Technical Advise Week #22 - Resolution?!

As we sit on the edge of yet another year it serves us to reflect on 2007 and set about to set resolutions for 2008. 2007 was a really crazy year with lots and lots of new adventures, pursuits and the journey into the unknown corners of technology. We are sure that some of you are wondering where is the technical content (hint... look into the manuals and don't wait for us to read that bedtime story to you, haha!). Technical content is in the eye of the beholder and for most it's not enough to know a particular technology but rather it's an opportunity to ponder directions and avenues. Why would anyone wish to taken on a technology that is slated for the graveyard? Rather, we hope that our weekly rants serve to stimulate you to take an interest, blaze a trail, and to walk boldly forward. Heaven knows one would be the first to accept this advise, if they knew that success was just around the corner. On the other hand, many would prefer to hide their reluctance behind words of disbelief and ridicule for those who poke and prod them forward. Our joint resolution, for Max & I, is to never stop exploring and challenging the edges of the technology spectrum. Whether it's new found aspects of ERP or whether it's building an industry such as what we are doing with maturing the outsource supplier in far away places, we will continue to do this again and again. Humans have been quick to point out that a dog is man's best friend, and that a dog never forgets. We hold this as true from first hand account and for these reason we are fiecely loyal to our readership, to our parents and to the technology we love. So blow the horn, toast another year past and look forward to the future, not as a follower but as a leader. From Mabel & Max Happy New Year 2008! We look forward to stimulating your mind and your interests.

Technical Advise Week #20/21 - We Did It Again!

Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings!

I guess we did it again and missed our regular weekly commitment. It's really hard to type using small hands and short fingers, but we do our best.

Dad just returned from another successful trip to China. This time he was in Beijing for a series of lectures and meetings with leading outsourcing companies. Later he traveled to Yantai to conduct a series of meetings with leading government officials, including the Deputy Mayor and the Director of the Information Systems Bureau. He even showed up on China/Yantai TV (http://a.jiaodong.net/av/tv/play.asp?contentid=31810). We hope you can see it and we hope that it's not time sensitive. The video is in Chinese but you will get to see Dad with the Deputy Mayor and other officials and also the work location at HighYai Software.

We wish to discuss a little bit about perspectives. Many of the articles and studies conducted on outsourcing are from the domestic perspective. Very few describe or provide insight into the views from the service provider standpoint. One must constantly assess how we can bring together these ventures rather than fire vollies at each other, and then complain about the results. We have read books that promote the concept of the world is flat, but what they don't talk about is that the world isn't what is defined by us, but what is defined by specific cultures. Learning and appreciating other cultures, and doing so with respect is the first step toward bridging the gap.

To close we wish you all peace, here and with our global friends.

Technical Advise Week #18/19 - Did We Miss One?

In the Agile paradigm the group is empowered to keep the project on track and to compensate for misgiving that occur. Given this condition, we would have expected that someone would have come forward to remind us that we had skipped a week. We got SILENCE... what does this mean? Is it that we have no readership, was it the holiday season, or was it something else? Max & my response is to provide guidance in what we can control therefore; 1. we have provided ourselves with a To Do list reminder, 2. we ask that you remind us if we are remiss, and 3. if we know that there is a condition (like a holiday) that will be occuring we will take proactive measures to address the issue before it arises. We wanted to bring this up because there are many lessons to be learned from this, all of which are project applicable.

Here is the lessons;

1. Group empowerment is important and a step towards responsibility & accountability,
2. If you are expecting something to happen take proactive measures to address it,
3. Don't rely on others, but don't be afraid to ask for help if it involves them, and
4. Remember that you can only control those things that are within your span of control. Others are accountable for self-control.

Next week Dad is going to Beijing and Yentai as a part of the International Institute for Outsource Management effort and the formation of the International Outsource Management Research Center (IOMRC). This is a great initiative and is uniquely positioned to mature the outsourcing market from the provider side. Given this it may be possible that we may have a couple of weeks lag, we will see whether Dad can do this remotely for us. Since we will communicate with him via Skype we are sure that he will be kept appraised of domestic matters.

- Mabel & Max

Technical Advise Week #17 - On Top (so they think)

Happy Post-Thanksgiving.... Mabel & I decided to get a jump on things, thus allowing us a bit of a long weekend.

