Guest Post – Self Organizing Agile Teams: The Fine Line Between Freedom and Chaos

I recently wrote a guest post for www.toolsjournal.com. Check it out:

Self Organizing Agile Teams: The Fine Line Between Freedom and Chaos

As always please feel free to leave me your comments here or on the toolsjournal.com site as well. i love feedback.

Apps in your Browser … Is it the beginning of the end for the Idea of the App Store?

I just read an interesting article on CNN Money about Mobile Web Apps being developed on Browsers, see Mobile Web apps escape Apple’s iron grip. And it got me thinking about the future of the online app economy. In a few years will anyone download apps to their phone or will they just access it through their browser? Will all of  these app stores continue to grow or even exists? And will the power shift even more towards the developer or will it fall back to the heavy hitters?

The App Store business model is a sound one (Apple, Amazon, Android) all take a cut of the developers revenue for providing the distribution channel, and more recently Apple announced recently that it wants to take a cut of any type of content or subscription sale made through it’s apps. As you could imagine this doesn’t sit well with most developers and from a business revenue stand point if you’re already giving up 30% and then paying taxes and operating fees your app revenue disappears quickly. So developers have started to build apps that are OS agnostic and can run through any of the widely accepted web browsers.

Thanks to HTML 5 we may all be accessing our apps through browsers very soon.

RFID Pros & Cons, Just How Secure is it?

The 8 Rules of Lean Project Management

The eight rules of Lean Project Management (LPM), re-posted from the Project Times, Summarizing the Rules of Lean Project Management by Claude Emond. A great set of  rules for any PM to follow:

Rule # 1: the “Last Planner” Rule. The one who executes the work is the one who plans the work. This saves time, money and resources due to reduced waste.

Rule # 2: the “Tracking Percent Promises Complete (PPC)” Rule. Do not track time (effort) or cost; track small promises that you can see over time.

Rule # 3: the “Expanded Project Team” Rule. Expand the project team to include and integrate all significant stakeholders, as part of the team as early as possible.

Rule # 4: the “Humans, humans, humans” Rule. Humans execute projects, and project deliverables materialize through humans and for them. So be considerate to humans as, without them, no project can be a success.

Rule # 5: the “Rolling the Waves” Rule. Roll the waves. Make your choices and commitments (promises) at the last responsible moment. Make them in the form of work packages that will deliver the desired results anticipated with a high degree of certainty. Plan the work, execute the work, learn and adapt, plan the work, execute the work, learn and adapt, plan the work, execute the work…succeed!

Rule # 6: the “Opening, Adapting and Closing Often” rule. Open-Adapt-Close, Open-Adapt-Close, Open-Adapt-Close… all the time. The IPECC (Initiate, Plan, Execute, Control, Close) cycle is a recurring process; this recurrence is the true key to successful projects, lean-influenced or not. In order to close a project, you have to open-adapt-close formally at the phase level, to open-adapt-close formally at the work package level, to open-adapt-close for each required deliverable (small concrete promises), to open-adapt-close each required activity undertaken.

Rule # 7: the “Executing Your Small Promises on Single-tasking Mode” Rule. Execute your small promises on single-tasking mode. Once your deliverables are cut into smaller pieces, deliver them one after the other, as much as possible. By cutting your project work in smaller pieces/promises, you will save on set-up time each time you are interrupted, thus accelerating delivery. This accelerating effect can be increased furthermore, if you also try to execute these promises, one after the other, this saving an additional amount of set-up time. In a multi-project/multi-tasking environment, the most productive strategy is to single-task, doing these multiple tasks in series, when possible.

Rule # 8: the “Using LPM Principles to Implement and Adopt LPM” Rule. Live and use what you preach to implement LPM; by “walking the talk”, you will succeed in increasing the speed and extend of LPM adoption and ensure a lasting and fruitful change.

New Avatar Walking Cycles

The development team added the new walking cycles for each of the 5 Avatars for the Paws and Tales Games, and I have to say, they outdid themselves great work guys. It also didn’t hurt that we were working with original assets for each character.

You can check them out by signing up for a free account at pawsandtalesgames.com and then selecting each character. If you were on the game prior to this addition you’d notice the difference as the older avatar didn’t walk as much as they shifted side to side while hovering accross the screen.

Paws and Tales Games New MMOG Website Launched

I’ve been quite busy lately with my current project, developing the Paws and Tales Games MMOG Website. Based on Paws and Tales The Animated Series®, Paws and Tales Games aims to provide a fun, safe and educational place online for children and families.

I’ve become more of a Product Manager at this stage in the game, no pun intended. With a new look and improved features such as; streaming video of the animated episodes, educational worksheets that parents and educators can go through with their kids, and easier access to some of the games within the MMOG. The team is also working to complete the new selection of in game avatars that users can choose from.

With the new branding and a new marketing campaign in place I’m looking forward to spending more time focused on the product marketing side of the fence for a while.

If you’re interested go check it out and let me know what you think of the site. I’m always interested in learning more about the overall user experience, game-play, and value that users would see in the site.

The team that I worked with deserves credit for all of their hard work and help in the development of this product, which made my task managing the development of the product both easy and fun.

