I love the first Monday after the clocks go back. Especially when, like this morning, the weather is good. It makes me feel like Summer had just arrived, except that the trees are a million shades of amber and gold.
Such a beautiful morning.
Of course, by mid-afternoon, the crystal blue sky had changed to a patchy dull grey, and on the way home it started to drizzle. Which reflected my mood.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Cost cutting folly.
As in most enterprises, people are the most critical element in any IT project. In projects involving highly-skilled tasks, like IT, it is arguably even more important to get the right people.
People also usually form the entire basis of the costs of a typical IT project - capital expenditure aside. It stands to reason, therefore, that there is a direct relationship between the cost of doing business (the number and quality of the people you employ) and the capability to deliver. When a company wants to cut costs, people are usually the first to go. This, of course, reduces a companies capacity to maintain its service, or deliver new products.
If this all sounds like common sense, it is. At least to most of us.
Royal Mail, however, apparently ignored this simple truth when they cut 30,000 jobs over the past few years. In this article from The Times, Trade Union Amicus claims that in some areas, it has often fallen to managerial staff to make up the shortfall, delivering the mail themselves.
What this does to the workload of managerial tasks is not clear. Who do they get to do their jobs? Or were they under-utilised anyway?
People also usually form the entire basis of the costs of a typical IT project - capital expenditure aside. It stands to reason, therefore, that there is a direct relationship between the cost of doing business (the number and quality of the people you employ) and the capability to deliver. When a company wants to cut costs, people are usually the first to go. This, of course, reduces a companies capacity to maintain its service, or deliver new products.
If this all sounds like common sense, it is. At least to most of us.
Royal Mail, however, apparently ignored this simple truth when they cut 30,000 jobs over the past few years. In this article from The Times, Trade Union Amicus claims that in some areas, it has often fallen to managerial staff to make up the shortfall, delivering the mail themselves.
What this does to the workload of managerial tasks is not clear. Who do they get to do their jobs? Or were they under-utilised anyway?
Hypocricy
I could never be a politician, for so many reasons. For starters I am not a very good liar, I tend to speak my mind more often that would be healthy for a political career, and I abhor hypocrisy.
In the Guardian, is this article in which Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, speaking about the recent American ban on online gambling, said "America should have learnt the lessons of Prohibition". There was a "real danger" she says, that the US laws would create the modern-day equivalent of speakeasies - venues that illegally served alcohol - online.
The fact that a complete legal ban on something simply pushes trade in that substance or practice underground is not new. If there is sufficient demand for something - alcohol, online gambling, cigarettes or sex for money - making it illegal it will not stop people wanting it, nor supplying it. Britain's puritanical legislation on prostitution, for example, has not stopped the trade. Perhaps the Governor of Nevada should have a chat with the FT about the Bunny Ranch.
In the Guardian, is this article in which Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, speaking about the recent American ban on online gambling, said "America should have learnt the lessons of Prohibition". There was a "real danger" she says, that the US laws would create the modern-day equivalent of speakeasies - venues that illegally served alcohol - online.
The fact that a complete legal ban on something simply pushes trade in that substance or practice underground is not new. If there is sufficient demand for something - alcohol, online gambling, cigarettes or sex for money - making it illegal it will not stop people wanting it, nor supplying it. Britain's puritanical legislation on prostitution, for example, has not stopped the trade. Perhaps the Governor of Nevada should have a chat with the FT about the Bunny Ranch.
Flattered
The most pressing task on my to-do list at the moment is to complete a presentation to senior management on the viability of project Condor in terms of time and resource needs, so I am not very busy. And I hate being bored.
But yesterday afternoon, an email from R came round formally announcing his resignation. I responded saying it had been a pleasure working with him (it had) and that I was disappointed that our great working relationship was soon to be over (I was). What I didn't expect was a reply stating that I was "... without a shadow of doubt the best PM / good all-rounder that I have ever worked with...".