Management is an interesting position. From the roots of being an excellent technician, to the heights of supervisory excellence emerges the manager. We view this rise to fame pretty predictable, but once attained the managers is left to survive without a safety net. Sometime ago we started a service called 'Executive Valet Service'. It was our intent to provide a vehicle where the manager could ask questions, seek council, and even probe sources without the fear of being looked upon as inadequate. We saw that not only were managers without collaborators but were often left to their own demise. Not all that long ago we saw a survey of executives that talked of this, but also lamented the fact that amongst their ranks there was a significant level of fall out. Many would say... "oh, that is to be expected", but the reality is that it is caused by the almost immediate jump from technician to manager. Rules that one would apply to the technical realm are not suitable, or applicable, to in managing a globally reaching enterprise. What is a bit interesting is that Senior Corporate Management holds the IT Executive to a standard that they are often ill equipped to meet. The litany of reasons is large; education, experience, business connections (vs. technical concentration), personality (yes, technicians are often inept in this area), but most important is the imbalance that exists between senior management expectations and IT service capabilities. Overlooked is probably by far the easiest and most effective solution.... Coached Facilitation. The difficulty in picking a Coach who can facilitate is that the person needs to be versed in technology, in business and in coaching. While there are many coaches in each of these areas, they fail to be balanced and intensely knowledgeable.

We wish to leave you with this thought, know that your secret is safe with us... but reach out and take the first step to overcome this shortfall. Don't hide in a daily fear, when it is solvable.
For another week Max & Mabel... Out!

Technical Advise Week #16 - Turkey Trot

On the brink of Thanksgiving it has given us rise to think about priorites and values. Mom & Dad attended two conferences this week and brough back lots of observations about the industry we are in and the things that are most important. Since Mom is not a technical person we seem to value her opinion more than Dad's (since he is after all a techie type, haha). Mom said, that she observed allot of people with very sad expressions on their face. It seemed, at least from casual conversations that two isses prompt this; stress and taking yourself a bit too serious. If, in the final analysis, results is the barometer of whether these traits/deeds are worth the effort... the answer seems to be NO. So how can we become more effective? Here are some ideas...

1. Relax
2. Flexibility
3. Utilize ALL Options
4. Relax
5. Build Capabilities and Knowledge
6. Balance Recreation with Professional Pursuits
7. Relax
8. Look for Similiarities and Assimiliations
9. Practice-Practice-Practice
10. Relax

You notice that we utilize 1, 4, 7 & 10 allot but we also exercise #9 too. We practice what we preach. We might also suggest starting implementing your New Year's Resoolutions early (why not right after Thanksgiving?). No need to put things off.

We plan on taking it easy (maybe easier) this week. Friends from North Carolina will be sharing Thanksgiving with us. Both Max & I are looking forward to having Bubba visit us. Bubba is even smaller than us but he we have taught him to enjoy and not to stress. It was amazing to see him enjoy letting go of these old habits and to let his inner-self shine through. We hope that you will do the same and get the full benefit of these blessings.

Our wishes to all and have a very Happy Thanksgiving. Share your joys with others!

Technical Advise Week #15 - In Search of Excellence

Hi all and sorry for the latest of our post. We have been pre-occupied with loads of work and simply didn't realize that time passed us by so quickly.

Over the last several months we have been buried with inquiries from foreign companies asking about certifications and qualifications. When asked why they have such an interest almost all respond by saying that it's the key to getting business. Yet, when we talk with companies here in the U.S. almost all consider them to be but only one of the many factors that will determine whether a contact is awarded or not. Ever since dad entered consulting (before Max & I were born) he has conducted assessments of foreign companies, some dealing with capability (before both CMM & CMMi), others dealing with testing (V&VMMx, TPI) and even corporate viability. He decided more than a year ago to package his assessments into commercial products that could be offered in an affordable and straight forward fashion. Since Max & I are here we provide ongoing support for these endeavors and are now responsible for keeping these current. The GSC (Global Star Certification) is a viability model, it measures how capable a company is of remaining in business (viable). We view the GSC as a augmentation to CMMi and not in competition with. It makes little sense that if a company isn't viable that their capability is of little consequence. Likewise, a incapable company is of little value if it is viable. So we think of these as being hand-in-hand elements. A key difference however is that GSC was specifically developed to assess viability amongst outsources. This means that criteria, including fiscal ratios, have been customized to fit a global community with vary norms of goodness. So, when you look for goodness in a supplier, OR if you are a supplier (outsourcer) looking to get a competitive advantage in the market place look to GSC as a starting point and one that offers high value.

Till next week.... we bid you peace! Mabel & Max

Technical Advise Week #14 - Life on the 'WILD' Side

Welcome to our old friends and greetings to our new readers. Mabel & I decided that after 14 weeks we needed to show a little bit of our pug size and give some well wishes. We are immensely appreciative of being given the forum for sharing with you a little bit of us, a little bit of technology and a little bit about the human factor in software engineering. Does it sound like a farewell speech, don't be confused or mislead.... we are far from giving up this jewel of an opportunity.

