated security </li> <li>Improved network performance and resilience </li> <li>Reduced support costs </li> <li>Small form factor </li> <li>Reduced energy costs </li> <li>Reduced heating and air conditioning requirements </li> <li>Industry adopted </li> <li>Many vendors to support the platform and its implementations </li> <li>Increase the number of servers with minimal or no additional costs </li> <li>Increased flexibility for your technology rollouts </li> <li>Hardware independence from your operating systems. Bigger benefit in the Microsoft world. </li> </ol> <h3>Burdens of Blade Centers</h3> <ol> <li>New skills are required to maintain the platform </li> <li>Software to build the platform will need to be purchased </li> <li>Migration project will need to be undertaken to port the existing 11 servers to a common platform </li> <li>Organizational policy change to support central housing and shared resources </li> <li>Governance structure for support and backup rotations </li> <li>Annual operational dollars will need to allocated to sustain the platform </li> </ol> <h3>Conclusion</h3> <p>The cost of hardware is plummeting but the challenge of effective use of hardware is ongoing. By adopting a blade center strategy, the community can reduce costs, increase effectiveness and provide a long term platform for the entire community. Each of the current 11 servers is important and their ongoing support and functions are critical to the overall community. A proactive and long term view to their deployment will have a positive impact for the community.</p> <h3>Next Steps</h3> <ol> <li>Agree to the strategy </li> <li>Build a requirements list for the platform </li> <li>Build a RFP </li> <li>Source the platform </li> <li>Build the migration plan </li> <li>Perform the migration </li> </ol> Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-20704308854216296392009-08-17T21:13:00.001-07:002009-08-17T21:16:35.317-07:00The challenge of Voice over IP<p>There are lots of discussions regarding Voice over IP (VoIP).  They typically are centered on the technical merits or shortcomings.  This post will attempt to address some of these issues but more importantly address the business discussions that should be transpiring. </p> <p>First, my biggest pet peeve is for the vast majority of the naysayers who claim with great flair and passion that “VoIP is not ready for the real world”.  Ok, check the sources of these claims.  Most likely is the the big telecomm groups. Why?  Simple, they are trying to keep as much money in their pockets as long as possible.</p> <p>Every technology has growing pains, the telco’s have had a hundred years to better the experience. Recent failures of the big telcos show they didn’t see the real business problem but are still bragging on the technical wonders of what is in their labs.  </p> <p>This graphic shows the timeline from the old copper days, to digital phone (the said saviour of the business) to Internet Protocol (IP) phones.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikNr0iTJ_b4gnGpW0BUY2BgenfptZzXMZh3PcGJCWnLA-kVhKwG2R92STGiXi-B9p4WSFypjCT1W0hfPTW0iT66M5tYDEXkrWnTZYyKaSr1K6ZN1LJlpIzMPFUkQ14DUSDdyhg57jNgoU/s1600-h/VoIP8.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="VoIP" border="0" alt="VoIP" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgme1X8pJ-jckv6_TLPVa8CnIOKaeuyce4Z-g8OkK39uzY9ci5BcBjNgxosR5MVtRlNoV3ssXvRZ03nzscsG-AUe7QOfb4VvPdZ6ivOWhLvrh4zJocSiz0M_PNjVJMkFVlmnZyq0FP8tH4/?imgmax=800" width="405" height="286" /></a> </p> <p>The point here is that there has been a path to something different over time and with increased functions.</p> <p>The large phone carriers have been doing VoIP at their interconnection points since the late 90s.  These are the same carriers that say VoIP is not ready.   My challenge to them has always been, then what are you doing to get it ready?  Their users have spoken and answered in droves by saying “not much”.</p> <p>I personally have been doing VoIP at the trunk level for my enterprise phone switches since 1999 over Framerelay, yes Framerelay.  So much for the engineering specifications of today’s massive network requirements.  Which leads me to the real challenge of the convergence.</p> <p>If VoIP is going to work it has to travel on a good data network.  Seems simple but here is where the real cultures clash.  The clash is not in technology but in approaches to solving issues.  The 100 plus years experience of telephone thinking is move slow (read glacier speed) and over build.  The premise always was, we have lots of money and time.  Along with this the customers really had no choice.  If you wanted voice mail and auto attendants the choices were limiting, confusing and very expensive.  This voice culture rewards safety and engineering prowess.  In the traditional phone world the engineer dictates the experience, hence the horrible user interaction points.  The only saving grace was it worked predictably and reliably.</p> <p>The culture of the data teams is get it in and fix it later.  This is a plaque that is ruining the industry.  Poor network design along with sloppy implementation coupled with cavalier change management policies is their legacy.  This culture leads to some of the vast security breaches that occur today.  The network needs to be designed and implemented properly to really gain the value of VoIP.  Some of benefits of the data network engineers is one of adaptation and creativity.  This is a good trait to have as long as it is well managed and lead.  In this new world the network is king so let’s not make the village idiot the king.</p> <p>On the same note, let’s not make the telco trolls the masters of all.  This is way too dangerous and counter productive.</p> <p>The Internet and the internet protocols are here to stay.  Many good people have built worthy networks capable of running VoIP simply and effectively.  These people have used the true value of voice engineering design principals with the creative approaches and techniques of the data network arena.</p> <p>The business case for VoIP is simple, reduce the moving parts and players and you gain the competitive advantage.  It is easier to find network experts than phone experts.  The technology being created for the VoIP space is being done by creative people solving real business problem.  They are also using modern business models that are more cost effective and give the businesses real options to solving a vast range of business issues.</p> <p>We have currently converted 5 of our major phone sites to VoIP in support of 600 users.  Phone updates are done by the PC techs using the same tools they use to setup a new Windows users.  The days of the black arts being managed by the Merlins are coming to an end and that is a good thing.</p> <p>The kingdom should be managed by the king on behalf of the kingdom for the benefit of all.  VoIP is an effective business tool to get there.  Yes there will be scary witches, there always are when you are implementing big change.  The alternative is to continue to pay too much, get too little and be locked into old rigid thinking.   Modern companies have fought through the technical issues and now are reaping the benefits of mobility and true business control of their phone infrastructure to gain business advantage.</p> <p><strong>Some benefits to the business are;</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ease of Moves, add, changes (MAC) <ul> <li>Can be done by PC Techs </li> </ul> </li> <li>Mobility of workers without support calls <ul> <li>Worker can change offices without have to call for new cabling or setup </li> </ul> </li> <li>Everything is a data drop CAT5e and CAT6 <ul> <li>No more dual copper connections <ul> <li>voice CAT3 </li> <li>data CAT5e and CAT6 </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>lower licensing </li> <li>Cost based on users not systems and users </li> <li>More competitors for different options within same environment <ul> <li>phone systems </li> <li>voice mail </li> <li>call recording </li> <li>reporting </li> <li>phone sets </li> </ul> </li> <li>incremental user costs for new users <ul> <li>Can purchase as needed instead of in bulk </li> </ul> </li> <li>Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) trunking for dial tone <ul> <li>Very inexpensive and very reliable regardless of what you hear from your vendors.  Talk to actual users of it </li> <li>Significant business continuity benefits and toll reduction over traditional PRI setups </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Some draw backs and cautions to VoIP</strong></p> <ul> <li>The data network must be checked for compliance <ul> <li>DO NOT underestimate this.  Just because it is working does not make it workable for VoIP </li> </ul> </li> <li>Tough to find a vendor that is good at both voice and data </li> <li>Tough to get the voice and data teams to behave nicely together <ul> <li>expect causalities if you have mature teams.  This is not always a bad thing </li> <li>They need to learn from each other without coming to an impasse </li> </ul> </li> <li>Watch out for the hidden licenses.  Read the fine print and ask lots of questions. </li> <li>Every thing is server based and with all servers then need to be maintained in a proactive way. </li> <li>Make sure your core data network is near any voice recording software.  Voice recording in the new VoIP world is very easy and let unmonitored will kill your data network with traffic. </li> <li>Make sure you are solving business problems when you purchase some of the optional offerings.  This is where their money grabs come from.  Do not be afraid of mixing your vendors.  Is this new world is it very easy to do because of established standards. </li> </ul> Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-56637935950168998502009-08-17T21:06:00.001-07:002009-09-01T07:01:13.370-07:00Test from Windows Live Writer<p>This is test to see how Windows Live Writer works.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLTgyOeo4vWa6DmpaANmOkmsWhc055l56IdqklnKEByOsdS_Mn7FVh_C7VJzo4Noo43y4u9GKMJuG1jvOmIp75cBpmNJGcLwYJ_bT99cTqN7cbEK5cPAzja1ggXiTgfpeZ7_lm9KkfJ8/s1600-h/kendo%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; display: inline;" title="kendo" alt="kendo" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-bH55mJ2Jf1N35KYF1HMg4XYxtNGDkdc9deJeVRCYzA14-W_iwvnP-x05yp_L5wi4u9cKlaNjavzrU2OX0qQ1oqOHuwYQixGsbEZcVtJS9J-0GAHdnvPmKbMwHyVvwZkULVCjHieufI/?imgmax=800" width="300" border="0" height="173" /></a> </p> <ul> <li>This is me when I prep for my Sensei </li> <li>Be afraid but do it anyway </li> <li>Train today to better then you were yesterday to defeat the enemy of tomorrow </li> </ul> <p>I have to admit the tool is really kewl. Setup is a little odd and it does not read the Internet settings from the O/S or IE. For a Microsoft product that is odd.</p> <p>I will be using this tool on a regular basis. Thanks Frank for showing it to me.</p>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-68629285616371062082009-08-13T14:24:00.000-07:002009-08-13T14:27:18.137-07:00Thoughts on operating systemsHere is a<a href="http://frankbuchan.blogspot.com/2009/08/thoughts-on-operating-system.html"> link</a> to a friend of mine. His thoughts on operating systems is well worth the read.<br /><br />It is brilliant in its clarity even if its implementation is hard work. Doing things right is rarely easy.Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-16356526268618920852009-07-06T17:51:00.001-07:002009-07-06T17:56:05.917-07:00Solution Lifecycle and accountability<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLV7jhs6CaIIl3kK48kgjblkc9jEXxcenIh24r9lWcs_9d5hF-e8QtsvuzGt9YXaNqi5Rs2urDD-0I0-NJj0Jj6LIk70jGZeRLKVm3X9BCzNnXoXs6DxbViAQ9egIYb7OoltgA-x3gH8/s1600-h/solution+Lifecycle+accountabilities+2009-07-06.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLV7jhs6CaIIl3kK48kgjblkc9jEXxcenIh24r9lWcs_9d5hF-e8QtsvuzGt9YXaNqi5Rs2urDD-0I0-NJj0Jj6LIk70jGZeRLKVm3X9BCzNnXoXs6DxbViAQ9egIYb7OoltgA-x3gH8/s400/solution+Lifecycle+accountabilities+2009-07-06.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355515583902594834" border="0" /></a><br /><span xmlns=""><p>The above graphic demonstrates the influence and accountability for the opportunity, project and production methodologies as described in previous posts. It is important to note that the influenence area is real and should be addressed as an influence and not necessarily permission. By this I mean, it is important to inform the influencing areas and to get their input, however, not all influencers are decision makers. The seasoned Information Technology professional will work the organization to deliver the overall goals and to get influencer buy in.<br /></p><p>This is a short post for the graphics speaks, hopefully, the remaining elements. I may expand in future posts by the blogger, ME, is tired now.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></span>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-420725319958101652009-07-06T17:32:00.001-07:002009-07-06T17:41:34.194-07:00Opportunity Management<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4H4FAMp84WRlPn-HjPUwELLJXJOV9fA3m9v0gtZ9jKooHBfpY6RIMb9oBtuLJ8-gjpK8MgSXi4O7d9FwmNX5SmKNYy_WRQZbk6WnUMyUsiJys-8pq3qIkMt43TlXx3SN4xSbXgoATO5E/s1600-h/opportunityApproach.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4H4FAMp84WRlPn-HjPUwELLJXJOV9fA3m9v0gtZ9jKooHBfpY6RIMb9oBtuLJ8-gjpK8MgSXi4O7d9FwmNX5SmKNYy_WRQZbk6WnUMyUsiJys-8pq3qIkMt43TlXx3SN4xSbXgoATO5E/s400/opportunityApproach.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355509993388705618" border="0" /></a><span xmlns=""><h1>Introduction<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Opportunity Management is becoming a growing issue for modern IT shops. Why? Increased scrutiny of IT project resource utilization, and the subsequent rise of the portfolio approach to project management.<br /></p><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Many IT projects are fraught with perceived cost and time overruns. The days of "show me the money" and you get your project are coming to an end.<br /></li><li>Portfolio management's primary focus is to manage opportunities, projects, and systems. By engaging at the business level early, you can gain an appreciation for the business drivers and the proposed solution design constraints.<br /></li></ul><p>This paper will focus on the processes required to manage opportunities that come to or from the Information Technology (IT) group. Opportunity Management moves you away from the "order taker" role and toward the "trusted advisor" role. This move is becoming manifest with organizations challenging their technical teams to deliver business value, not just cost containment. In this scenario, IT doesn't drive the car – it supplies the car. IT is a service-enabler, and Opportunity Management supports the concept of IT being a service-enabler for the business rather than just being a cost center. A cost containment attitude equates to a "no can do" shop mentality, which is not good for your team and limits your ability to get funding for your much needed projects.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Adopting an Opportunity Management methodology is also a good mechanism to work more effectively with the business units, to gain buy-in, and to understand business processes from their perspectives. Respecting each business unit's core competencies, issues, concerns and viewpoint goes a long way toward making any opportunity successful. You may not always understand or even like a given business unit, but it is imperative that you respect them. Doing so will return respect to your area of technology expertise. It will also give them the chance to witness the potential of technology as it relates to enhancing their business processes.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The methodology explained in this paper supports both waterfall and Rapid Application Development (RAD), though this method is especially attuned to RAD. Adopt the mantra "start small, think big, scale fast." By using this approach, you will be able to respond quickly when the organization is ready to scale solutions beyond their original implementations.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">This methodology can be used for both short- and long-term engagements. The stages may look onerous upon first glance, but you will find for smaller projects you only need to confirm details at a certain stages. It remains an excellent checklist to ensure you have covered all the bases, regardless of the size of the opportunity it is managing. As you perform more of these engagements, you will find that many of them take on a similar form and you can reuse patterns of not only previous designs, but also of documentation.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The graphic above demonstrates the flow of opportunity Management<br /></p><h1>Stage 0 – Opportunity Identification<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">IT is constantly inundated with requests for changes and the setting of priorities, so this step should look familiar to many in the IT field.<br /></p><h2>Identification<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The main focus of this step is to give the opportunity a name and a shape. "What is the big idea?" is a phrase frequently used in this phase of the discussion. Typically, in larger projects and larger organizations, this opportunity may have been defined in the normal business planning process.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The "elevator speech" is all that is needed to identify the opportunity. An elevator speech is a description of an opportunity that can be explained to a potential sponsor in the time it takes to ride an elevator from the ground floor to the boss's floor. There is no need at this stage to get into final costing or even resource planning. A discussion of "What is the big idea?" and "Why is it being asked for?" is the focus. All too often, IT people start thinking about the "How?" and forget what is driving the "Why?" If the sponsor is clear on why this is important, then assembling the how is less likely to get bogged down, because the focus remains clear.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">It is important to log every opportunity in a tracking system. The logging mechanism can be a spreadsheet, database, Web site, or even Notepad. It can be formal or informal, but it is critical that it is logged. For example, you could use your service desk to log all activities regardless if they are issues, changes, or projects. Such an approach makes life easier when resource planning and, once captured, it is guaranteed that all users and stakeholders can more readily follow successful processes.<br /></p><h2>Qualification<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The qualification step focuses on placing the opportunity against the overall strategic business plan and moving priority projects forward, while at the same time redistributing other projects and priorities as required. This cannot be done in isolation; and it is not the role of IT to set priorities, but rather to act on business priorities. By providing trusted advice back to the organization, the IT group is enabling the organization to make better decisions with more and better information. And IT has to eliminate the "sell from the install". During a "sell" engagement everyone is positive and wants to make and opportunity work. This is not a bad thing; however, the qualification step is intended to bring the "install" piece into focus. Issues, such as cost, time, and scope have to be mentioned here to validate the opportunity.