Either he needs to get out more or he wants something. Except I can't think what. Honestly, though, I felt absurdly flattered. Professional compliments are always more welcome than personal ones, and it put me in a very good frame of mind before I got on the train to Bayswater.
But yesterday afternoon, an email from R came round formally announcing his resignation. I responded saying it had been a pleasure working with him (it had) and that I was disappointed that our great working relationship was soon to be over (I was). What I didn't expect was a reply stating that I was "... without a shadow of doubt the best PM / good all-rounder that I have ever worked with...".
Either he needs to get out more or he wants something. Except I can't think what. Honestly, though, I felt absurdly flattered. Professional compliments are always more welcome than personal ones, and it put me in a very good frame of mind before I got on the train to Bayswater.
Online Managers Community
The internet was initially viewed as being impersonal, something that would drive people away from each other, limiting social interraction. And yet, dating sites aside, the internet can, on occasion, be a tool to bring people together as well.
A case in point is my meeting last night with Wayne Turmel. Yes, the Cranky Middle Manager himself was in London on business for the last few days, and he and I met up for a pint and an Italian dinner of dubious quality. At least the company made up for it.
Wayne is very entertaining company, and it was great to swap stories with him for a couple of hours on his last night on this side of the pond. Apparently, he has spent quite a bit of his time here meeting up with other people from the international online managers community (most of whom involved with sites I already read regularly) , but I feel honoured to have been given some time in his busy calendar.
Wayne, I hope you had a good flight back home, and I look forward to chatting to you again the next time you are over here (not sure when I will get the chance to be in Chicago).
A case in point is my meeting last night with Wayne Turmel. Yes, the Cranky Middle Manager himself was in London on business for the last few days, and he and I met up for a pint and an Italian dinner of dubious quality. At least the company made up for it.
Wayne is very entertaining company, and it was great to swap stories with him for a couple of hours on his last night on this side of the pond. Apparently, he has spent quite a bit of his time here meeting up with other people from the international online managers community (most of whom involved with sites I already read regularly) , but I feel honoured to have been given some time in his busy calendar.
Wayne, I hope you had a good flight back home, and I look forward to chatting to you again the next time you are over here (not sure when I will get the chance to be in Chicago).
Friday, October 27, 2006
Meeting Wayne
On a Friday which sees my calender refreshingly empty, I am looking forward to the end of the day. Nothing unusual there, then. Ah, but today I am going into town to meet Wayne Turmel, who is in London for a few days. We'll have a couple of beers, and probably discuss podcasts, weasels and what makes middle managers cranky.
And I'm really looking forward to it.
And I'm really looking forward to it.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Feeling guilty
In Monday's post about R's resignation, I neglected to mention that he asked me to keep the information to myself. Well, yesterday I might have accidentally let something slip on the subject to my boss, who, by coincidence, was having lunch with one of the Business managers.
It appears that he told the Business manager, who told his boss - and the rest of their office, and the news reached the ears of the guy in charge of the business-end of the Condor project. He is now very unhappy that R is still in the office, given his knowledge of commercially sensitive information about the project.
I am feeling really guilty about it, but there's not much I can do about it now. I don't see why he should go on 'gardening leave', since he is not going to learn anything new about it between now and the day his notice is up and he leaves for good. On the contrary, he might be able to assist us further.
I hate feeling guilty. I don't screw up often, but when I do, it doesn't feel nice.
It appears that he told the Business manager, who told his boss - and the rest of their office, and the news reached the ears of the guy in charge of the business-end of the Condor project. He is now very unhappy that R is still in the office, given his knowledge of commercially sensitive information about the project.
I am feeling really guilty about it, but there's not much I can do about it now. I don't see why he should go on 'gardening leave', since he is not going to learn anything new about it between now and the day his notice is up and he leaves for good. On the contrary, he might be able to assist us further.