Recently we were asked about the topic, "The World is Flat". We read both accounts by Rob Preston from InfoWeek as well as lot of opinions generated by the Peanut Gallery. What did we conclude? We concluded that there are allot of opinions, some are founded, some are not, few are conclusive or decisive, and everyone is impassioned. Some with the position of throwing a controversial topic out on the table, while others are impassioned through self-preservation. The world IS flat in many ways; communications (although we could do much better in the human dimension of using some face-to-face tempering the electronic form that is far to convenient to use), travel (now if we could only do something about travel comfort for all.... yes Mabel, no more traveling in the belly of an aircraft!), cultural awareness (we still need to work on learning that other cultures need to be respected, and that as guests that we need to be respectful), and the act of kindness (refer back to Week #12 'Pass It On'). It's okay to disagree and to share, but we only ask for one thing... take this privilege and be responsible in your use of the privilege.

Another week and we are ready to retire for the day. We look forward and encourage your emails. If you are lucky enough... we might even share your pearls of wisdom with others (and we will do so responsibly).

Technical Advise Week #13 - Peanut Gallery

We are constantly tempted to tell you about us and the things we do, on a personal basis. Unfortunately, we get the occasional email that complains about us sharing personal stuff and how it was expected a more technical level of content. Even technical details carry with it the personality of the author. In fact, if you look at certain pieces of 'technical' materials you will find cleverly hidden pieces of personality, pieces that reflect both self and business promotion. Some of these personalities are canonized and viewed as new wave profits, who some might view as "Johnny Come Lately's".

In order to appropriately correct Max & I (you notice that we are grammatically correct as well) decided to talk about waterfall artifacts and how they can be useful in the agile paradigm. Those of you that have studied, and not practice agile methods (XP, Scrum, Crystal, Lean...) know that we value delivery over documentation. However, there are those occasions when there are artifacts that are required. This can be as a result of contractual obligations, regulatory mandate, and compliance requirements. Even though we might question their relative usefulness we need to comply with necessity. As we thought about and pondered the question it came to use that Agile has a value that it can provide in this area. Since the artifact is required it goes through the same story carding/story boarding process that feature requirements goes through. Therefore,

1. The artifact requirements must be captured (story card)
2. The story card needs to be prioritized by the BPO
3. The story card needs to be estimated
4. Realign priorities based on knowledge gained in #2 & #3
5. Assign to a iteration or sprint
6. Perform & Deliver work

What is really interesting is that the estimate, and ultimately the actual work effort are not correlated to the project overhead as a direct result of mandates. If one was to take this to the next level we would then be able to measure not only the cost of mandates but also the value from them as well. This provides a strong motivator for process/artifact reduction as well as a renewal in use where maybe things have been left to slide for a period of time. So... in conclusion, Agile once again helps to provide clarity to process where we may have simply provided and delivered where the necessity was not put into question.

In closing, here's your technical content for today... for those who criticized our 'personal' side. For those who love our personal side... Dad's home and we are going to go for a ride and see things outside! Yippee!!!! Have a great and productive week, Max & Mabel signing out!

Technical Advise Week #12 - Pass It On

Well Max & I are back online this week. Dad did a wonderful job holding down the fort while we got some much needed rest. Now it's his turn to take it a bit easy and get his batteries recharged.

Over the last several years we have seen remarkable change in the Information Technology (IT) sector. What was once a process of iterative process improvement has given way to a totally new and disconnected new paradigm. One thing that is most noteworthy is the consideration for the human dimension. Processes are not longer held out there as reverent Gods, rather we are placing more emphasis on people and group dynamics. The combination, while opening up the possibility of inconsistencies, has proven capable of getting the job done. Inconsistencies are not longer considered evil but rather an opportunity to expand ones view of things, an educational experience. We now see books, in the IT context, that are growing the individual, providing personal empowerment, and finding ways to manage difficult people centric problems. With that said, we got thinking about something that Dad has started doing recently. Each day he takes $1 and writes on the bill (which is probably a violation of at least a half dozen federal laws) 'Have a Wonderful Day'. He is observant to people and how they carryout out their daily affairs. Sometimes it's a person who is not appreciated for services, or it may be a person do has done something special that has effect on the community. He gives them the token dollar and provides these simple instructions...

"Do with this as you may, buy something or pass it along to someone who is special"

No further instructions or requirements are given, in keeping with his 'keep it simple' philosophy. It is somewhat like 'Pay it Forward' or as another person was doing giving out $2 bills for positive attitudes. The money isn't the issue, it's what it symbolizes and how it makes one feel on both sides.

While the new paradigms talk about velocity in terms of work accomplishment, one cannot overlook the velocity that we see in people's attitudes and work ethic. The excitement is contagious. So... maybe you too would like to make a difference. Wouldn't it be great to see dollars showing up on a regular basis with the simple inscription.... "Have a Wonderful Day!".

Technical Advise Week #11 - Outsource Intervention

Well before starting WWIII I thought I should intervene between the two technical experts. Looking over their commentaries (ramblings) for the last few weeks I reached a conclusion that I needed to step in. I believe that I have the authority to do this and if I don't please accept my heartfelt apology (and I am sure that I will pay dearly from the two experts as well).