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Qualification commences once the sponsor has clearly identified the business drivers and a further investigation has become warranted. Determining the requirement for further investigation can be the tricky part. For the sponsor, an investigation is always warranted and he/she usually can't believe you are not jumping all over the identified opportunity. This is where you get to earn your money – this is your opportunity to work with the sponsor to explain the process, and help everyone understand where their opportunity fits within the context of other organizational initiatives. By working with the sponsor, you can help him/her articulate the opportunity using a pragmatic approach.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">This process is meant to put all identified opportunities on the same footing and to align similar projects. It is always amazing how similar "different" departmental needs are when you look for common ground. Organizations that take a step back to align similar projects effectively have a better chance of stopping rogue projects and IT teams, and avoiding duplicated and wasted efforts. But by no means do you make this approach a "boiling of the ocean" exercise, because too much time focusing on strategic alignment prevents achieving valuable short-term gains that can move the organization forward and satisfy the legitimate desire users have to have their needs met.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Adopt a "make !T work" attitude (no, this is not a typo). The philosophy behind this is to make the IT components work for you, and to avoid those components becoming barriers to success. Your job is to align your IT services with opportunities realistically, so your organization can make an informed decision of the validity of the opportunity.<br /></p><h3>Priority Matrix<br /></h3><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Using the <a href="http://buchiviews.blogspot.com/2009/07/priority-matrix.html">priority matrix</a> as defined in a previous post will ensure proper alignment and qualification.<br /></p><h3>Stage 0 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Entry of the opportunity into a tracking system.<br /></li><li>Identification of the opportunity's sponsors and business drivers.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 0 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Opportunity identified and entered into tracking system.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 0 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>One or two engagements, which could mean as little as one e-mail or as much as two meetings.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 1 – Positioning<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">This is the first formal stage in the opportunity management process. The goal of the Positioning stage is to clearly articulate the vision of the opportunity and its inherent execution requirements. This stage usually requires several workshops, especially for larger projects. As with most first steps, getting it right is vital. All other stages are based on the work of this stage. Without buy-in at this stage, the remaining steps becoming increasingly difficult to execute.<br /></p><h2>Vision Statement<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The vision statement must answer the question, "Where you are going?" The vision statement encompasses the guiding statements of what the opportunity must accomplish. Many firms get hung up on this and create long, drawn out statements that obscure focus and lose value. The vision statement focuses on where you are going, not on how you plan on getting there.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">An example of a simple but effective vision statement is, "The solution will provide Internet access to our customers, when they want it and how they want." The statement is clean, clear and is the rod against which the solution will have to be measured. If the solution proposed cannot be accessed off-hours, or cannot allow customer changes, then the opportunity cannot be successful. It also demonstrates a first cut at the solution scope. This proposed solution does not include detailed input from partners or other stakeholders, and must be flexible enough to envelop that input without becoming diffuse.<br /></p><h2>Mission Statement<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The mission statement answers how you are planning on getting to your solution. It is a set of clear directions that are specific to the proposed solution. An example of a mission statement from the preceding vision statement would be, "The solution will use the existing resources to develop an in-house Web-based solution for customer self-service." The key is to keep the mission statement as focused as the vision statement.<br /></p><h2>Business Drivers<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Business drivers become a further articulation of why you are proposing the opportunity. It represents the business you are in and why this opportunity is important. The business drivers can be such things as increased revenue, more access, reduction of costs, or response to competitive forces. Either way, you need to explain why this opportunity is an opportunity – if it isn't an opportunity, it may just be a good idea with no substance.<br /></p><h2>Key Performance Indicators<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Too many projects get funding and have resources assigned when they have no measurable performance indicators. How can the project ever close if you do not know when you have arrived? The performance indicators can be such things as the completion of one month-end, a percent of usage measure, or a simple thing like turning down the old system. By stating a performance indicator you have a natural closing point and a positive approach to the project.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Stating measurable success criteria will allow further steps to contain scope. If the scope is for customers only, and a measure of success is to have 5% of your customers using the Web site within one year, when you have reached the 5% mark then the solution has completed a key performance indictor. The key is that these indicators must be measurable, or they fail the test as indicators of anything at all.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Another consideration is that IT projects are always plagued with perceived overruns and dragging-on of issues. By stating performance indicators up front you are engaging the business units to define, in their terms, what represents success. You must get the business units to sign off on this component, as this will ensure their buy-in as the opportunity turns into a solution and then into a production system. At all stages, the business unit, again in its native terminology, must understand that the IT team is working with it to solve its issues. By engaging them in this process early, it also makes it easier to get the business units to perform and commit to testing at the testing stage.<br /></p><h2>Governance<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The dreaded governance component is like death and taxes – it is inevitable. The opportunity must be have an owner and a sponsor. Sometimes, in larger projects, the owner and sponsor are two different groups. Without clear ownership and sponsorship, a project risks being tagged as an IT project; and as soon as the IT group gets involved the tendency for most business units becomes to defer responsibility and accountability to the IT group. This allows units to spread the guilt if the opportunity isn't accepted, and it is the quickest way to achieve failure. We in the IT field have enough of our own projects – we don't need to get saddled with those from other business units.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The business units know their area and hopefully your team knows IT. They come up with the important "Why," and you have to supply the "How." The governance stage provides for an excellent matching of players between the IT team and the business units. This way both groups know their roles and the components for which they are responsible. It is also an excellent way to measure the level of commitment by the business unit. Are they warm, cold, or very hot toward this opportunity? When you start hearing, "I am not very technical, so shouldn't you lead this?" run for the hills – it is an indication of a lack of commitment from the business unit. You are there to provide trusted advice to the organization, not to be the business sponsor. Now is your time to shine and explain your role.<br /></p><h3>Stage 1 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Vision statement.<br /></li><li>Mission.<br /></li><li>Governance.<br /></li><li>Business drivers.<br /></li><li>Draft definitions for success.<br /></li><li>Input into the solution outline.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 1 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Position paper that is no larger than 15 pages.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 1 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>One week.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 2 – Validate Business Needs<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">This area focuses on further refining the business input, its operating procedures, and its opportunity assumptions. The existing and proposed business models must be defined for any proposed solution since the proposed solution must be able to support the activities of the business unit.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Traditionally, feasibility studies can cover up to and including this stage. All the work done here is to further define and clearly state what currently occurs and how the business unit would like proceed. By knowing these guidelines, the technical team can always check to ensure the solution does not deviate from stated objectives.<br /></p><h2>Core Business<br /></h2><p>The core business definition is used to validate the overall objectives of any opportunity. If the opportunity does not complement or satisfy the core business, then it may need to be reconsidered. The focus of these core statements is critical to maintaining the integrity of the solution since, should that focus change over time, the solution will be affected. This is recognition that the solution must be designed to be as dynamic and flexible as necessary to manage changes over time.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">It never ceases to amaze the number of groups that cannot clearly articulate the business they are in. Many a time I have heard from the accounting department in a manufacturing company that their departmental business is making widgets. Yes, they are critical to the success of the making of widgets; however, what business is the accounting department in? When I hear phrases like, "we are in the business of collecting, collating and deciphering the business transactions for the organization," I am confident the process is going to have a successful outcome. Success is not always measured by the opportunity being realized; many times it is that the sponsors have accepted the opportunity, worked the process, and that they trust the IT department is giving unbiased support for all elements of the organization.<br /></p><h2>Programs<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Programs are the major methods for delivery of the core business functions, and can either be formal or informal. Continuing the accounting example above, some programs offered by the accounting department could be Accounts Payables and Accounts Receivables.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Programs are how the business unit is broken down to functionally manage their services. Not having an articulation of the business and their programs will make any solution definition incomplete. Every step of the process must be able answer the questions: is it supporting the business and, by definition, is it helping in defined program areas? This is a good acid test to ensure the opportunity is being supported and sponsored by the correct group. Many an opportunity, when it gets into the hands of the IT department, turns into an IT project. This is because the opportunity team is not ensuring the core business and program areas are driving the project. Business solutions should not be lead by IT teams. Having said this, it is imperative that IT representation is present in order to ensure all elements of the organization are covered by any technical solution proposed.<br /></p><h2>Services<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Services deliver value to members of a target group. Typically, this is where the program areas interact with other areas of the organization or customer base. Again, following the above example, the Accounts Payable program area may have a service provision for printing Vendor checks.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Typically, an opportunity is addressing key service areas. This exercise should clearly identify the services the proposed solution is addressing. The service areas, at times, may need to add, change, or delete service components. For example, automating approvals and check printing may have a direct impact on an existing check-printing service. This services definition is especially important in any outsourcing engagement opportunity. By not clearly articulating the as-is services, the new services may overlook key areas that cannot be performed by the new service, and adoption of a final solution will naturally fail under that oversight.<br /></p><h2>Client Profiles and Scenarios<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Specific client areas that will benefit from the opportunity are defined. By breaking down the clients into groups, the business unit will be able to define common wants and needs. This client profiling is used to build scenarios.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Scenarios are structured walkthroughs of the proposed solution. Once the profiles and scenario are defined, a series of business unit engagements can be used to build the use cases. Use cases are nothing more than documents in clear business language to define the specific steps of any given user scenario. If you spend the time in the scenario definition, then the facilitation of the use cases is infinitely easier. (Do not allow the technical team to hijack these meetings. The goal of the scenario workshops is not to start coding, but to garner the spirit of the opportunity and its touch-points with the clients and, ultimately, the solution.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The use cases should focus on the actors, events, and triggers that happen. In simple terms, the actors are the internal or external users of the system; the events are the functions to be performed; and the trigger is what caused the function to commence. Do not get carried away with defining all the business rules, but focus instead on the interaction between actors, events, and business units.<br /></p><h2>Environmental Scan<br /></h2><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Before you engage too far it is always best to get an assessment of what solutions already exist, so best practices and best-of-breed solutions should be researched. The usual magazines, trade papers, and technology Web sites are excellent resources. Today, it is becoming easier to find off-the-shelf products for many solutions.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Colleagues are also an excellent place to source ideas. Learn from the ones who have walked the path first. Look for lessons learned and comparative analysis. Don't forget to weigh your needs against the features and do not get lured into features you don't need and possibly will never use.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The key is to look at things from many perspectives, and weigh existing solutions against the maturity model of your organization. You may be able to find the best-of-breed solution from a given product domain, but is your organization able to understand it and use it? Beginning with a smaller solution to get the organization prepared for a more formal discipline is a good approach. Many of the steps described here are not wasted when putting in a smaller, less function-rich solution. Many purists may disagree with this, but too many large projects cannot get out of the starting gate because the organization cannot get its head wrapped around the larger, more complex system. But when this "start small" approach is taken, it is imperative that the organization realizes those solutions are transitional solutions and elements of the final solution. Not all of this interim solution may be used in the final solution, but nor is it a "throw-away" diversion.<br /></p><h3>Stage 2 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Definitions for core business, programs, and services.<br /></li><li>Validate the opportunity goals.<br /></li><li>Further define the business drivers.<br /></li><li>Define the governance model.<br /></li><li>Environmental scan.<br /></li><li>Input into the solution outline.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 2 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Use cases profile definitions and for more traditional approaches the feasibility study.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 2 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>One to two weeks.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 3 – High Level Scenarios<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">This is the first stage in which technology is introduced to demonstrate the opportunity. The mockups are a low risk approach to visually presenting the options. These mockups are not complete solutions and are not intended to be production ready.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">This stage is often used to introduce new concepts. Consider the "7 times 7 different ways" theory, which states that to have people understand a new idea will take seven presentations using seven different approaches. In IT today, one of our many challenges is educating our user community on the realm of the possible. Today e-mail is pervasive and you don't have to explain its concepts. However, at one time we spent a great deal of time explaining e-mail as a generic idea. Some of the new challenges are Instant Messaging, document management, and Web portals. To be blunt, most users do not know what they do not know. In older, mature groups they need to a have common point of reference for new ideas. The mockup allows the IT department to show different approaches of tackling the opportunity as they understand the business needs and drivers.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The mockup can be a slide show presentation, skeleton application that demonstrates workflow, or vendor product demonstrations. This bidirectional dialogue between business sponsors and the IT team is invaluable for nailing down the scope and buy-in of the business unit. Most business units like to be involved in this stage and find this part of the process rewarding, so let them play in the sandbox, but make sure you let them know when recess is over. The goal is to get their input in a non-technical environment where they can see and touch elements of the opportunity.