I hate feeling guilty. I don't screw up often, but when I do, it doesn't feel nice.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Congestion charge
The governments chosen strategy for... well anything really, is to charge people for it. Transport is probably the best example. It costs me virtually the same to get a train in to work for a week as it does to drive my car and park it for the same period. So where's the incentive to use public transport? Especially when it would take twice as long to get there.
With an awful lot of people thinking the same way I do, it is hardly any wonder that the road network (especially here in the south-east) is almost at grid-lock during the rush hour. The solution? Yep, you guessed it - charge people.
The latest initiative, soon to be trialled on a stretch of motorway near you, is to charge people for every mile they drive during 'peak' times. The idea is that vehicles would be fitted with an electronic 'tag' (no, of course they won't give them away), which will record data on your whereabouts, speed, etc every second of the day, and work out how much to charge based on your road usage.
People who work on farms, or live close by their places of work will surely not be too bothered by this, but people like me, who have little choice in where they work, and need to travel some distance to get there, will surely feel victimised.
Either I double the time it takes me to get to work, by taking the train (not ideal since my nearest railway station is 3 1/2 miles away), get to work at 6 a.m to avoid the 'congestion charge', or move home. Some choice!
With an awful lot of people thinking the same way I do, it is hardly any wonder that the road network (especially here in the south-east) is almost at grid-lock during the rush hour. The solution? Yep, you guessed it - charge people.
The latest initiative, soon to be trialled on a stretch of motorway near you, is to charge people for every mile they drive during 'peak' times. The idea is that vehicles would be fitted with an electronic 'tag' (no, of course they won't give them away), which will record data on your whereabouts, speed, etc every second of the day, and work out how much to charge based on your road usage.
People who work on farms, or live close by their places of work will surely not be too bothered by this, but people like me, who have little choice in where they work, and need to travel some distance to get there, will surely feel victimised.
Either I double the time it takes me to get to work, by taking the train (not ideal since my nearest railway station is 3 1/2 miles away), get to work at 6 a.m to avoid the 'congestion charge', or move home. Some choice!
Traitor
The secrecy with which the initial investigations into the feasibility of project Condor was conducted has had an unwanted side-effect. Now that we are, of necessity, getting more people involved to get the project formally incepted, we are spending more time re-hashing the same old assumptions, conclusions and ideas as we did a couple of months ago.
Today, for instance, we spent about four and a half hours bringing just four people up to date with the high-level design we had arrived at via 6 weeks of discussion and investigation. Oh well. Whatever gets us to the start line, I suppose.
On a different note, my good friend R, the architect behind the initial idea, the guy who initiated the feasibility study (although I had to expand the scope) in the first place, the guy who has so supported me through the whole exercise, has resigned. Yep, he handed in his notice on Friday. Considering his strategic role in the company, he may just be asked to leave sooner rather than later, too. Leaving me to run with it alone. More or less.
I feel betrayed.
But I wish him all the best in his new venture.
Today, for instance, we spent about four and a half hours bringing just four people up to date with the high-level design we had arrived at via 6 weeks of discussion and investigation. Oh well. Whatever gets us to the start line, I suppose.
On a different note, my good friend R, the architect behind the initial idea, the guy who initiated the feasibility study (although I had to expand the scope) in the first place, the guy who has so supported me through the whole exercise, has resigned. Yep, he handed in his notice on Friday. Considering his strategic role in the company, he may just be asked to leave sooner rather than later, too. Leaving me to run with it alone. More or less.
I feel betrayed.
But I wish him all the best in his new venture.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Surviving Life in the Workplace
I noticed this very humorous piece in the Guardian online the other day, and thought you might enjoy it - top tips for surviving life in the workplace. Now I see why my life is such a mess!
Dilemma
I just looked up that word here and here. Both define the word as primarily a choice between two equally unfavourable options. But I might have to choose between two equally favourable options. Let me explain.
Having had three separate meetings today on the subject of Project Condor, it appears as if it's gathering momentum fast. There is not only a huge desire among senior management for this, but it has now also been given a candidate slot for May 2007 implementation. You heard it here first. The fact that I don't believe we can deliver as early as May remains to be believed among those that count. There is a workshop on Tuesday afternoon to start discussing the candidate projects for the May release, and I am invited to discuss Condor. Excellent.