I thought it might be appropriate to talk about outsourcing since it is a fact of life and no longer viewed as an emerging solution. The International Institute for Outsource Management (IIOM http://www.int-iom.org/) in proud to be a supporter for the Frost and Sullivan's Global Sourcing Conference to be held in Orlando December 2-5. Readers who are interested in attending should contact us at info@int-iom.org for a $250 electronic discount.

In the October 8th edition of informationweek.com the focus was on the U.S. Tech Talent pool shortage. Now before you starting getting out your weapons, they weren't talking about current resources but the pipeline of talent coming into this domain area. In a survey conducted by the Society for Information Management and carried out amongst 130 CIOs and Senior IT Executives the following concerns were expressed.

• 51% Attract, develop & retain IT Professionals (thus the push to outsource)


• 42% Align IT & Business (guess we need to do that onshore before going outsource)


• 40% Build Business Skills (again we have to do that internally and also treat IT as a business, not as a service.... not sure if that shoots SOA in the foot or not, maybe a topic that the expert advisors can take up later... that is if they wake up from getting their intellectural power rest)


• 29% Reduce the cost of doing business (outsourcing)


• 28% Improve Quality (we need to do this inhouse before we expect it elsewhere. Bottomline... it's everyone's responsibility per Deming, Juran, Crosby and others)

The rest of the survey showed concerns for security, managing change (refer to Agile notes earlier in this blog), IT Strategic Planning, Better Use of Information, and the Evolving CIO role (which sound a whole lot like the same lament we heard when them when they were managers and we still here today from managers). My two cents on the last part, evolving is a fact of life and not something unique to the role. Our role should in fact be hitched to and encourage change when it makes sense in all of these other areas. Guess I had better stop before I go off on another tangent and yes I guess I had better stop now as the Technical Advisors are now complaining that I'm taking up their space. I suspect the rest did them so much good that they are chomping at the bit to added some commentary.

Technical Advise Week #10 - Hogging the Limelight

Hi, this is Max. I thought it was about time that Mabel took a rest and allowed me to share with you some of my wisdom and energy. As you must have figured by now, I'm know for my enthusiasm, vigor and nimbleness. For this reason I decided to share with you my observations about Agility. Yes, like me Agility share the same vibrant flexibility that allows us to morph to new and interesting challenges. Rather than being hamstrung by methodology frameworks that are unable to have sufficient detail to be universally used or accurately applied, we rely on each other (I think they call it group dynamics) to power through the most difficult tasks. One might think that groups would be more apt to get mired in debate but it's just the opposite. The rapid turnaround (rxP - 2 to 3 weeks, scrum 4 to 6 weeks and crystal 6 to 8 weeks) forces us to get on with business and deliver. Because the training is leaving the station everyone who is anyone is compelled to be intimately involved. The exact opposite held true in early methodologies, and often it was the result of confusion, abstraction, and lengthy gaps between engagement periods.

I asked dad the other day whether development had always been this way. He responded that the success or failure of projects has always hinged upon the people. The methods and the artifacts just happened to be ancillary to all of the fundamental reason for application failure. When I was much younger I came across a book that dad wrote entitled "High Impact Inspections" circa 1994. In that book I was amazed to find a number of similarities to Agile development methods. Although it took him a long time to make the adjustment, he is now firmly on board. I attribute this in large part to his understanding of both legacy methods and evolutionary engineering.

This is Max, signing out, upward and onward! (Mabel says Hi!)

Technical Advise Week #9 - Focused Intensity

Hi! As we lay on the bed contemplating the day and enjoying a bit of mindless entertainment in the form of Buba the Elephant we started to think about our topic for the week. I must admit that Max wasn't concentrating too hard as he was reveling in Dad's late night arrival. Then all of a suddenly it come to me.... focus, attention, intense, and study. It was then that I realized that although my mind was in several places that my visual focuses was acutely attuned to several things around me. I then started to think of ways that I could experiment with all of this. So I told Max to do various distracting things in totally a random fashion. We all know that this wasn't a hard job for him. As the rush of random experiences bombarded me I started to make a note of what things influenced by focus. It wasn't the distraction or the antics, but rather it was the forces caused by audio variances. Whether low and subdued, or loud and crazy it had virtually the same effect on my ability to be acutely aware of a number of things going on around me. These ranged from the actual act of watch/observing, to those surrounding events that were perceivable in a attentive way.

We realize that the world is one big source of information. In our quest for answers, the answers may actually be right in front of us, but the distractions (noise) numb our ability to pick up on these things. Projects require allot of things to occur and yet failures, despite pragmatic process, involve the act of focused intensity in order to reduce occurrence likelihood. So... listen beyond the noise of events and revel in what you become keenly aware to.

Technical Advise Week #8- Parametric polymorphism

Don't you think that this is a big mouthful to come from such small mouths? Aside from large words having big meaning we have also seen the continued influx of abbreviations hitting our desk as of late. Many coming from emerging processes that profess the virtues of simplicity, minimization, and purity. On one hand the theme and on the other hand the truth. BTW... Parametric Polymorphism is code with connection to type but allowed to operate transparently with a large variety of types. Max just giggled and said that it's somewhat like being neutered... still have the life without the impact on other!