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Though mockups, the business unit also gets to see tangible proof that the IT team understood the previous steps and the business problem that generated the opportunity. Changes to the solution, scope and design are accomplished easily here and should be encouraged. Some IT professionals have a hard time with this step, because they want to deliver a more workable mockup. Be careful of this desire – it will waste valuable time and resources. The users are going to make changes, so get used to it, but do not forget to document the change requests. Welcome to the iterative world.<br /></p><h3>Stage 3 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Documented customer profiles.<br /></li><li>Documented use cases.<br /></li><li>Mockups.<br /></li><li>Input into the solution outline.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 3 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Solution shortlist and/or workable prototype to be further developed.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 3 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>One to two weeks.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 4 – Technology Alignment<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">After the mockups, the technology team retreats to their development area and designs a system. This is easier said than done, but if it was easy, someone else would have done it already. At each step of the design process, the IT project lead has to ensure the vision, business, program, and service area's goals and objectives are respected.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The design should include logical and physical architectures, and in a more formal organization you would get architecture sign off and guidance as well.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">One area that is usually forgotten at this juncture is the support model. This area requires special care. Many systems are not evaluated thoroughly, and will come back to haunt you in the post-implementation stage.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Work with your user community and your service desk (if you have one) early to get a feel for the non-functional requirements of your proposed solution. Will it need "24x7" support, or is "business hours" support good enough?<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Compare the solution to your existing infrastructure. Can you support this new solution? Do you have the capacity, skill and/or resources? This is the time to get those determinations documented and clarified.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Compare your solution to your technology blueprint. Are you duplicating functions you may already have? Is there opportunity to consolidate solutions at the technical layers? An example of this might be the sharing of a Web application server rather than implementing a secondary provider solution.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Once the deliverables are completed, a final workshop is provided for the business unit, so that the IT team can demonstrate the solution. Do yourself a favor and make sure you keep the technical language to a minimum. I have seen too many projects where the technical group is so enamored with their solution they can't help themselves, and drown the presentation in technicalities. All of sudden the client asks, "What about this or that?" and you can hear a pin drop for the sudden silence.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">This is the final opportunity for the client group to get their message across as to what they need and how the solution must look, so be respectful of both the technical team and the business unit. Again, changes here are not serious because you are still refining the solutions.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Once the user area has signed off on the technical design, you can proceed to costing and a final proposed-solution design.<br /></p><h3>Stage 4 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Updated customer profiles.<br /></li><li>Updated use cases.<br /></li><li>Support model.<br /></li><li>Mockups.<br /></li><li>Non-functional requirements definitions.<br /></li><li>Logical architecture.<br /></li><li>Physical architecture.<br /></li><li>Input into the solution outline.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 4 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Tangible, workable solution architectures.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 4 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Two to four weeks.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 5 – Proposed Solution and Costing<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">After stage 4, the final touches can be made to the proposed solution. By now the functional and non-functional requirements have been agreed and negotiations can commence for costing and component manifesting.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">A high-level work plan is established to create milestones and costing containers. These costing containers may include such things as training, implementation, transition, cutover, and/or build costs. At this stage, the costs are used for budgetary purposes, and final negotiations should always bring your costs down at the purchase stage. Many groups get themselves into trouble by negotiating feverously at this stage only to loose leverage due to the time it will take to get final approval.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Work should also be done at this stage to tighten up the component elements of your solution. Tasks should be given to the IT team in respect to further definitions and clarity on development and/or interfacing costs. When trying to interface a new system into an existing infrastructure, make sure you have estimated the learning curve component for your team to acclimate to the new system's parameters and architectures. This is not the time to throw stones at the new kid, for we all live in the glass house. Use the<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://buchiviews.blogspot.com/2009/01/culture-needed.html"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:10;" ></span></a> <a href="http://buchiviews.blogspot.com/2009/01/culture-needed.html">"Improvise, Adapt, Overcome"</a> mantra to get your team focused on getting the solution to work. Everybody is encouraged to make it work instead of finding every possible reason why it can't.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Also, nail down support costs for the initial rollout and ongoing support. Don't forget to clarify how the solution will be maintained. If is maintained by the vendor, how does the vendor expect to support you? Is the solution a mission-critical solution? Is the vendor aware how its solution is going to be implemented?<br /></p><h3>Stage 5 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Revised functional requirements.<br /></li><li>Revised non-functional requirements.<br /></li><li>Update to logical architecture.<br /></li><li>Update to physical architecture.<br /></li><li>Solution costing.<br /></li><li>Support model and costing.<br /></li><li>Input into the solution outline.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 5 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Rough draft of the solution outline and very high level costs (+/- 25%).<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 5 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>One to two weeks.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 6 – Implementation Planning<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">This is where the rubber hits the road. All the work until now, for the most part, has been open-ended with no firm commitments on dates and deliverables. After stage 5, the client and you are committed for the implementation plan.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">What the business unit wants to know is, "How long is it going to take and when will we get the nod?" This answer has to be sensitive to organizational approval schedules, other projects, resource constraints, and operational concerns.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The implementation project plan might include the following milestones for a development opportunity:<br /></p><ul style="margin-left: 108pt;"><li>Deploy and release to production plan.<br /></li><li>High level test plan – do not assume the user knows what or how to test.<br /></li><li>Procurement and setup timelines.<br /></li><li>Marketing communications plan – it is very important to get the word out on the positives of the opportunity.<br /></li><li>Infrastructure updates and configuration changes.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 6 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 108pt;"><li>Project plan.<br /></li><li>High-level costing.<br /></li><li>Communication plan.<br /></li><li>Input into the solution outline.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 6 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Workable project plan and costing figures for approvals.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 6 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Two to four weeks.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 7 – Solution Outline<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The solution outline is the culmination of all the previous steps. It is a technical document that will be the main resource for the solution after funding has been approved. Many organizations will get the business units to sign off on this document, but most users do not know what they are signing, so don't put too much weight on their signatures. Do, however, review the document with them to ensure you have captured the business drivers and guiding principles of the opportunity.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The important thing to remember is that the documents will contain all the relevant technical information for the proposed opportunity. Depending on the scale and scope of the solution, this document can be large and not a pretty read, but by culling this document you can build the requirements for the solution and for any Requests for Proposal (RFPs) that may need to be created as a result of this opportunity getting funded. It will become an invaluable resource for your technical team even if it becomes a shelf-filler for your business units.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Your solution outline may contain some, all, or even more than the following items:<br /></p><ul style="margin-left: 121pt;"><li>Introduction.<br /></li><li>Business scope.<br /></li><li>Core businesses and services.<br /></li></ul><ul style="margin-left: 94pt;"><li><div>Mission statement and guiding principals. Clearly state the guiding principles in the solution outline. This will ensure all players understand the overall guidelines of the solution being proposed.<br /></div><ul><li>Core business.<br /></li><li>Programs.<br /></li><li>Services.<br /></li><li>Types of individuals and organizations.<br /></li><li>Client needs.<br /></li><li>Goals.<br /></li><li>Business drivers.<br /></li><li>Architecture overview – introduction.<br /></li><li>Architecture overview – enterprise view.<br /></li><li>User groups and delivery channels.<br /></li><li>Business services.<br /></li><li>Resources.<br /></li><li>Architecture overview – components view.<br /></li><li>Presentation services.<br /></li><li>Architecture overview – software view.<br /></li><li>Architecture overview – IT system view.<br /></li><li>Logical technical architecture.<br /></li><li>Architecture overview – physical view.<br /></li></ul></li><li>Non-functional (operational) requirements – Do not overlook the importance of getting in writing some of the non-functional constraints.<br /></li><li>IT standards – It is always good to state the baseline for which the solution must adhere to. This will give valuable insight into why certain technical decisions where made long after the opportunity has passed and the designers have moved on.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 7 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Revised functional requirements.<br /></li><li>Revised non-functional requirements.<br /></li><li>Update to logical architecture.<br /></li><li>Update to physical architecture.<br /></li><li>Solution costing;<br /></li><li>Support model and costing.<br /></li><li>Final report back on solution to business area.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 7 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Final report on solution outline and high level costs (+/- 10%).<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 7 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>One to two weeks.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 8 – Business Plan/Case<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Where the solution outline addresses the technical problems and opportunities, the business case addresses the business problems and opportunities. The business case has very little technical information in it and is written to be read by the business decision-makers. The main focus of this document is to state the business opportunity with its associated costs and benefits.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">It is imperative to include the business unit in the creation of this document. They have to not only buy-in, but must also contribute to the end result. The organization will be using this document as the core document to make its decisions, so it must be written in common business language and any technical information should be filtered for readability. You do not want the organization to mistake this opportunity as a technical project, and remember that even technical opportunities must drive the business forward.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">A sample table of contents of a business case is:<br /></p><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Background.<br /></li><li>Guiding principles.<br /></li><li>Solution.<br /></li><li>Software.<br /></li><li>Technology/hardware.<br /></li><li>Network.<br /></li><li>Cost summary.<br /></li><li>Benefit summary.<br /></li><li>Conclusion.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 8 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Business case.<br /></li><li>Revised costs.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 8 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Business case.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 8 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>One to two weeks.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 9 – Funding Approval<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">The "hurry up and wait" game begins here. All the effort, time, money, and resources are now on hold until you get the nod. If this project is high profile and important you may be working the back room to sell the opportunity before the formal approval process commences, so you want to make sure the elevator speech is being worked at all levels.<br /></p><h3>Stage 9 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>None – trust the process.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 9 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Funding approval or a "go/no go" decisions.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 9 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Dependent on how your organization approves opportunities.<br /></li></ul><h1>Stage 10 – Implementation<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">It has been correctly said that you should be careful what you wish for, because you may just get it. The fun is over when the project has been approved, because now your team has to deliver the promise. The main source document is the solution outline, and depending on the time lapse between its initial creation and your approval to implement you will have to update the numbers and project plan accordingly.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">It is important you get sign-off on all changes to the solution outline and business case prior to implementing the previously agreed plan. The line "Don't confuse the sell with the install" comes back again to haunt. The sell cycle is always fraught with positive statements and "don't worry" attitudes. However, once the contract is being presented, the install side of the house arrives to take all the fun and money away. This is also a good time to get the vendors to commit to their schedules and resources as were agreed to in previous steps.<br /></p><h3>Stage 10 Deliverables<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>The solution as agreed to.<br /></li><li>Execution of the project plan.<br /></li><li>Execution of the communications plan.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 10 Outcomes<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Commencement of proposed solution.<br /></li></ul><h3>Stage 10 Duration<br /></h3><ul style="margin-left: 90pt;"><li>Dependent on implementation schedule as defined in stage 6.<br /></li></ul><h1>Conclusion<br /></h1><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">These steps, at first blush, may appear too complicated for most IT groups. However, upon review you will find you have been doing most of these steps all along. This methodology was meant as an "aide de memoir" to ensure your opportunities are given every chance to succeed, and for you to gain valuable input on why the business units are looking for your team's help.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">This methodology has proven very successful for both small and large projects. It can span from one week to many months, depending on complexity and scope. After the first few formal uses of this methodology, user groups will grow to understand why previous IT projects failed. One of the major reasons they fail is a basic failure to speak the same language across boundaries within and without the organization, and this approach rectifies that problem by its adherence to a well-founded process.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Being involved in the opportunity stage is new to most IT groups. They are used to users coming up with requests and then being tasked to complete them. This methodology puts you in the trusted-advisor role within your organization, where you will become part of the decision making process. You will be providing the organization business-value through your input and pragmatic approach. The goal is for them to succeed, because when they succeed your IT group will be validated.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 54pt;">Some organizations have swat teams for opportunity development. These teams consist of Web design, graphic design, infrastructure support, business analysis, telecommunications, and customer support. It sounds impressive, but for some opportunities all these roles and more are needed to prove or disprove the opportunity's viability. The bottom line is an opportunity team is a small team that is able to be creative and drive the business value forward.<br /></p><p>The risk of not getting involved at the opportunity level reduces the IT group to order takers. By being an order taker, you are bound to the business area's comprehension of the overall business needs and your unique requirements of trying to keep their house of cards from collapsing. As the competitive forces increase and the user community gets more knowledgeable about IT, the ability to manage opportunities will become paramount. Most IT groups are feeling the pinch now. The wave is coming, and it is better to learn to surf then to be swept up by it.</p></span>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-44662805154208730522009-07-06T17:15:00.001-07:002012-09-10T18:47:23.447-07:00Priority Matrix<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrY_PZmO_za8hTeAFTZAp9TNOW2ODBu2y8MzJcQBPu0aCjP8wNzLosUP_ZkHojJtHdfB54lzFt4roUZNVYYLqiUoJH1ERCDYFFYPW6GH5scKj6m4sf4es5E6SOIQ2GjIvtnT8eAIc1Yc/s1600-h/Priority+matrix.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355506628824424882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrY_PZmO_za8hTeAFTZAp9TNOW2ODBu2y8MzJcQBPu0aCjP8wNzLosUP_ZkHojJtHdfB54lzFt4roUZNVYYLqiUoJH1ERCDYFFYPW6GH5scKj6m4sf4es5E6SOIQ2GjIvtnT8eAIc1Yc/s400/Priority+matrix.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 389px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<span xmlns="">Over the next few posts I am going to focus on getting the priority quantified, justified and aligned. This is both a formal and informal process and the Information Technology professional has to ensure that the large list of projects are properly dealt with. All to often we get transfixed by the projects we want to work on or the last one in the door. Either of these conditions can be deadly for the overall effectiveness of your team.</span><br />
