Simple Project Management

I came across a site that called "Simple Project Management". They have, a good description of project management that closely matches my opinion, which is:

• Agree on what is going to be done (scope)
• Work out how many people, and how long its going to take (Estimate)
• Start doing the work (track progress and report)
• Ensure quality of the work

This is similar to the description offered by simpleprojectmanagement.com (as viewed on 27 November 2010). 

Things to consider when using Cloud for your SOA

WSO2 are about to release the next version of WSO2 Stratos. You can try the cloud version or alternatively download and use it.

Stratos is the natural evolution of the cloud native SOA platform built by WSO2. It allows users (referred to as tenants) tailor their SOA solution without having to worry about the infrastructure details - which Stratos will look after.

I am going to look at two benefits (out of several) of Stratos (and cloud in general)

A. Stratos allows SOA practitioners to quickly build and test their solution.

This is not a feature, but a paradigm shift in creating solutions. No longer do SOA practitioners, and Solutions Designers/Architects need to worry about infrastructure availability to trial and test out their solution. These lead times are now a thing of the past.

Result: shorter cycles, faster sprints, increased capacity to get more done faster

B. Deploying Stratos in a "Private Cloud" will overcome any legal obstacles and/or security concerns

There is a very legitimate concern about hosting data in the cloud, and often what is not considered are the legal implications of hosting and processing data outside your country. Like copyright laws, this varies significantly based on which country you are talking about.

Deploying Stratos in a private cloud will overcome this, while making the benefits outlined in B available to your team.

The World Cup - play to your strengths (part 2)

At the end of my last blog post, said I would continue it after the second half of the world cup final was over. However, I didn't do this. Perhaps writing a blog isn't necessarily playing to my strengths.

That Monday morning, I had temporarily moved to using Google Chrome - and was using an extension that works with Blogger. That initial spurt of excitement got me blogging. Since then, I have moved back to Firefox. As a browser I really like Google Chrome. Personally, I would like a few small things to change before I can move to it full time.

Returning back to the main post on the soccer game, I missed the majority of the first half which started at 4.30 in the morning. I am not that much of a soccer fan. Watching some of the replays, I was disturbed by the cynical defense of the Dutch team - quite contrary to my earlier post praising them.

Spain were the better team, and the deserved to win. The Dutch proved how far you can go, if you pay attention to the little details, and execute each of the little items extremely well.

The World Cup - play to your strengths

Its half-time at the World Cup Final. The review panel of SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) Australia consisting of Australian Football luminaries are extremely disappointed with how the Dutch are playing. They quoted Johan Cruyff who apparently said that the Dutch shouldn't win by playing ugly. Cruyff is prefers the beauty and flow of the Spanish game. Is beautiful football enough to win the World Cup?

Playing ugly is a relative term - this is not Italy vs. Brazil in 1994. In this context, it's because the current Dutch strategy is not 'Total Football'. Which brings me to the question, is playing beautiful better than playing functional?

The Dutch are playing to their strengths and not what pundits claim to be how the game should be played. They are delivering results, with skill - which in its own way is beautiful.

First, the Dutch have eliminated the non functional beauty. No over-engineering, or gold-plated production. It just works, and works all the time.

Second, what they do, they do really, really well. When its working, its working perfectly.

Thirdly, they have skill, and execute it perfectly.

What does this mean for the Project Management and Requirement Gathering?

Basically, try to be as beautiful as you can and design the most elegant solution. However, if things are not working out, be prepared to change the rules, and play to your strengths.

TBC - the second half has started.

How to keep things simple

Hans Rosling explains population growth [1] , and his hopes for the future using lego. This is as part of Ericsson’s “2020 Shaping Ideas” project [2].



I really like what Hans has to say. Its inspirational, and presents a hopeful future for us all. I recommend going through the other videos at [2].

[1] http://www.gapminder.org/videos/population-growth-explained-with-lego/
[2] http://www.ericsson.com/campaign/20about2020/

Does Open Source actually work out cheaper than Proprietary Software?

This was a question posted by Shashwat DC in LinkedIn. He asks...

There have been a lot of discussion over whether Open Source is actually cheaper vis-a-vis proprietary systems if one takes into account the TCO rather than the RoI or the actual acquisition cost. What do you think about the same from an enterprise perspective?

Is there any study or research done that concretely establishes the same?

All responses can be tracked here [1]

My response is that ROI, if calculated correctly, will help you decide which software product to use, regardless of whether its licensing is Open Source or Proprietary. ROI should include the TCO. If you apply an adapted triple-bottom-line [2] concept to your investment decision, other intangibles can be brought to light.

The bottom lines we should consider are

Profit: ROI and impact on cash-flows. Your cash outflow, could determine the choice - i.e. how much you need to spend, how often.

People: How your team would react is also important to consider. This not only includes people who will use the end product, but those who will build, install, train and maintain it.

Sustainability: s the project sustainable over the required lifetime. There is no point in going for the least TCO approach if the result software product in not sustainable as this would be a waste of time and effort.

Bottom line is  that you should use the most appropriate solution and product, independently of its licensing terms.

[1] http://www.linkedin.com/answers/technology/enterprise-software/TCH_ENT/645584-20181869

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line

The Flock Browser

Yesterday, I downloaded and started using flock - the social web browser. My primary objective was to check out how the latest version of Zotero worked.

I find Firefox to be bloated, which is strange considering their original intent, even with only one extension running. The Zotero video guides (screencasts) were brilliant in showcasing its features. This is one extension that is likely to keep me locked into firefox.

This lead me to Flock, which I am using now to make this blog post. I like the concept of the web clipboard. So far, this relationship has got off to a flying start.

Now I need to work out how to remove images on my blog from Picasa Web Albums.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Lack of Trust

I was in Colombo during the recent presidential elections in Sri Lanka. The people have spoken, and Sri Lankans re-elected Mahinda Rajapakse for another term.

What was evident during the course of the day was the lack of trust in Sri Lankans for the intent of other Sri Lankans. What I saw was a lack of trust between people, irrespective of their religious preference or ethnic background. Lack of trust between generations of Tamils and Singalese resulted in a civil war. Recent attacks at places of worship indicates a growing suspicion between various religious groups.

Most recently, there was an obvious lack of trust between army regiments esp. Sinha and Gajaba regiments. Fortunately, this didn't dissolve into something catastrophic, but it briefly threatened to do so. Fortunately sanity prevailed.

We need to close the gap between the people of Sri Lanka. The question is how?