Dad told us about an interesting trip back home and how he and some colleagues discussed memory content manipulation, long passed technologies, compressed programming and lots and lots of stuff that frankly is a bit beyond what we can fully understand. He made it pretty simple, there was a time when everything you did had to be conservative, and the relationship was intimate with the hardware and software components. Today, these things are reserved for real-time processes and embedded applications. Everyone else is simply satisfied to know enough to work with the software and not probe to get inside what it is doing. From our little corner of the world.... we have found that a wealth of surprises and interesting things hide within. So unless anyone else gives a hoot, we are quite happy to enjoy these gems for ourselves.

Technical Advise Week #7 - In Search of the Holy Grail (Details)

A constant cry from the world of technology is for details. Details, details, details. What people are really looking for is specific, explicit and exact answers. One would probably say, "is that asking too much"? Neither Max or I think so, but what we are most disturbed about is that isn't what they are really asking for. What they are asking for is for someone to do the work for them. We have even seen cases where they purposefully hide behind 'the details' as a way of saying we don't know exactly what we want, we haven't heard an answer that rings right enough for us to proceed, and ultimately we don't know what we want/need/or whether we have already got it. All too often this level of craziness is the direct result of excess complexity and trying to do too much at one time. We like to think of this as giving someone the cookbook and having them throw the choices back in our face and say that nothing that was prepared tastes good. Each and everyone has an obligation to do their part by first of all establishing what they wish to do, or what they need in order to proceed to the next step. Secondly, the authority (aka SME) is obligated to synchronize this understanding and to provide input, sometimes in a fashion that will foster further dialog, leading to a series of answers of mutual agreement. There are those occasions when 'we' never have seen eye-to-eye. Often it's not for a lack of interest on our part, but because a lack of skepticism on the part of the requester. One must reconcile or at least reach a point of neutrality before engaging in the pursuit. Otherwise wasteful energy is spent trying to convince rather than to solve. For us... we remain intense upon service but we can only do half the lifting (even with our little strong paws), the rest has to be up to the requester (and they have much bigger paws).

Technical Advise Week #6 - Label

Hi, this is Max... and now it's my turn to give my two kibbles and one bit of advise. Mabel is such a fashion Pug (I would have said hound but she would have been upset with my labeling of her as such). Everything she buys, and in some sense everything she does professionally involves a label. Whether it's food, a new collar, or even a piece of consulting advise she seeks out and buys the 'big name' label. Recently we had a massive debate over whether the 'big name' bought anything of value. It is her contention that with name comes credibility, and although you pay more, you get the added comfort knowing that there is a chance that the results will live up to the expectations. As I pointed out, she has had on more than one occasion, the unfortunate experience of paying a high price with expectations and not having them fulfilled. Sure, in the long run she got satisfaction but what she isn't seeing is the time and effort that she is expending to make the wrong right. I probably would be stupid enough to point this out at some point, but I am half anticipating that she will say the same could hold true for more mainstream offerings, and when this happens the ratio of cost to remediation effort will be higher. For that reason, I will be a nice little pug and keep my black furry lips tightly closed. The only point that I can share with you that 'buying safe' isn't really safe, and that this narrow approach comes with a narrowing of options and opportunities. On the same hand, buying cheap isn't the way to go either. As I remember dad saying on more than one occasion, "too much of anything is not good". Since we as a family (and as professional technologists) delivery quality services, we have in many cases served the label companies in training their employees, setting the tone in the industry, and constantly pursuing improvements to the things we do. Label or not, we may face opportunities that we are not going win (and possibly don't have the bandwidth to support), but there will be those opportunities where we will win and be successful on behalf of our customers. Until next week... I bid you peace! - Max (and Mabel)