<h3>
<span xmlns="">Priority Matrix</span></h3>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt;">
<span xmlns="">Using the priority matrix will give the organization a visual perspective of where their priorities align. On a regular basis, opportunities should be placed on the matrix for comparisons and synergies. What was deferred last time may be ready for action now, especially if your identification process has made a continued to effort to a build common technological framework for delivering business value.</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt; text-align: center;">
<span xmlns=""><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt;">
<span xmlns="">The axis and quadrants of this matrix represent a powerful tool for qualifying opportunities.</span></div>
<h4>
<span xmlns="">Ease of Implementation</span></h4>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt;">
<span xmlns="">How difficult will it be to implement the opportunity? Do you have the correct skills? Is the organization ready? Are there obstacles in the way of success? Can success be measured? These are some of the critical questions that need to be answered before you extend too many resources to the development of the opportunity.</span></div>
<h4>
<span xmlns="">Social/Economic Value</span></h4>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt;">
<span xmlns="">Too many opportunities are measured on pure economic value. This method has proven to be successful in building an organization, but in a highly competitive marketplace more factors need to be considered than just the old standbys. Many opportunities have a social benefit that is difficult to measure – for example, social impact is often overlooked when qualifying employee portals and intranets. Many opportunities are lost when faced with the concept "if it isn't broke, don't fix it." Successful organizations take the time to quantify all benefits, and to build environments that are moving the whole organization forward rather than just handling the issues relating to sales, manufacturing, and/or finance. The entire benefits of an opportunity should be investigated when bringing new opportunities forward. The challenge is to quantify the benefits in the context of business value.</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt;">
<span xmlns="">Even more critical to qualifying opportunities effectively is to understand the quadrants of the matrix in relation to the potential for positive business impact.</span></div>
<h4>
<span xmlns="">Plan</span></h4>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt;">
<span xmlns="">This quadrant of the matrix is for those projects that are less difficult to implement, but have a lower Social/Economic Value. Basically, this quadrant contains the "nice to have," but not the "need to have" opportunities and benefits. Timing is everything and the projects in this quadrant generally spark up good positive interest, but the organization isn't prepared to implement them now. Typically, these projects will see the light of day, but just not in this round of approvals.</span></div>
<h4>
<span xmlns="">Do Now</span></h4>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt;">
<span xmlns="">This quadrant speaks volumes for those opportunities that are easy to implement and have high Social/Economic Value. The low-hanging fruit analogy works well here. These opportunities should be moved forward and funded to advance the organization. The value to the organization can be immediately achieved and the organization is comfortable with the overall fit. The projects align well with any strategic plan or roadmap. These projects were typically once in the plan quadrant, and have since become practical.</span></div>
<h4>
<span xmlns="">Review</span></h4>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt;">
<span xmlns="">When the value is high, but the implementation becomes more difficult, it may be best to review and build a funding proposal. Most new opportunities that require the organization to break new ground will tend to fall into this category. Also, these opportunities tend to require more detail before the decision-makers are comfortable giving the nod to proceed. Overall, these are good opportunities. A fit is recognized, but the comfort level by all the parties is not there. By providing more detail, the organization will be able to make a more informed decision. With opportunities under review, it's a good idea to go back to the business drivers and substantiate the findings, and also go back to the technical options to see if adjustments are needed.</span></div>
<h4>
<span xmlns="">Wait</span></h4>
<div style="margin-left: 54pt;">
<span xmlns="">The Wait quadrant is for those opportunities that are deemed difficult to implement, and where strong value statements are difficult to quantify. These opportunities are typically beyond the current scope and understanding of the organization. Opportunities in this quadrant typically need to have a communications or an awareness plan developed before they can be advanced.</span></div>
Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-55313533745436614162009-06-30T06:32:00.000-07:002009-06-30T11:34:59.055-07:00Enterprise Architecture<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJPSaOouZK3P7vycW8b0n3yuT9rTj7EACNxBA3_OUt98W4oIiNsnUNNWQ7d2V1fdxuWBs5xjk5CBs3-UmihBThsnaKcq6NM_FN7CK-Rb3IMAzYmzA_KJRDhy3ziR8JsdIXsj4nouVp10/s1600-h/Architecture+Domains.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 366px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJPSaOouZK3P7vycW8b0n3yuT9rTj7EACNxBA3_OUt98W4oIiNsnUNNWQ7d2V1fdxuWBs5xjk5CBs3-UmihBThsnaKcq6NM_FN7CK-Rb3IMAzYmzA_KJRDhy3ziR8JsdIXsj4nouVp10/s400/Architecture+Domains.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353113270260753058" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><a name="Start_Here"></a><span lang="EN-CA"><b>The art and science of creation</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Today, the word architecture in the Information Technology arena is not always used in its correct context. As one of the silver backs I can remember when we used the word engineer as a freely as we use architect today. We had customer engineers, solution engineers, hardware engineers etc…. Some uses were correct and others were very loose interpretations of the term. Today we have information architects, solutions architects, network architects, voice architects and the likes of usability architects. Again, some correct, others, well, just good old marketing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">I personally take architecture very seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">The Webster’s dictionary that I possess at home states the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Architecture</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"> – The art or science of building; that branch of the fine arts which has for its object the production of edifices pleasing to a cultivated and artistic taste; construction.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">How real is this? Architecture is the marrying of art and science. The production and building of edifices (technology) that is pleasing. Pleasing becomes the operative word here. Just because something is built does not mean it is architecture. It just means it was built.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Architecture is like so many other borrowed terms we use in Information Technology, and made our own. This one in particular is of special interest to me because I take it so seriously from its purest beginnings and meanings. We stand on the shoulders of giants rings so true in this arena.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Some of my previous posts talked of the IT Stack and its importance for sound design. Enterprise architecture follows many of the same truisms. The IT Stack becomes what a draftsperson is to an architect. The architect has a vision and translates it into real-world designs. The architect then works with the draftspeople to iron out the real world forces. When we were all called engineers, I baulked because too many engineers only know the known and do not push the limits. The architect starts with art in mind and then transfers it to real engineering problems to be solved.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">The graphic above demonstrates the 4 key domains for enterprise architecture. Some enterprises will have more domains and that is just further fragmentation of the arts and sciences. The department of defence has taken a much deeper view, but if you were to step back the 4 main domains this post will encompass the others in some form or other.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">The graphic has the business domain as its center and I believe it is the lynch pin that binds the other three. With the business domain of “why”, the other domains of “how” become support players to the main event. Even the best historical architectures had an underlining purpose. These edifices of wonder were able to solve the need with special designs. The pyramids, the coliseums, the churches and the grand bridges that have stood the test of time have also stood the test of good taste. I remember standing in the Saint Michel castle in France and witnessing the formidable architecture that was over 1000 years old. The basement did not leak, the walls were not cracked and the roofs have sustained the mighty gales of the English Channel. In its 1000 plus history the walled city had never been breached and the trained eye could see the advancement of technology in the buildings while never giving way to the sheer beauty of its architecture.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">In modern times we have such wonders. Time will tell which ones were true to real world realities and have lasting artistic value.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">The information technology craft is new and as such is prone to flux and at times chaos. Now is the time to gain back some creditability to move us forward. Many believe the pace of change has been too fast. I could not disagree more. I feel we have been hindered by technology business models that have rewarded the quick and easy and not the long, difficult, right way.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">I was speaking to our owner regarding the “cloud.” Our owner is a self made multi-millionaire and a companion of the order of Canada. He has prided himself on honest, pragmatic business. He has been rewarded for his principals and he is also the holder of several key transportation patents for his forward-thinking designs. By his own admission he knows nothing of computers. After about a 10 minute explanation from me comparing the “cloud” to 3<sup>rd</sup> party logistics companies he started to understand. That analogy is the best I could come up with where you do not own the assets but leverage them. My owner had a pregnant pause for about 20 seconds. This is a long time for a man of his drive and passion. His response was short and very direct. The reply was “what took so long.” For him it was so clear, yet, we as an industry have not been able to exploit it and move it forward yet. The answer to that riddle took a little longer. Over several beers he came to realize that the technology sector is not rewarding leaders of technology but rather managers of business. The business model is sound but the debates over what is or what is not the “cloud” is preventing us from moving forward as a whole. This is not good business and even worse technology. His response was, you had better agree on that you need a road and that everyone has to be on the same side of the road. He brought our problem back to his transportation world.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">This is a long pre-amble to state that without a real business reason any architecture is strained to deliver value beyond its artistic impression.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><b>Business Architecture</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">This is the core domain and it answers the biggest question and that is the “why”. The next area of concern for this domain is what, who, where, when and which information is relevant. The process thinking person is well suited here. The business domain is about making the logical connection between business information and the processes that drives it and relies on it. A good business architecture model will drive all the other models and be used as the referential checkpoint for all the other domains.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Be careful of the process purist. These individuals tend to pave the cow path and have data needs that will strain good data governance and control. The process should solve the business needs in the fewest possible steps, in the most secure way, with sufficient oversight to be managed and to be improved. All architecture domains need to be built to be built upon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">The strategic business view needs to be broken down into tactical components and then into operational elements.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">The business domain will map the people, their processes, and the tools required to complete the business requirement. I am a visual person, so I will draw many process and mind maps to isolate the patterns for improvement and critical success. The information going back to the organization must be presented in the form the business can understand. The artefacts also have to serve as the core building blocks for the other domains. Constant checkpoints from the other domains have to be made to ensure the business domain is adhered.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><b>Technical Architecture</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Some groups will call this domain the infrastructure domain. I am part of that group. This domain manages and controls the hardware and software of the organization. Along with this it will adopt secure methods for all other elements of the solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">The biggest and most valuable artefact from the technical architecture is the blueprint for the functional and non-functional requirements. I pay special heed to the non-functional requirements, for these are the ones that tend to get overlooked and cause the greatest strain during implementation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">This domain also has a large role to play on cost minimization, technology blueprint adherence and the proper implementation of standards. A good implementation of the technical architecture will become the building blocks for other domains and other business solutions. This domain should focus on flexibility and reusability. The patterns derived from this domain are almost always used for other solutions. This domain also provides a strong blueprint that can be used for all following elements, especially security.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><b>Solution Architecture</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Solution Architecture is the glue that binds the data models to the technical models to deliver the business model. Some groups will call this domain the application domain. If you are new to an organization and their enterprise architecture group, then make sure you get their taxonomy clear. Some groups can be very particular on this.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Solution architecture starts to make patterns from the business model, to feed the data model, and will be supported by the technical model. The focus here should be on component modeling and the carving down of major functions into smaller more reusable elements and modules. Strong adherence to security, interface design (internal and external), data connectors, messaging, auditing, logging and version control become paramount. The project manager and the business sponsors need to conform to the business model and the non-functional and functional requirements. Scope creep can be a real issue here and controls need to be used to keep the team focused.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">This domain will also be faced with the greatest iterative steps and the greatest use of lifecycle management. The users will be playing in this backyard with little or no expertise and it becomes paramount that the solution architecture stays true to the business architecture. When there is confusion, a checkpoint must go back the original model to ensure the business needs are being met. At times this domain can get enamoured with scientific or artistic discoveries. The architect is required to keep the final vision in focus and not the current unforeseen discovery. This is a real discipline and the best solution architects have a strong eye towards delivery rather than discovery.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><b>Data Architecture</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">This is likely the oldest of the disciplines and is the genesis of many other methodologies. It is computer science 101 and is the most abused of the disciplines. The advent of spreadsheets and personal databases has muddied this craft. There are many who think they understand data models but the ones who really do get frustrated by the poor data models and database implementations of the others. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Another issue that arises is the forced use of old techniques when newer more effective approaches are warranted.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Modern databases support auto indexing and the old technique of composite keys only burden the systems for downstream business analystics.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">The conflict has always been present between the data purists and the process purists. The fact remains they must be in balance and work complimentary.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Data should be modeled to reflect the process’s use of the data and yet still be able to convert the data into information. I have seen overburdened data models that span thousands of tables where similar applications patterns have used 100 of tables. The pure data architect can justify both but only the enterprise architect can validate which ones solve present problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Modern databases and database options need to be exploited in a positive proactive way. Privacy and security issues can be enhanced within this domain for a more robust overall solution.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">I really enjoy seeing the application domain come to life within the data model. Many of the business model patterns can be tested and vetted with good data architecture. For in the end if it is not stored it does not exist for the other domains in a complete enterprise world. I know some knowledge management folks have just cringed. Data architecture takes into account all structured and unstructured data to complete the information picture. Once these patterns are complete and available they become a source of knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><b>In conclusion</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Without architecture we have form without function. With good architecture we have function with form that is pleasing. We have all witnessed good architecture even though we may not recognize it as architecture. To some architects that is the highest compliment. I am in that camp. When it works in its simplistic form to solve the most complex of problem, the Architect has successfully created art from the sciences.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">An architect’s vision without execution is just a drawing. With execution come future patterns to be used by others to further the craft.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-21145373655350897002009-06-14T21:29:00.000-07:002009-06-14T21:30:47.424-07:00The case for blade centers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUHq5klo1qUAW88Y5_EwwqcoFOk8IvmOZTEJgh_4COaBAocaupKFt8aiGk_ccDl66Zd5Srh-PUxezgf8Iy4rG2jR-5UD09Wlaqm7hI_DgOH64wDXbEHlk5kY4YdzmQzPoJ5aBR6Wlr30/s1600-h/Consolidation.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 350px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUHq5klo1qUAW88Y5_EwwqcoFOk8IvmOZTEJgh_4COaBAocaupKFt8aiGk_ccDl66Zd5Srh-PUxezgf8Iy4rG2jR-5UD09Wlaqm7hI_DgOH64wDXbEHlk5kY4YdzmQzPoJ5aBR6Wlr30/s400/Consolidation.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347407081531853938" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">When it comes to blades you have to realize of couple of baselines.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first is that you must understand the value of virtualization.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The second is that you have a long term view of your world.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So now that we have established the value of the baseline, you need to understand the two main types of blade setups.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first is many applications on one blade center and the other is many blades servicing one application.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The latter is way kewl and is what we use to call “grid computing”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That buzzword has fallen by way of the “cloud” and other similar useless marketing technical terms.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I will focus this post on the many applications on one blade center.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Please read my post on consolidation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I am even using the same graphic for it is that similar.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I am also lazy and graphically challenged.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the past when you had to replace a server or had to buy a new server for new applications you were forced to use a crystal ball.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Yes there were many tools to aid you but in effect you had to estimate what you were going to need for several years.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the first years the computer is oversized and underutilized over time the server starts to get utilized as per the requirement and without due diligence the server will become overworked and over utilized.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The roller coaster effect takes over.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is the reality faced by most organizations.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The advent of blades allows you buy as required and expand as needed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The initial costs of the infrastructure are high but you can add server instances in places where it would have been tough to get funding.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Overtime the cost per server is dramatically lower.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Do not underestimate the value of this.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is also a caution to prevent what is termed “server crawl”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The proper implementation of blade infrastructure will reduce more costs than just the hydro and air conditioning that everyone is talking about.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It gives management and extreme flexibility and a pay as you play approach.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">By using a hypervisor you are able to adjust the supply to the demand without the long processes of procurement and implementation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Benefits of backup and system management now become more manageable as well.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The big win, regardless of the marketing hype is that you can actually think big, start small and scale fast.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">On a vendor note, be careful of the hype.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Deal with vendors that know data centers and that have blade technology for your environment.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Some manufacturers are for the many blades to one application model and others are for smaller shops that will not expand beyond the one blade center.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Know your business problem before you buy and commit.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-46001288898826954952009-06-14T20:48:00.000-07:002009-06-14T20:57:15.453-07:00Currency Exchange<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixW0V20tzDFZ_VVztI8SCtxe5bedwWFDtnYlN4dZ1jtIPc0h8h9cy_xbT8Bx0L7JkQ-CLH3mcqlytTTVBNtNRc8FAIg7mqJlEHJup0-rhs7AoHso6VsyLmFZTF0vVE70dfUgVO6Qb90PQ/s1600-h/currency+exchange.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixW0V20tzDFZ_VVztI8SCtxe5bedwWFDtnYlN4dZ1jtIPc0h8h9cy_xbT8Bx0L7JkQ-CLH3mcqlytTTVBNtNRc8FAIg7mqJlEHJup0-rhs7AoHso6VsyLmFZTF0vVE70dfUgVO6Qb90PQ/s400/currency+exchange.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347398433161633474" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>The concept of currency exchange is as old as time.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>However, it is not about the currency it is about the exchange.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Before we had currency we still had exchange.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Some would argue it was better before the advent of the money makers.</div><div> <p class="MsoNormal">What I find so difficult these days is that we have all forgotten about fair exchange.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The recent demise of our great, or not so great, manufacturing and finance giants says more about bad business than about some sudden change in the world.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When did making a good product, at a fair price loss to corporate management?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I must not have gotten that memo.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Oh wait, it might have been an email disguised as corporate direction.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>All kidding aside this is a serious issues and one that affects us all and especially us in the Information Technology field.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We do not always deal with actual currency but we trade with other currencies every day for most every decision.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I build trust and relationships with the same respect a farmer does for his crops.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I know that if I follow the process respectfully and I watch the crops to ensure no weeds, bad soil and such disrupt the planting then I should be granted a good crop to barter for other needed things.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This takes the shape of having people trust you when you say your project will be completed on time and on budget.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the event of slippage you may have to give up some of your non-cash assets to offset your project issues.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is not a light issue.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I am astounded at people who just come up with dates as a placeholder and then say “oh well, missed another one”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These are the same people who whine “why are we not respected?” <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What did you do to garner that respect?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I am a senior Information Technology guy who has built a career fostering and building relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In fact I take great pride in them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In doing so, I have been able to exchange with these relationships things far more valuable then currency.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These relationships have allowed me to very successful and to provide many rewards to the other parties in these relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is a constant spending and saving exercise.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have a penchant for seeing dumb people and bad ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When faced with this I get very agitated and somewhat cold.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I make no apologies.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If you profess to be in my craft you had better be prepared, be focused and be knowledgeable.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is not a challenge but a position of what I call mutual respect.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I give you the respect of listening; you may want to give the respect of speaking respectfully.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If you think a currency exchange will right this wrong you are sadly mistaken.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you are a young Information Technology professional and you are starting out in a new position this condition will arise.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One day you are going to witness your boss having a social meeting with another department head or a vendor.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This can be viewed several ways.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first is of envy and you think “must be nice” the other more pragmatic way is “what are they talking about and how can I learn”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Now if your boss is the laughing stock of the company, the former response is likely valid.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>However, if your boss is highly respected you are likely witnessing a valid currency exchange.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What you are witnessing is the natural give and take of negotiations.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Most negotiations are built and over before the formal process begins.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This currency exchange can be between family members, lovers, friends, vendors, suppliers, customers and the like.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If all you have is money to exchange then your relationships will be short lived and not very meaningful.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It will be fast food approach to life and business.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Rarely, in a professional world does the one with the money wield the power.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Typically in the technology field the one with the knowledge is in the stronger position.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Good business executives latch onto this and make sure there is more than just money in the exchange.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Sadly as I look around, I see the old trappings of perceived wealth abusing the hard working.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This will end, but it will take everyone remembering a fair exchange is derived from trust, respect and grounded in a common valued system.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">You might be asking what spurned/spurred this email.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Well it is like this.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the scenario above my new hire to our team did not take the time to learn what relationships I had built and as such destroyed the working relationship between our firm and three of our trusted advisors.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One is completed lost and only my personal friendship is left.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That one is a great loss to our firm.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The second was easily explained and the third with be like the first.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I will be <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>able to sustain the third but only through friendship.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The real loss here is that the individual still has not learned the value of <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>the real currency exchange.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One might asked why they are not fired.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Sadly, spineless Human Resource departments prevent the right thing from happening.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The only saving grace is that since my new team member will have it more difficult to complete their tasks with these advisors absent makes a good case for poor performance.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It will be long road for us all since the basic rule of relationships was lost.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">That is why in the Information Technology field some users and departments get things done ahead of other ones.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Chances are an informal currency exchange was being adhered to and that is not a bad thing.</p></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-41994097773352013602009-05-19T20:18:00.000-07:002009-05-19T21:20:50.734-07:00Onboard computing realities<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvsUl0y793D11kCzaWeA6O0NCQVq7q3HVuPEDb94rlHUhAKRDHYSY9h40kM8h9_oHAe5yjpzqCxgkyPHVgfIhAJCWrVPnbUWG2MhmAPtnjArRKhmEJfz_5O-ASAhBD-YQ6feAxS2KHog/s1600-h/onboard+systems.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvsUl0y793D11kCzaWeA6O0NCQVq7q3HVuPEDb94rlHUhAKRDHYSY9h40kM8h9_oHAe5yjpzqCxgkyPHVgfIhAJCWrVPnbUWG2MhmAPtnjArRKhmEJfz_5O-ASAhBD-YQ6feAxS2KHog/s400/onboard+systems.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337741253716453586" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Onboard Computing</span><br /></div><div> <p class="MsoNormal">I was recently asked by an onboard computing company to be on a customer panel to answer questions.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They provided all of us some questions to answer and this post will share with you my answers.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Before the questions can be answered several things the reader of this post needs to be aware of.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>First what is onboard computing?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is actually one of those simple questions to answer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is a device attached to the engine system bus of vehicles.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This device collects engine information in real time and stores it for future retrieval.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This retrieval can be immediate or a store and forward approach.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These vehicles in my case are large tractor trailers and our straight truck fleet.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We currently have over 800 of these units rolling around North America.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In fact I have more rolling infrastructure then static desktop computing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Also, the computing power and complexity is higher on my rolling fleet than anything on my accountants desktop.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Modern onboard computing is the ability to monitor the vehicle geometry (location, speed, rpm, braking etc) and driver behavior (hours of service, speed, cruise, lights, wipers etc) and bring the back office into the cab (driver messaging, pickup information, delivery information, signature capture, fuel tax, image scanning etc).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Seems simple enough, oh but wait, if it was simple all of us would be doing it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You need to be aware that most trucking companies’ equipment committees are not tied to the backend accounting needs.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The push and pull is everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Traditionally if the rolling stock needed new toys, voila the money is/was found.