In the meantime, my name was mentioned by my good friend R, with whom I have been closely working on Condor, to a programme manager who apparently has a piece of work that he a) is finding hard to accurately define, and b) needs someone to pick up and run with. R thought I could help him out.
So on Tuesday, I met with him (let's call him A) to discuss this piece of work. It turns out to be the rollout of a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) across the organisation. The scope has not yet been defined and it has thus far been seen as phase 2 of the SOA adoption project, which delivers the framework, standards and development toolset for a service-oriented architecture.
Now, as we all know, a project has a definite start and end and a clear objective, and therefore cannot be ongoing by definition.
He concluded the meeting by asking about my availability, making it clear that the job was mine if I wanted it.
Hell, yes! You see, it would entail forming a more-or-less permanent team (something I have wanted for years), to become a 'centre of excellence' for web services and service-oriented architecture. It would require more man-management, but a lot less of the administrative cr*p that goes with pure project management. An ideal mix of all the best parts of IT management with very few of the worst parts. Fantastic.
And therein lies the dilemma (or whatever is the choice between two equally favourable options). Do I stick with Condor and deliver the IT components of a new Brand with national exposure (it's like being able to say I managed the project to developed Amazon.com), or do I take on the SOA adoption piece?
I almost certainly cannot do both (although that would be ideal, because of the need to run both pieces of work more or less simultaneously.
Please let me know what you would do and why.
Having had three separate meetings today on the subject of Project Condor, it appears as if it's gathering momentum fast. There is not only a huge desire among senior management for this, but it has now also been given a candidate slot for May 2007 implementation. You heard it here first. The fact that I don't believe we can deliver as early as May remains to be believed among those that count. There is a workshop on Tuesday afternoon to start discussing the candidate projects for the May release, and I am invited to discuss Condor. Excellent.
In the meantime, my name was mentioned by my good friend R, with whom I have been closely working on Condor, to a programme manager who apparently has a piece of work that he a) is finding hard to accurately define, and b) needs someone to pick up and run with. R thought I could help him out.
So on Tuesday, I met with him (let's call him A) to discuss this piece of work. It turns out to be the rollout of a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) across the organisation. The scope has not yet been defined and it has thus far been seen as phase 2 of the SOA adoption project, which delivers the framework, standards and development toolset for a service-oriented architecture.
Now, as we all know, a project has a definite start and end and a clear objective, and therefore cannot be ongoing by definition.
He concluded the meeting by asking about my availability, making it clear that the job was mine if I wanted it.
Hell, yes! You see, it would entail forming a more-or-less permanent team (something I have wanted for years), to become a 'centre of excellence' for web services and service-oriented architecture. It would require more man-management, but a lot less of the administrative cr*p that goes with pure project management. An ideal mix of all the best parts of IT management with very few of the worst parts. Fantastic.
And therein lies the dilemma (or whatever is the choice between two equally favourable options). Do I stick with Condor and deliver the IT components of a new Brand with national exposure (it's like being able to say I managed the project to developed Amazon.com), or do I take on the SOA adoption piece?
I almost certainly cannot do both (although that would be ideal, because of the need to run both pieces of work more or less simultaneously.
Please let me know what you would do and why.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Unlikely
I am still trying to work out how someone got to the figures of 6 million pounds / 6 months to deliver project Condor. The best plan I can come up with has us implementing in October '07, regardless of who does the work. And that assumes that the green light is given next week and work starts on Requirements definition immediately.
It's unlikely to say the least.
More disturbing is that I was left off of the distribution list for the meeting held last week, despite the fact that I have an action. Is that a hint?