Technical Advise Week #5 - Survival Guide

Our mentor and friend (Dad) came home last evening. He seemed a bit down and we asked why. It seems as though the client he was visiting exercised a layoff. Since we have never known anything other self-employment we could imagine what it must have been like for those people. Anytime we wanted more security or Kibbles in our bowl we simply went out and either developed a new product or sold more of what we had in our stable of products. We suggested that we take a dip in the pool to relax and to think about the situation (in somewhat of a consulting like fashion). It was too awfully long before we realized that it's a matter of domain control. Regardless of a person's position you have limited control over things. Often those things that can be controlled aren't and those things that can't be controlled consume an extensive amount of your attention. We aren't suggesting that you ignore your employment (which you can't control) but rather suggest that you involve contingency planning as a part of your employment habit. In a healthy sense, an employee shouldn't just be doing the job that they are assigned but should also be looking at ways of building intellectually wealth. Early in ones career this wealth building involves skill and intellect based strengthening. Late in ones career this foundation points are converted into specialized skill development. One might ask, how can this possibly help to shield me from the effects of right-sizing, layoffs, down-sizing or whatever you wish to call it? Actually the latter step has significant personal benefit potential. Going beyond simple understanding to specialized ownership will involve personal innovation and branding/trademarking. This is where the faceless concept is personalized by you. Many of you have done this, albeit in somewhat of a casual hidden fashion. Others have gone on to bring this front-and-center in your life through whitepapers, conference presentations, and even side business ventures. We believe that this is not only of significant importance to insulating yourself from layoffs but also contributes to increased networking, knowledge building, and affords wonderful personal satisfaction. Does this require effort? Absolutely! Do you feel that you need to do it? Probably so, because most professionals will experience at least one downsizing event during the course of their career (for Max & I this will have to happen in a small timeframe since our lives are 10-1/2 to 1 what a human's life is). However, we are hedging our bets by a) knowing that what we can control we are, b) building special technical abilities that we can convert to use should we ever face a downsizing, and c) since we are consultants we are in control of our own work. We Labor Day around the corner Max & I have decided to take a little nap and to get some much needed rest.

Technical Advise Week #4 - How Agile?

Some might say that I'm Agile & Lean (yes this is Max talking) while my sister (Mabel) is more traditional. Yet as I mature my stealth framework is starting to take on a more commonly thought of profile. In the systems world many of the sins of traditional methods, and their associated artificats, have been tweeked in order to deliver results. Agile methods take a similiar approach except the number one concern is delivery. These small incremental steps help to build confidence amongst the team and those that have an ownership interest in the final result. Thinning requires surgical precision, and a steady expert approach and this isn't always easy in those method based development companies. Dad was a perfect example that transitioning to a the Agile framework took time. His approach involve him looking at all of the various methods that he had worked with and understood, taking those elements and comparing them against the Agile paradigm, determining what the differences meant, what possible impact they had (whether they were sound and practical), and finally seeing if remedial measures had previously been exercised on those traditional methods in order to reach a similiar Agile conclusion. Once he had fully understood this, he hit his stride of understanding and endorsement of the methods. What is scary to Mabel and myself is that now he is off on a mission to convert some of those traditional aspects to an Agile framework (for example test estimation and overall project analytics). We are confident that he will be again successful in providing a solution set that will benefit the industry as a whole. How could he not succeed, look at who he is working with. Until next week, signing off as always... Max & Mabel, Sr. Technical Advisors.

Technical Advise Week #3 - Lies & Cheats

Dad must have raised us well because he holds a low tolerance for liers and cheats. According to him, people who aren't honest with others often aren't truthful to themselves. Allot of truth telling has to do with self confidence, tempered with proper upbring and using good judgement. Take Max (Max says.... "Thanks allot Mabel!") as an example, he doesn't have a lieing bone in his body, yet he isn't the most fearless beast in the woods, in fact he is sometimes downright timid. Yet he is honest because he has self-confidenced, proper care and for the most part exercises good judgement. When he goes astray on judgement that is when I step in (say Mabel). On the other hand, I am self confident, even tempered and exercise empecible judgement. I have no reason to lie because it I know that I am the 'queen bee', Dad even told me so this past week. The reason why we chose to write about this topic, vs. something to do with SOA, or outsourcing, or web technologies is because none of those things matter if you don't have your pride and integrity. Dad was lamenting the other day when he got a conference brochure and saw one of the people's profile that described them as being the first (he has known this person personnaly for over 20 years!!!). Maybe they thought enough time had passed, and enough people had left the profession, to sneak in what they might refer to as a 'little white lie" (I didn't know that lies came in different sizes). On the other hand maybe the risk would give them an edge. Regardless, a lie is a lie is a lie, and the person doing the lieing raises suspicion about themselves, the technologies they promote, the work they do, and the capabilities that they have. In short, one lie = a total loss of integrity (and for an enternity). Max points out that if they lied and others fell for it... doesn't that make them lazy liers too and you know, he might actually be on to something. Unfortunately people will be drawn to the laziness and ignore/overlook the lies.

Well that's it for this week. Dad got home yesterday afternoon after a long red-eye flight from Seattle that was detoured to Salt Lake city because of a cardiac episode on board. Next week we p dad's travels are less interrupted by these sorts of things. It looks pretty busy for him going to Birmingham, AL and Boston, MA. We will let you know how things transpire.