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Over time this becomes a very complex dance between perceived value and benefit with real cost of support.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">There are two main camps in this arena.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first camp is all about driver and vehicle data.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The old world of tacho-graphs and vehicle data lead the way.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our firm is squarely planted in this camp.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is typically the camp of the early adopters.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Before backend systems had reliable means of real time connectivity the store and forward world of driver/vehicle data was one of batch reporting and driver coordinators who enforced compliance based on these reports.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is not a bad camp to be in if it can move forward.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These types of solutions are usually very proprietary and closed and very good at collecting data.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Not so good at making information out of it though.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The next camp is the one that wants to bring the back office into the cab.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is the where the late adopters find themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The technology has matured and the industry as a whole is comfortable with baseline vehicle and driver information.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These systems typically are newer, open and standards based.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The support groups of trucking firms really enjoy these platforms for they are easier to support.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>With anything new, there are issues to work out but all in all they are excellent approaches to solving real business information needs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">What about the driver.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In most worlds the driver is actually forgotten by the technology unless the firm forces driver feedback.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This feedback can be in the form of messaging, panic buttons for safety, audible alarms to enforce safety rules and give attention to immediate action.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Some of the technology is actually used to improve driver skills.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>An example of this is lane departure software.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This type of software emulates the rubble strip on the sides of the highway so the driver is aware of any drifting.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is very sophisticated in the math of determining if drifting is occurring and over time<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>the drivers have had positive feedback on its accuracy and then by their improved handling of the equipment.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">So what is in it for the Driver?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ol><li>Real time feedback on equipment issues. For example spike break, lane departure, fatique</li><li>Panic button</li><li>Communications to and from dispatch in an non-obtrusive manner</li><li>Driver safety - Hi-jacking prevention and alarming</li><li>Driver pay based on performance</li><li>Reduced paperwork (driver logs, fuel tax, trip reports, pre and post trip inspections)</li></ol><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> So what is in it for the vehicle?</span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ol><li>Effective and proactive monitoring of engine performance</li><li>Fuel usage</li><li>Safe handling</li><li>Extended vehicle life</li><li>Proactive and preventative maintenance procedures</li><li>Consistent, predictable usage pattern regardless of driver </li></ol><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">So what is in it for the organization?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ol><li>Getting data as close to source as possible</li><li>Creating information from data</li><li>Increased customer service </li><li>Customer transparency</li><li>Reduced labour to support operations</li><li>Real time tracking of fleet</li><li>Heightened security position</li><li>Better competitive edge</li><li>Ability to make decisions faster and with better context</li></ol><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here are my answers to the questions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Question 1: </span>How has technology in the cab provided your organization a competitive edge? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Answer:</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The technology deployed gives us near time information on business and operational performance.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our customers have complete visibility into their freight.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our bottom line is positively affected by lower costs, higher safety ratings, and predictable operational performance.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We are in effect proactive not reactive to the marketplace.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Question 2:</span> Has technology enabled your company to operate in a safer environment? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Answer</span>:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This was one of the biggest drivers for our onboard committee.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>From driver fatigue, to driver safety, to safety compliance we are able to work with the driver to improve safety both for the equipment and more importantly for the driver.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Question 3:</span> What best practice has your company implemented to get driver buy in? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Answer</span>:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We have a pretty proactive and progressive driver committee and driver coordinator team.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We run pilot projects and get driver feedback.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We adapt the technology to fit the needs of the driver and the organization.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We are always very aware of providing real time feedback to the drivers.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This can be achieved through visual or audio cues in the cab.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Question 4:</span> How do you see government regulations affecting your business? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Answer:</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span> </span>We see the government finally taking the advice of our associations to adapt the technology in a supportive way.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>To be more accepting of digital information.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We also see that there is still a lot of education required on the parts of government to understand what the industry is able to provide.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One of the challenges facing some of the early adopters and proactive firms is information overload to the government.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Some of the late adopters are just providing baseline information and not giving context to the information.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is leading to a dual standard on the road.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Governments should align reporting requirements with reporting templates and guidelines. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Question 5: </span>How does the government inter-play affect your technology buying decision? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Answer</span>:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>More attention is being applied to things like driver logs and this is a good thing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The late adopters have an advantage here where some of the early adopters are struggling with technology architecture issues.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Question 6: </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>How is technology enabling your organization to take advantage of fuel saving best practices? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Answer</span>:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Along with safety this is the largest benefit achieved by onboard computing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Elements such as idle time, progressive shifting, speed, excessive acceleration and rapid deceleration.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>All of these elements have given real saving to fuel and repair costs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">In Conclusion</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Onboard computing is maturing to a state that not having the technology is no longer an option.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We are at the stage that just having the technology is not good enough.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The firm must be able to leverage the data to make useful information with it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Otherwise it becomes an exercise in diminishing returns.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-28610349526627367132009-05-12T12:49:00.000-07:002009-05-14T07:04:50.695-07:00Stubby Pencil Principal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrfhA8e9xLJlo9LMS9JLJt4pjyzXtjv9jqWbdmgxr2SXiGxDjgdIqp_HfnBDgLkww6NcNFSeflYH23p6lkuNxp_VsOf_bO5uFsPtbWQIplAv6hip-ZeFXCTBqy4meBqe1qmc45Qlm2iM/s1600-h/stubby+pencil.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335027287187932802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 198px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrfhA8e9xLJlo9LMS9JLJt4pjyzXtjv9jqWbdmgxr2SXiGxDjgdIqp_HfnBDgLkww6NcNFSeflYH23p6lkuNxp_VsOf_bO5uFsPtbWQIplAv6hip-ZeFXCTBqy4meBqe1qmc45Qlm2iM/s320/stubby+pencil.jpg" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Technology as the tool</span> <div><br /></div><div>This post is being written to address how technology is meant to compliment the business and not complicate the business.<br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">All too often, businesses and organizations look to technology to solve problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However, sometimes technology is the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The organization must be able to articulate what the organizational problem is before a solution can be explored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember I am a technology person and I am saying be cautious of technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Pay heed, truly.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Here is a true case study and the acid test I use almost every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>During the big space race of the 60’s both Russia and the USA were posed with the same problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How will the astronauts write in their logs in zero gravity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This was/is a real problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The countless checklists, science experiments and daily logs are a reality for this type of adventure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The USA Team through NASA started on the zero gravity pens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They Spent 10 of thousands of dollars in its research and came up with a swanky solution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The US astronauts were unaware of the great technological advancement made by the zero-gravity engineers but were happy they had a writing instrument.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The soviet cosmonauts were given simple pencils and were equally happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Both solutions worked and worked very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Hence this is what I call the stubby pencil principal.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The lesson to be learned in the above case study is, “what is the problem?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Both teams understood the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The US team wanted a unique technical solution, while the Soviet team just wanted to solve the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Again, both worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I liked the pencil solution for it was quick, relevant, inexpensive, easy to support and allowed the rest of the engineering team to focus on other real new problem like how to navigate back to earth without melting the humans in side.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Every day I have conversations with people and they come back to me with “how can technology solve the problem?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>More times than not, I counter with, “let’s look at the current process”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Address that first.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Humans have been using tools and technology since the cave man and its early use of clubs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The tools then as they should be now were used to solve a specific problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Craftspeople took great pride in making the tools and then allowing other craftspeople to use the tools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What changed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Simply, it comes down to respect and attitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When we had only hand tools in the house building industry, each craftsman made sure their part was done well for everyone else would benefit from their work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Today with the advent of almost every tool imaginable and with the mindset that fast is better we get poor work from the beginning to the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We have the capacity to do more with less but what we end up with us less with more tools.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I still love to witness good craftsmanship whether that is in woodworking, sewing, iron works, painting etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The one thing I have consistently found is that the correct tool with the correct craftsperson creates art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The correct tool with the wrong person is considered work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The wrong tool with the wrong person produces junk. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Take the time to understand the problem, look for several options and when you are committed to a solution then put it in correctly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">I heat with wood and my wife and I enjoy the process of wood heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You have to go into the bush, select your trees, drop your trees, cut your trees into stove length, split the wood and then stack the wood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On the surface, why bother?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But in reality we have an appreciation for wood heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We do not over stoke the fire box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We run the house at a reasonable temperature and we are always sensitive to effort required to heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are also aware at every stage of the next stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By this I mean we do not rush and cut any tree, but rather the ones that can be dropped safely, handled with just the two of us and of the correct species to provide maximum heat for the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Of course this is not an option for everyone and I am not proposing that every heat problem can be solved with wood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What I am suggesting is that knowing the problem, respecting the options and deciding on a course of action that fits what the organization can support is the correct path.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The same goes for businesses and organizations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I tire quickly when speaking to business leaders who tell me their technology problems to nauseam but cannot express to me the business problem at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is tantamount to listening to an electrician telling me his hammer is broken but he cannot express to me why the house has no power.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The same is true when I see accountants using spreadsheet to send text documentation to someone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It amazes me that it can be done when a word processor would have been better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In most cases the accountant is not willing to learn a new tool and is forcing everyone to adjust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is another form of disrespect.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The current attitude of waste and to throw more technology at problems is only creating bigger issues and forcing the real craftspeople to shake their heads in disgust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have a saying “those who think they know really annoy the ones who do”, applies here.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Let business do what they are in business for and let technology in all its flavors support that business as a supporting actor and trusted advisor.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Have fun and be safe.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-74234930018815366722009-05-01T08:14:00.000-07:002009-05-03T09:49:52.294-07:00Leadership and Management<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvIch7UUqMT7HjMB4lVxYYGvZIY8kzRZy-uhTr-4vKv0aUhwfwmoRMZqcyIPsnZP_BxqMTQOKjNgluil2S70bEte5TbD3OA4B_0SdP90dT2rD1wl9kOJJuYM6q-d35OmyueV2uY0lAbg/s1600-h/Leadership.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330874581843109570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvIch7UUqMT7HjMB4lVxYYGvZIY8kzRZy-uhTr-4vKv0aUhwfwmoRMZqcyIPsnZP_BxqMTQOKjNgluil2S70bEte5TbD3OA4B_0SdP90dT2rD1wl9kOJJuYM6q-d35OmyueV2uY0lAbg/s320/Leadership.png" border="0" /></a> <div><strong>Leadership and Management</strong><br /></div><div> </div><div>Ok this discussion could go anywhere and it is as old as time. The questions that is mostly asked is can a leader be made or are they created? I will attempt to give my perspective on this. Again, this one may turn out to be more of a rant but I feel under these times of stress and crisis it is important to have this discussion.