Techworld "From the corner office"

Seas of opportunity

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:19:00 GMT

As the world economy limps inexorably towards recession, it is with certain inevitably that corporate eyes turn towards cost savings. Invariably this will mean the call to IT to look at reducing “support overheads” by reducing helpdesk heads or infrastructure expenditure.

Seas of opportunity

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 05:19:00 GMT

As the world economy limps inexorably towards recession, it is with certain inevitably that corporate eyes turn towards cost savings. Invariably this will mean the call to IT to look at reducing "support overheads" by reducing helpdesk heads or infrastructure expenditure.

Preaching to the converted

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:49:00 GMT

When I started my career in IT more moons ago than I care to remember I worked in a steel fabrication yard many miles from my parents’ house.

Preaching to the converted

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:49:00 GMT

When I started my career in IT more moons ago than I care to remember I worked in a steel fabrication yard many miles from my parents' house.

To fly or not to fly

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:13:00 GMT

I’m just back from a week in India visiting my dev team. Before I went over, I had the usual worries over flying such a long way. I rightly had concerns with the environmental impact of flying, plus the personal issue of sitting on a flight for 10 hours each way. What was the point of the trip; was I going to get enough benefit for the environmental, personal and financial costs involved.

To fly or not to fly

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 02:13:00 GMT

I'm just back from a week in India visiting my dev team. Before I went over, I had the usual worries over flying such a long way. I rightly had concerns with the environmental impact of flying, plus the personal issue of sitting on a flight for 10 hours each way. What was the point of the trip; was I going to get enough benefit for the environmental, personal and financial costs involved.

Recipe for team happiness

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:42:00 GMT

In my last blog I spoke about the importance of hiring quality people. In much the same way that Michelin-starred chefs expect to work with the best ingredients, if you aspire to run successful projects you want to work with the best staff.

Recipe for team happiness

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 05:42:00 GMT

Panning for interview gold

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:24:00 GMT

Beyond a certain size of project and team there is a point where you, as a manager or director, no longer actually “do” anything. By “do” I mean actively work on actual, quantifiable tasks on a daily basis. We are, of course, highly busy but generally we're busy providing guidance to our staff, to reviewing their work and offering suggestion for improvement, mentoring senior staff and ensuring that the team functions efficiently.

Panning for interview gold

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 08:24:00 GMT

Beyond a certain size of project and team there is a point where you, as a manager or director, no longer actually "do" anything. By "do" I mean actively work on actual, quantifiable tasks on a daily basis. We are, of course, highly busy but generally we're busy providing guidance to our staff, to reviewing their work and offering suggestion for improvement, mentoring senior staff and ensuring that the team functions efficiently.

Testing some flexibility into a project

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:55:00 GMT

It always amazes me how often testing is, if not overlooked then at least barely considered, when planning and costing a project. I’ve been guilty of it in the past, and trust me, I got hurt. And while nothing can repair a badly specified application or getting the user requirements completely wrong, without decent funding for testing of your beloved project you are invariably heading for failure.

Testing some flexibility into a project

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:55:00 GMT

It always amazes me how often testing is, if not overlooked then at least barely considered, when planning and costing a project. I've been guilty of it in the past, and trust me, I got hurt. And while nothing can repair a badly specified application or getting the user requirements completely wrong, without decent funding for testing of your beloved project you are invariably heading for failure.

Back to basics

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:38:00 GMT

I’ve talked previously about taking on a project that’s well underway. Whilst this has presented many challenges, in getting the team together, getting them re-motivated and re-focused, it has also provided me with a fantastic reminder of what is important in large development projects.

Back to basics

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:38:00 GMT

I've talked previously about taking on a project that's well underway. Whilst this has presented many challenges, in getting the team together, getting them re-motivated and re-focused, it has also provided me with a fantastic reminder of what is important in large development projects.

Why assessing programmers is not like rugby

Mon, 07 May 2007 18:45:00 GMT

Cultural differences can be a nightmare and a cliche lovers dream. For example, we all know that the Welsh can play rugby the way it’s meant to be played, wide, expansive and exciting.

Why assessing programmers is not like rugby

Mon, 07 May 2007 06:45:00 GMT

Cultural differences can be a nightmare and a cliche lovers dream. For example, we all know that the Welsh can play rugby the way it's meant to be played, wide, expansive and exciting.

Walking into the fog

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:35:00 GMT

When you take over a multi-million pound project just a few weeks before the first module is due to enter development, you need to be certain what the project is required to do.

Walking into the fog

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:35:00 GMT

When you take over a multi-million pound project just a few weeks before the first module is due to enter development, you need to be certain what the project is required to do.

Redefining the process

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 07:39:00 GMT

In my previous entry I described, briefly, the situation I was faced on transferring across to a new project. I had inherited a project that had undergone a feeble attempt at requirements gathering. All I had to do was somehow cram six months of business analysis into four weeks and convince a rather jittery business that we had, in the face of the evidence, understood perfectly what they needed. When even we weren’t sure we had.

Redefining the process

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 07:39:00 GMT