Wishing you the best,,

- Mabel & Max

Technical Advise Week #2 - Exercising Unconditional Love

Hi this is Mabel & Max, welcome back. While you are enjoying your weekend we are hard at work delivering you a bit of sage advise to think about. We have been reading recently about the lack of recognition and access to the top posts by CIO/CTOs. At first, we thought that maybe there might be just something to the lament, until we started to look at how some CIOs & CTOs came into power. Many started like us all, at the very bottom of the technology food chain. With each successive accomplishment, we got promoted to a more responsible position. Eventually, if we spent enough time in place we became the head of technology. While it is unfair to over characterize the people and the position, it is fair to say that some of the traits have not necessarily been acquired through formal channels. Heavens, we would be simply happied if some of what is practiced actually came from published materials. In short, allot of the skills and behavior has been acquired from deep inside the personalities of the individuals. Not all of these are good, and sometimes the CIO/CTO prefers to continue an intense involvement in technology (safe zone with suspect), rather than opt for people or visionary issues. We have also notice that there has been one aspect that has been a commonality that the CIO/CTO has shared with the CEO. Once they are ousted from their positions they often show up in a similiar role in another important organization. One would think that if it doesn't work at one place, then maybe there is a likelihood that it might occur again. I'm sure all of you have heard the definition of insanity, "doing something again and expecting a different outcome". We are all for forgiveness, but really... do you wish to give way to optimism when so much is at stake?

Both Max and I are really big into unconditional love. We ask absolutely nothing of Mom & Dad, in fact it nice to see kindness be given to us without having to ask or expected to give something in return. We see allot of conditional love in technology. Like the CIO/CTO, they expect that this is a right of passage that they might be given a chance at the CEO/Chairman's post. At the sametime consultants expected conditional love through their "community" of common thinkers. Dad remains in contact with some of the leaders in the maturing of the software engineering discipline; Beizer, Miller, Hetzel, Quentin, Graham, Pope... to name a few. They share lively conversations but at the same time it's not with motive, it's out of love for the cranial (... this is Mabel, I listen as an advisor to this group too because I'm cranial) experience and not as a source for building business. In fact, all of these have done quite nicely, not of what they expect but for what they deliver (and continue to deliver).

As technologies pursue your dreams with unconditional expectations, this will release you from the things that bind your creativity and your capabilities. Enjoy the company of colleagues, not for what you can get out of the relationship or in terms of new business, but for the joy of expanding knowledge and capabilities. Max and I feel that we have to do this because our future is dependent upon capability, not based upon expectation of favors.

Until next week we bid you well.

Maiden Voyage - Technical Advise Week #1

Mabel's Tech Advise for the Week:
"Have meaning and purpose and don't allow complacy to rule"

Hi I'm Mabel (Fawn Colored Beauty). Dad says that "I'm Cranial" because I study things, whether it be the TV or human behavior. I get great joy from acting out of the ordinary. Take for example Cows & Horses (not to be confused with the Agile Pig & Chicken parody). On a good day I don't usually give much care to cows as they go about their business being productive. Horses on the other hand really aren't much good for anything, with the exception of entertainment for humans. There was a time when they had a purpose but as with many things in life matters changed and their purpose was severely deminished. The lack of meaningful purpose seems absurd to me (why would they allow themselves to become obsolete?). There seems to be allot of similiarities to software, and even American free enterprise. Not only has the importance been allowed to slip by but now we face a meaningless existance.

Max's Tech Advise for the Week:
"Commitment, Dedication and Search of Excellence is for You Alone"

Hi I'm Max (Black Stealth Manly Beast!). My sole purpose in life is to please and I especially enjoy making Dad happy. Each time he comes home from making a living for us and putting food in my dish, I meet him with a prized possession. No matter how late, he smiles and gives me a pat of approval. Mabel would probably say that I'm like that horse she is now lamenting about. But I do have purpose, I am goal oriented and focused. Not every beast retains focused and builds a base of dependability. Consistency is my game and reliability is my fame! Technologists love talking the talk but when it comes to walking the walk... well even I shine above the consistent and reliable commitment that is necessary for producing world class systems/software solutions.

Notes of Introduction

Hi, we are Mabel and Max, Sr. Technical Advisors at Certellus Corporation. One might ask how two pugs could possibly offer real advise. Well it's like this, how have you felt about the advise that you have been receiving from your colleagues? Get our point?

Each week we will offer you a piece of sage advise to clear your mind and to open up new possiblities. The Chairman of Certellus Corporation [and our father] calls upon us on a regular basis to lend our opinion. While we don't always get our way, at least we are consulted, and that is what really counts.

So.... look forward to hearing from us in upcoming entries to our Blog.