<br /></div><div>Leadership and management are both required for any organization to be successful. There are many business schools that cloud the issues and interchange the words. I completely disagree with this thinking. Do not get me wrong both words are very positive to me and they are very real roles. However, there is a difference and I will attempt to explain.<br /></div><div>Just so there is no confusion, I will state that in my opinion leaders are born. You can teach leaders to be better and give them more tools to work from. I have the same opinion of trouble shooters. You can make them better with training however; they need the character to start from. My personal opinions of those experts whom believe the contrary are saying it to sell the snake oil of their training programs.<br /></div><div><strong>Management</strong><br /></div><div>Management is the care and feeding of an existing system to make it better and to be efficient. You have management of people, time, scope, quality and a whole ream of other things. In the end, a vision was created by someone or something else and it is now the management of those strategic, operational and tactical items that is important. <br /></div><div>Management is critical for any organization to be successful. Well managed teams and organizations can weather many storms and are difficult to knock off balance. However, when real change is needed by the organization to succeed management will struggle with how to solve the problem. Recent events of the economic crisis are case and point in this. Large very well managed companies are failing to respond to the situation. It is because the management team was closed to real inputs and changing factors. Crisis of what we are facing do not happen overnight. It is a long term effect of poor management decisions not necessary poor management. The goal of management is to keep the collective calm. The graphic above is an attempt to illustrate the concept. The consensus concept is not bad; in fact, it is a great management style. However, the concept does not promote innovation or free will. That would cause management issues and those issues must be excised to keep order. This is why well managed organizations can weather a storm but rarely can avoid the storm in the first place.<br /></div><div>Then we get into management promotion from within. This is also a two edged sword. You get the insight from someone who has history with the firm; however, this promotes a closed system. Strong management teams promote this behavior and it causes the system to become stagnant and less resistant to change.<br /></div><div><strong>Leadership</strong><br /></div><div>Leadership comes in many forms. It comes from all levels of the organization and it must start with personal leadership. This is the type of person that steps away from the crowd and asks “why” or “there has to be a better way”. Innovative and creative organizations promote this behavior at all levels not just within their management ranks. Leaders take charge and make the tough decision even in the face of personal adversity. A leader who puts themselves aside and does the right thing for the collective is the true leader. Many leaders can be confused with charismatic managers. Do not confuse the two. Look at what visions leaders leave behind. A leader leaves a lasting imprint on the organization and charismatic managers leave the group with a good feeling but not a clear vision to follow.<br /></div><div>A leader by my definition is someone who can positively get someone to do something that they would not have normally done. Once completed it raises the personal bar as it were. By doing so, the person being led is now better for it. Some people are great manipulators and can get people to do things they would not have done. The acid test is the person doing the work better for it or just the person asking for the work done? </div><div><br />A leader leads from the front, is the last to eat, first to rise, the last to sleep and takes care of the people under their care first. Most management schools don’t even recognize what this sentence means and that is why it is a management school. </div><div><br />In times of crisis leadership must be promoted to navigate the storm not just weather it. Sadly, the world is getting lean on leaders and too rich (multiple context) on management. Leaders seek consensus but are not framed by it. Some examples of current leadership are Tony Blair, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher and Barrack Obama. All of these people shined in crisis and struggled in calm. The collective are quick to cling and to be lead through the storm, however, once the clear sky appears they want to return to the comfort zone. Sadly, we as a society are too quick to penalize the peacetime leader in favour of the manager who can split the financial hairs to get more bonuses and perks for the elite. <br /></div><div>General Motors was well managed but very poorly led and hence they are on the brink of self made collapse. The management team was so use to drinking from a fire hydrant and so far removed from the product they made that when the customer went elsewhere all they could say was, “heah, we are number one and if we fall the economy fails”. How sad is that? People are still buying cars, just not theirs. Good leaders would have known to build something that will get purchased. The examples of this are many, current telecommunications companies, air lines, cable companies and hard goods manufacturers all need to learn from the auto crisis. Get out of your offices and go and talk to your customers. Learn what they need and want and stop thinking we are cows to be herded.</div><div><br /><strong>In conclusion</strong></div><strong></strong><div><br />If any of you are Star Trek fans you will know the borg. The borg is management and they were powerful, however, a strong leader, Captain Picard was able to get the management (borg) to fail at its lowest unprotected system. The system attacked was to lull them to sleep. They did and the captain won. When we look at recent events and we see how simple the failure was and how pervasive the abuse was it is no wonder that leaders are excised from the management teams. Our recent ails are based on greed and selfish management teams whom have lost touch with what business they are in.</div><div><br />People remember leaders; leaders need management and management needs leaders. Once leadership is excised all management system will eventually fail. Look around you, are you the leader or just the manager. It is your choice and your choice alone.</div><div><br />My mantra is “Lead, Follow or get out of the way”. This may sound crass but take a deeper look and you will see the mantra is just stating, “Know your role”.<br /></div><div></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-32011961930197255252009-04-28T22:47:00.000-07:002009-04-28T22:53:10.435-07:00Curse of bad communications.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj16EScRfc99ERt22KcSeNXCyUDDXGaZArv3A58396s7mXixJGtqYpQgD6PMCpPm2fdOEQ0Uwl0Sbjzvfe5o7A1agP889Go42Y-jUHZjLJGFRcozDVHl9d3T3tCXQcSWvUBw1oe73iNsg/s1600-h/YinYang.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj16EScRfc99ERt22KcSeNXCyUDDXGaZArv3A58396s7mXixJGtqYpQgD6PMCpPm2fdOEQ0Uwl0Sbjzvfe5o7A1agP889Go42Y-jUHZjLJGFRcozDVHl9d3T3tCXQcSWvUBw1oe73iNsg/s320/YinYang.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329986421629633714" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The curse of electronic communications</span><br /></div><div> <p class="MsoNormal">The image above, at first glance, is about balance.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In this case it is about my two passions on bad communications.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first is arrogance and the second in ignorance.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The twin curses as it were.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Both are bad and way too many of us hide behind it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I will forewarn the readers of this post that this is a rant.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Arrogance</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Let me deal with arrogance, especially in the Technology field.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It manifests itself in two forms.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first is the thought that since I know more than you in technology then I must be better and therefore treat all lesser mortals with disdain.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The second flavor is that since I know Technology I must know it all.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Both these conditions can be found when people speak with acronyms and double speak.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When you read an email from a technology person and you want to “bitch slap” them it is likely their arrogance shining ever so brightly.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I have on occasion, printed the email (environmentalists stay calm) and sat down beside the individual to ask them to read the email to me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Now I am a big guy and this effect is always powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My point gets made very fast.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You wouldn’t speak to me like this in person so why are you putting it in an email.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As you can tell, I do not tolerate this and we as a collective shouldn’t either.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is also witness by short terse emails by support people that just take for granted that everyone has been ordained in geek speak.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My theory is that if you can’t explain it in real paragraphs with real sentences then you are the idiot and should take a lesson on proper communications.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I blame this on incessant email and text messages for this.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our youth may have their own “text” language but as a society is it lessoning the human factor.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Email has no tone and sorry smiley faces don’t really give the professional polish I expect from my staff.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Ignorance</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This one is more passive aggressive and to some it is well hidden but just as nefarious.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This manifests itself into, “I am not in IT so I don’t know”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I didn’t ask you to be in IT I asked you to think.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Just because an IT person asks you a question like “so how do you do an expense report” doesn’t mean they are looking for pseudo code to build you a new system.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They just want to know from your perspective how to fill out an expense report.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Here is another form of ignorance that really gets under my skin.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We in the technology field are constantly expected to know how other areas work.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I really encourage this for it provides for better systems.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So if I am expected to know your world then you might want to pause and have some respect for mine.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Yes I know some of us are weird and geeky but hey if I am showing you respect how about giving some back.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Most of us learned this simple rule in kindergarten.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Share the love people.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Respect</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It comes down to this.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When you are writing an email, remember the person on the other side is a person and not just blank two dimensional text characters.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Treat an email as you would a stranger on the street.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Be polite, sincere and more importantly respectful.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If you are asking for help, be kind and respectful (notice a theme).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If you are providing assistance be polite and respectful and give an answer that is written in the language of the recipient.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Say thank you and mean it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Many a relationship has been lost on bad emails.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Yes, we all have to breathe and remember people have bad days.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We also have to get over ourselves and stop thinking email is actually real, effective communications.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Treat it as business letters conveying a message or request.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Yes there is a difference.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sincerely and respectfully</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Buchi.</p></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-67142926866208045702009-04-21T12:52:00.001-07:002009-04-21T14:53:51.385-07:00The business reason for virtualization<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswnvDgk6VbpqJ2HwDxHFjTDqu9MlmdLHmmJGNUMYtW0gZ_qVe7T5ZIpYvmhXCpegJ5IIs3lSxQTyOYmIhlCBZu6TOMc5bC5eYiCPoVW6cTV-dIYDZarBoiA-_4YZPEJlmUJ8Yw0jhSIk/s1600-h/Consolidation.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswnvDgk6VbpqJ2HwDxHFjTDqu9MlmdLHmmJGNUMYtW0gZ_qVe7T5ZIpYvmhXCpegJ5IIs3lSxQTyOYmIhlCBZu6TOMc5bC5eYiCPoVW6cTV-dIYDZarBoiA-_4YZPEJlmUJ8Yw0jhSIk/s320/Consolidation.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327266020021039282" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The Infrastructure Framework and why the business should care.</span><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">This post will focus on the business reason for virtualization.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There are many technical reasons but these technical discussions only mire the bigger business needs.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Many firms and organizations grew their Information Technology departments out of other departments and/or specific projects.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Organizations that are funded by project typically have been forced to bind their Information Technology to the project office. These would become the seeds of the many silos we in the Information Technology industry have been forced to deal with.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But what does an organization do to address this unrelenting reality.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first is to identify it exists and then adapt your future rollouts to support a different operational model.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The organization is entrusted to deliver the best programs and services they are capable of.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Information Communication Technology can be seen as either the cost center or the opportunity enabler.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This decision is left to the organizational leadership.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If the leadership chooses a “Cost Center” approach then there is little one can do to break free of the silos.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For the initial apparent high costs of Information Technology are never a true reflection of the value they can bring.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The best defense for this is asking your accounting group to stop using a spreadsheet for the cost of licensing is too high.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Paper and pencil is cheaper.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We would not ask this of a mature accounting group.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Yet, every day we are asking the same of our technology groups.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They are being asked to deliver more with less and no acknowledgement that Information Technology is a mature and valuable group.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If the leadership decides that Information Technology is in fact an opportunity enabler then the organization has to understand how that Information Technology group can bring the best value.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The leadership needs to follow the path of many successful organizations.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first step is to clearly articulate the organizational goals and problems from a holistic approach and NOT just from a departmental (silo) approach.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is the toughest step.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The leadership must elevate the Information Technology group to the decision table. This elevation is not to defer the decision to the Information Technology group but rather the contrary.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>By bringing the Information Technology group to the table they become trusted advisors and can bring insight in your organizational solution definitions.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It can be that easy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But how does Information Technology bring value to the organization from within their domain.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That is done by pragmatic deployment of solid networks that interconnect the departments heterogeneously.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Next they deploy a technology platform that is solid, stable, robust and flexible.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Once these underpinnings are in place the organization is now open to any and all open standards based applications.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These applications can be boxed, custom built or a combination of both.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The organization should be focused on solutions (why) and not the vendor (how).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What do you do with all your legacy issues?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the past this was the major stumbling block for breaking free.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The issue of obsolete hardware, fractured networks and lack of focus that is evident in the most organizations’ Information Technology Strategy needs analysis is not unique.