I am pulling together a list of the deliverables, and some assumptions, but I am battling to work out how to specify milestones for just a small part of the work. It's unrealistic without seeing them in the broader context of the overall plan. Which I am obviously disputing. I am debating with myself whether I should distribute the entire MS Project plan I have, showing all the relevant high-level tasks, and let everyone pick the bones out of it.
I drove home this afternoon in melancholy mood. I get like this sometimes, but it rarely lasts long.
I'll be more chirpy soon. All should be resolved by Thursday.
It's unlikely to say the least.
More disturbing is that I was left off of the distribution list for the meeting held last week, despite the fact that I have an action. Is that a hint?
I am pulling together a list of the deliverables, and some assumptions, but I am battling to work out how to specify milestones for just a small part of the work. It's unrealistic without seeing them in the broader context of the overall plan. Which I am obviously disputing. I am debating with myself whether I should distribute the entire MS Project plan I have, showing all the relevant high-level tasks, and let everyone pick the bones out of it.
I drove home this afternoon in melancholy mood. I get like this sometimes, but it rarely lasts long.
I'll be more chirpy soon. All should be resolved by Thursday.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Condor too heavy
It's been two weeks since my last post - criminal!
Actually, it's been a little hectic around here with the mother-in-law staying with us. Anyway, I have been back at work for a week, and what a week it has been.
In my absence, the report we wrote (or at least a synopsis thereof) has been sent all the way to the CEO. The reponse has been more or less what we expected - at 12 months work and costing around 8 million pounds, it's too expensive and will take too long.
While I was loafing at home, some additional work was apparently done to determine how much work could be stripped out, in order to make it quicker and cheaper to deliver. The new figures are six months and six million pounds (although that excludes capex). Say what???
I can find no evidence of how six months and around 2 million pounds has been cut from the estimate, and yet no-one seems too uncomfortable that we can deliver to those figures. I am aghast. I went so far as to speak to G, my boss's boss to tell him I don't believe it is achievable.
After an audio conference yesterday, it does appear, though, that in the grandiose halls of The Parent Company (TPC), significant weight is being applied to get this project off the ground. There were even suggestions that, since the basic infrastructure requirements are fairly clear already (albeit undocumented), someone can start work on the Infrastructure design. Without any Business Case having yet been completed! It is seen as a strategic revenue-generator, and looks to be given a very high priority relative to the rest of the portfolio. That in itself is A Good Thing, but I have two major concerns:
I just want a reasonable shot at it.
Actually, it's been a little hectic around here with the mother-in-law staying with us. Anyway, I have been back at work for a week, and what a week it has been.
In my absence, the report we wrote (or at least a synopsis thereof) has been sent all the way to the CEO. The reponse has been more or less what we expected - at 12 months work and costing around 8 million pounds, it's too expensive and will take too long.
While I was loafing at home, some additional work was apparently done to determine how much work could be stripped out, in order to make it quicker and cheaper to deliver. The new figures are six months and six million pounds (although that excludes capex). Say what???
I can find no evidence of how six months and around 2 million pounds has been cut from the estimate, and yet no-one seems too uncomfortable that we can deliver to those figures. I am aghast. I went so far as to speak to G, my boss's boss to tell him I don't believe it is achievable.
After an audio conference yesterday, it does appear, though, that in the grandiose halls of The Parent Company (TPC), significant weight is being applied to get this project off the ground. There were even suggestions that, since the basic infrastructure requirements are fairly clear already (albeit undocumented), someone can start work on the Infrastructure design. Without any Business Case having yet been completed! It is seen as a strategic revenue-generator, and looks to be given a very high priority relative to the rest of the portfolio. That in itself is A Good Thing, but I have two major concerns:
- that TPC insist on doing the majority of the work and with limited budget and time, develop a basic strategic product that doesn't actually meet the original requirements.
- that, even if I am allowed to put together a team to do a large part of the work (after all, it's our Business area that wants this project), I will be held to the 6 months, 6 million pound budget. I just do not think that is achievable without some VERY dodgy accounting - not something I am happy to do.
I just want a reasonable shot at it.