- Mabel & Max

Making Hard Transitions

No matter whether you are young or old, transitioning is difficult. Moving from comfort zone to unfamiliar surroundings can be gut wrenching, frustrating and brings out personal virtues that may be viewed by some as humiliating. Looking back across my career, and many years of technology change, process introductions, I sometime bawk at things new. It really doesn't matter whether it is well endorsed, supported, promoted and the lips of everyone involved with technology... it still is something that I must absorb. My process involves understanding the roots of the technology, how it is different from what we do today. All the time, I'm thinking about how to transition from one paradigm to another. I found myself this as we moved through and around waterfall, v-model, rational unified processes, rapid application development, joint application design, and now Agile. At last I am there, some might view this as obstance, but others might have characterized this as an age related disorder. The reason why someone young is less apt to take this approach is they have little in their history and techical repository to replace something new with. The good news is that once my process has gone full circle, I am either going to solidly embrace or reject the science. In those cases where rejection has occurred it has been because a flaw(s) have been encountered in the technology. When it's been embraced, it isn't just because it's solid but also because I can help provide an answer to transition clients and friends. Transitioning is an important part of maturity and vital in full understanding of new solutions to lingering problems. I fell in love with Agile technologies in the latter part of 2006, but it took me a much longer time to fully understand the transitioning, the virtues and how to get the big bang from the framework. So although I might be viewed as a late arrival, my depth of understanding and transitioning knowledge now provides me what I need in order to be effective. For this reason, let the late arrival be a solid one, viva Agile!

Lost and Misdirected

It is nice to see and hear what others are doing. This provides a wonderful sound check for realigning ones view on matters. If you have ever traveled on a regular basis you know how disoriented one becomes when outside of your native surroundings. What comes to mind is how some truly wonderful innovations fail to gain traction, and are often discounted because they lack the tenants of fundamental application. Yet in the same breath there are companies who rapidly embrace something, not because of proof but because of who is promoting. To make matters worse that are those who implement things with blind conviction. On more than one occassion I have had the unpleasant experience of having to turn a client around and suggest that they might wish to return from where they came (because things simply weren't that bad and to continue on their present path had the potential of resulting in failure). With the recent events in Minneapolis (bridge collapse - August 1st, 2007) I can't help but wonder if some where, some how, someone, was trying to better something rather than leave matters along. Once we hear what caused the catastrophy we will be coming back to this topic in the blog. In the meantime, make frequent stops, adjust your orientation, and try hard to remember why you are taking the journey that you are on!

Innovation Doesn't Mix with Safety

How many times do you ask for innovation and then ask for reference sources? Doesn't it seem like a bit of a conflict? Most innovations come out of established paradigms, some that work and others that have yet to work. What scares most consumers is whether the innovation has been proven. Therefore 'proving' cannot be substantiated by reference, rather it is confirmed through implementation.

This paradox reminds us of those post-college interviews when the perspective employer asked about experience (knowing full well that the last several years involved institutional learning). Somewhere along the lines an employer took a chance, possibly a calculated risk, and chose us to gain experience. 9 times out of 10 the risk they were concerned over had little to do with the experience, and had everything to do with the personality traits of the individual. Alot also rested with the perspective employer to provide suitable career conditions to retain the person.

Likewise companies looking to solve really big problems need to look beyond the safety zone. Solutions are seldom cookie cutter and often require extensive analysis, dialog, and proving in order to make things fit. Any organization that says they have a perfect/ideal solution set are looking to use you as the experiment. Innovation companies have taken working, durable models, recast them in such a way as to offer a new solution to new problems, and afford a moderate degree of alternation to make it fit culturally.

Our most recent innovation, based on several projects, and extensively using various pieces of the final product, is Reductive Software Engineering (RSE). RSE utilized a number of time-proven technologies including reverse engineering, software reuse, change management processes, artifact control, historical profiling, etc. and assembled them into a coherent model to address a specific concern... "Application Bloat". Behind the solution, and behind the problem, rests a business reason... less is better in terms of time and cost control containment. In it's first week after introduction we have had a few inquiries, most asking... have you done this before? The answer is 'Yes' (in two cases), but each of these piece parts of the method have been done in excess of 20 times each. So is it safe innovation, enought to pursue the service? Or is it scary enough to live with excessive support costs, maintenance effort, and deminished change reliability?

In a recent Forrest Report (July 29, 2007) it was reported that corporate management still viewed IT as an overhead function and not as a mainstream function. Personal aspirations will not get a CIO/CTO to the level of CEO unless innovation is pursued. This isn't just about selling IT as a service (or as a SOA which is the latest buzz acronym) it's about accepting innovation as a solution. If you look at how your organization has respond to needs, it is often in the safe zone. Yet we look at overall IT performance and it is less than stellar, in fact most of the writings are about failures in IT, so what is that telling you?

Innovation can be employed safely when treated as an implementation experiment. You don't gamble the farm when you might start out with mortgaging the farm equipment. Small steps can go a long way but a company must be willing to walk outside the cone of comfort!

The Buried World of Technology

Welcome to our Blog and to what we hope will be an eye opening experience. Each day companies stuggle with numerous challenges that range from operational pressures to technological implementation. It has been amazing to us, that when these individuals are put before us how sheltered they are from the numerous options that are available in their discipline. Why is this?

The purpose of this Blog is to uncover some of the reasons why good, and sometimes world class, technological options go unnoticed. Obviously we have our own biases and beliefs that we will share openly in this forum. Likewise, we want to hear the laments of others and use this as a vehicle for making strides in SOLVING THE PROBLEM.