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These challenges are being faced by many organizations.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The good news is that there is a way out of the issues without having to abandon those functions that are working.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The answer is in server virtualization and network consolidation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The path for which you may want to consider is one of bringing all the networks to a solid and safe central place.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>By leveraging equipment today that has capital costs but very little monthly maintenance costs and NO monthly operational costs the organization can grow as needed without having to find new sources of funding.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The second and most important piece is server consolidation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Many organizations have been forced by vendor licensing and performance models to deploy many servers to achieve small incremental advances.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This strategy helped the vendors and only added to the complexity of support.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The two major players of server virtualization of VMware and XenCitrix have solved this problem.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The current conservative rate of server consolidation is 10 to 1.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That means 100 servers can consolidate into 10 physical boxes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The advantages to Server consolidation are many but I will list a few.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Reduced footprint<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Ease of management<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Exploit entire computing power (memory, CPU and disk)<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Hardware is now a commodity<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Can have as many logical servers as hardware will support.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is supportive, especially, of Microsoft’s one server per role model.<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Backup and recovery is now simplified<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Ongoing hardware costs are dramatically reduced<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Ease of testing new versions of software<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Single place for all storage<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Takes less room<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Grow as needed<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Grow quickly<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Grow simply<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Allows for departmental independence without having to have physical independence<br /></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Share costing model<br /></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Information Technology becomes a working service department.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Can charge out time and resources to other groups to be included in funding envelopes.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Considered “insourcing”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The Information Technology group becomes the “go to” group and trusted advisor to all because they are spending their time and efforts delivering value and not fighting fires.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">There are other factors as well but the basic approach is to consolidate and then leverage. This solid network with a server consolidation platform gives any organization the platform and foundation to implement any solution.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is called the infrastructure framework.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The solution framework now becomes an exercise in connecting people with content and applications instead of the hardware and networking nightmare it has been known to be. </p></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-33907375130629973202009-04-14T08:50:00.000-07:002009-04-14T10:45:35.232-07:00Privacy and Security -- A primer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSAt2tUty-NEPDhd7v4l9CgXyuq4xIzX8lz_nAyvW7glPk5zFABlKY3IE5ExhyPFy4FpaICZEDcoYXSE4oOtSsn18kaUZocsBcfyZ9YRoV0zuI7JcDtpxqHvdV3Cr_MAHhA91-scKNbM/s1600-h/tim_kendo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSAt2tUty-NEPDhd7v4l9CgXyuq4xIzX8lz_nAyvW7glPk5zFABlKY3IE5ExhyPFy4FpaICZEDcoYXSE4oOtSsn18kaUZocsBcfyZ9YRoV0zuI7JcDtpxqHvdV3Cr_MAHhA91-scKNbM/s320/tim_kendo.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324575353740663522" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Pr</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">ivacy and Security</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">What an odd picture to describe privacy and security -- or is it?<br /></span></span></div><div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The picture is of a person and that person is in protective garb.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Can you indentify the real name of the person, the </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">purpose and the location?</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">No?</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">This picture is in the public domain of the Internet and is freely accessible to all viewers.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Yet, I will prove it has protected the identity of the person even if the digital image is not secured.<br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">What is Privacy?</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Privacy is the protection of personal Identity.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">It is that simple.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The owner of ALL personal data is the actual person themselves.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The rest of us are just custodians of that information.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">It is not just an Information Technology problem or solution.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The information technology industry gets measured by a double standard in both privacy and security; however, all custodians have the same responsibilities and accountabilities.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The advent of the free flowing Internet has increased awareness and complexity but not the underpinnings of what privacy and security really is.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Privacy IS about;</span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">RESPECT for:</span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">You<br />Your family<br />Your community</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">It is about:<br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Your rights as an individual<br />Your rights as a community<br />Your obligations as a custodian of personal information</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">There are 10 principals to Privacy Policy and all must be adhered to safeguard the individual.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Most organizations would pass the acid test but great care must be done to ensure all elements are being addressed.<br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The 10 Principals are;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">1.</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Accountability</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- An organization is responsible for personal information under its control and shall designate an individual or individuals who are accountable for the organization's compliance with the following principles.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">2.</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Defined Purposes</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- The purposes for which personal information is collected shall be identified by the organization at or before the time the information is collected.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">3.</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Consent</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- The knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">4.</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Limiting Collection</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- The collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the organization. Information shall be collected by fair and lawful means.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">5.</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Limiting Use, Disclosure, Retention</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- Personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">6.</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Accuracy</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- Personal information shall be as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">7.</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Safeguards</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- Personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">8.</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Openness</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- An organization shall make readily available to individuals specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">9.</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Individual Access</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- Upon request, an individual shall be informed of the existence, use, and disclosure of his or her personal information and shall be given access to that information. An individual shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">10.</span></span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Challenging Compliance</span></span></span></b><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> -- An individual shall be able to address a challenge concerning compliance with the above principles to the designated individual or individuals accountable for the organization's compliance.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">What is Security?</span></span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Security is the actual protection of the personal information itself.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Modern technologies today have more than surpassed the security tests.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">From Networks, encryptions, and security architecture the ability to secure is there and people should take comfort in this.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">So why are we seeing so many security violations.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Well in fact we are not seeing security violations we are see privacy violations.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">When we hear of credit card information being obtained from recycled computers we are in fact witnessing a violation of principal number 7 which is Safeguards.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The custodians of the personal information did not take safeguards to ensure continued security. </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">There is, today, a technology to solve any and all security issue.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Yes the hackers and crackers (there is a difference) can break the codes and that is why security is fluid and ever evolving.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Security is a never ending challenge and everyone must be diligent.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">When it comes to protecting identity all of us should be alert and conscientious.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">When I speak of Security I always refer to two realisms.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The first is, “locks keep honest people out”.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">This refers to preventing, truly, the accidental breach.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The second truism is “people do not break into Fort Knox to steal corn flakes”.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">This last one refers to the level of security you have should be equal to and/or </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">greater to what you are protecting.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Privacy is the top of the food chain on this one. </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">In conclusion</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Privacy protects identity and security protects the private information. They must work hand to hand to truly be effective.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Referring back to the picture above, yes I am the person in the picture.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">But what is my name for it is not Buchi.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The armour I wear protects my person against my assailant’s harm.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Where was the photo taken and why was it taken is the mystery? </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Privacy and Security should not be complex, for if it is, then the human element will likely breach it by writing down the password or leaving the keys to the camp under the carpet.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman";font-family:";font-size:8.5pt;color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><br /></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-18718139911111247902009-04-08T08:49:00.001-07:002009-04-08T08:50:39.437-07:00JAAT Logo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpV_PTwdEK0_nXY0qFFm4K70-oJFXwuiNgthFBx6Wkr6pRXF8lDeQ_rrPSDKSYPvgpx_TXOlhZCs9hVuyiAxTrV-JercUD9e2yhMOOweHEL9Qz8xY4AncfdsTRj1jSQWu2RJY1kQrg2Y/s1600-h/JAAT+logo-no+background.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpV_PTwdEK0_nXY0qFFm4K70-oJFXwuiNgthFBx6Wkr6pRXF8lDeQ_rrPSDKSYPvgpx_TXOlhZCs9hVuyiAxTrV-JercUD9e2yhMOOweHEL9Qz8xY4AncfdsTRj1jSQWu2RJY1kQrg2Y/s320/JAAT+logo-no+background.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322348419396284306" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">New company logo</span><div><br /></div><div><br /><div>Just posted it to brag.</div></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8546588633006655790.post-81760072647578366492009-04-07T13:06:00.000-07:002009-04-07T13:35:32.105-07:00From Data to Wisdom<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGreb-7X_Lx8-4xUoUvQk27HV1Bpz9AUm2ehXG5__8VXj7ndNkmx5DWhpLLkhREWVRJt1AEpRVLoBfjscXqLJcHyboLlCCyYn6DB_wq2KpmSHeRD7WlBfqrqlr0B_evY6OOqYqp_1Jq8/s1600-h/fromDataToWisdom_Screen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGreb-7X_Lx8-4xUoUvQk27HV1Bpz9AUm2ehXG5__8VXj7ndNkmx5DWhpLLkhREWVRJt1AEpRVLoBfjscXqLJcHyboLlCCyYn6DB_wq2KpmSHeRD7WlBfqrqlr0B_evY6OOqYqp_1Jq8/s320/fromDataToWisdom_Screen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322043717575355954" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The evolution of data</span></div><div><p>The following graphic is used to demonstrate the evolution of data at a holistic level.</p> <p>In my storied and eventful career I have been both the savior and the victim of Business Intelligence. The battle has raged for years and the real victims are the customers who are trying to figure it out. Over time and after many scotch on the rocks I started to piece the pieces together.</p> <p>To truly explain, I have to go back to the beginning. </p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Data Level</span></p> <p>Is the simplest to explain, it is the raw 1's and 0's or the smallest information store. This could be someone's first name, location, city, postal code. An individual information component. For those spread sheet users, picture this as a single cell. </p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Management Level </span></p> <p>You may know this layer as Content Management, Information Management or Document Management. They all mean the same at this data maturity level. When you take the raw data and start to draw relationships then it becomes information. For example: the city name is related to the city description file. The invoice detail is related to the invoice header by the same common invoice number. The content is related to a press release, the documents are related to a case file. Once you establish the relationships then information emerges.</p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Knowledge Level</span></p> <p>You may know this layer as Knowledge Management. I was originally stumped on this term until I dug deeper. What I found was this. Once you take your information and start to see patterns emerging then you have knowledge. Patterns become key. When you can take different sources of information and established predictable patterns then the user has knowledge at their finger tips. Knowledge is power. You start to really work the results when solid proven patterns emerge predictably. When unpredictable patterns emerge you have data mining and that is even cooler information, but I digress.</p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Wisdom Level</span></p> <p>This is the final layer and it is based on applying principals against the patterns. Like in life, this becomes the challenge. There a many people in life with the all the knowledge but do not practice a principled life and by definition are not very wise. Like most things in the Information Technology arena we are standing on the shoulders of giants. It takes time and experience to apply principals to knowledge. </p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">In Conclusion</span></p> <p>Data becomes information after relationships can be built and maintained. This information comes in the form of document management, content management and information management. Once this has been established, patterns emerge. Once this is done successfully, Knowledge Management is the outcome. Lots of work is being done in this regard.</p> <p>The outer level, bring together all this information in clear patterns and applies principals. These principals are in effect wisdom. This is the newest area of work in data evolution. An example of this principled approach to data is this example. “A car has a flat tire and it will not start”. Data, information and knowledge tell us to repair the flat tire, however wisdom tells us to get the car started first. Without the car starting the tire conditions have no bearing on movement. I find both in society and technology we spend too much energy on the flat tire.</p> <p>The more connected and the deeper our understanding the easier it is for us to reach the wisdom level.</p> </div><div><br /></div>Making !T Workhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887821446430020921noreply@blogger.com0