• Client: Providential Pictures Inc.
• Product: Paws and Tales Games, pawsandtalesgames.com

Team Credits:

NuLayer Inc., led by Mr. J. Brenner and Mr. P. Kieltyka, performed as the Back-End Team and did outstanding work in a short time frame.

Cieo Creative Inc., led by Mr. J. Goodman and Ms. M. Plasterer, performed as the Flash Games Developer and played a key role in the Creative design of the over all game.

IWD Canada Inc., led by Mr. K. White and Mr. B. Kumarasamy, provided the manpower for the new website design and blog for the site.

“Paws and Tales Games” is currently online at: www.pawsandtalesgames.com

“Paws and Tales The Animated Series®” is currently airing on:

CTS TV
(Ontario, Calgary, Edmonton) at 7:30 AM

The Miracle Channel CJIL
(Canada) at 10:00 AM

UCB TV
(United Kingdom)

Please check your local listings for more information.

Updated Services & Resume Page, New Release Version of Paws and Tales Games Website

Just did some clean up on the Services and Resume pages while taking a quick break from the final prepping for a new release version of the current product that I’m managing. Look for a new design, branding and features at pawsandtalesgames.com, starting June 1st, 2009. Be ready for a drastic improvement in the look and feel of the site, while expecting the same great level of functionality. From the testing feedback that I’ve been receiving over the last few weeks it’s like night and day compared to the exiting Beta version of the site. Some of the new features in the Paws and Tales Games World include:

• Updated artwork for both the website and MMOG.
• Free Games page.
• Streaming Episodes of the Paws & Tales Animated Series.
• A What’s New” Blog.
• “Questions for Cubs” worksheets that complement each episode.

Leading Strategic Change

Here are a few resources that I found very useful when leading projects that involve a great deal of change management, of the people variety, which is about 80% of all the projects that I’ve ever worked on.

Leading-Strategic-Change is an excellent e-book that I was given during my Six Sigm Black Belt Training from one of my favourite mentors Norm Rudd, who in my opinion is the Six Sigma equivalent to a Rockstar. If you don’t get what I’m talking about check out this intel commercial.

The book takes the reader through the three “brain barriers” that teams must overcome to accomplish a task successfully, as well as the solutions to help teams break through the brain barriers. With out giving too muchaway, here are the three brain barriers that the book outlines:

• Failure to See
• Failure to Move
• Failure to Finish

Also, if you’re really interested in this kind of thing, check out the Change Management Blog. It’s an interesting read.

Re-posted from Global Knowledge

Interesting article, that I wanted to re-post, from Global Knowledge, to keep for my own records.

10 Hot Skills for 2009

By Linda Leung

Whether we are in a down economy, seeing jobs go offshore, or witnessing jobs being cut altogether, there are certain IT skills that will never go out of style. With spending on cost-saving technologies such as virtualization rising, and the maintenance of networking and enterprise Microsoft software keeping IT professionals constantly in demand, here’s our top 10 hot skills that will take us from a down economy and beyond.

1. Virtualization: Virtualization is hot. Vendors are jostling for lead position in the virtualization stakes and user organizations are seeing virtualization benefits through increased efficiency, lower costs, quick return on investment, and a more flexible computing model. But virtualization is complex; it encompasses the entire IT infrastructure, from the desktop to servers and storage systems. That’s why IT professionals with virtualization experience are much in demand.

According to a recent article in Virtualization Review, jobs Web site Dice.com reported that the number of jobs advertised from January 2008 through the first week of November increased by 43% and 37% for VMware and general virtualization skills, respectively. That compares with a total job count that was down 12% during the same period.

Virtualization skills was cited by 35% of the 1,400 CIOs surveyed for the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report for the second quarter of 2009, up from 30% in the Q1 report. Virtualization as a skill first appeared in the Q208 survey when it was cited by 26% of respondents.

2. Web 2.0: Organizations have moved beyond establishing Web sites for their brands. Now they are embracing social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, where you can find such household names as Ford Motor Company and AT&T. CIOs in a wide range of organizations are demanding IT professionals who can keep them up to speed with the fast-moving Web 2.0 world. Web development and Web site design first appeared as a sought-after skill in Robert Half Technology’s Q408 report, when 42% of CIOs surveyed said they were in needs of such expertise. In Q209, 39% of respondents had a demand for Web skills.

According to PayScale.com, the typical salary for a Web designer in the U.S. range from $37,285 to $59,070. This compares to $60,000 for a Web developer, $40,000 for a graphic designer, and $60,000 for a programmer, according to Simply Hired a search engine for jobs.

3. Networking/Windows Administration: Proving that networking and Microsoft Windows administration skills will likely never go out of style, these two skills consistently appear as either the first, second, or third most sought after skill in Robert Half Technology’s quarterly skills surveys. A full 65% (the second highest number) of CIOs surveyed for the Q209 report said they required network administration skills, while 64% (the third highest) of executives said they needed Windows admin experts. The skill most in demand in Q209 is desktop support, according to the survey.

Networking/systems admin jobs were cited in the Top 20 Most Recession-Proof Professions report by Jobfox from data collected during November 2007 to July 2008. The report noted that there is a limited supply of qualified workers in that profession, and reported that the median salary in the U.S. for such roles is between $65,000 and $75,000.

4. ITIL: The Information Technology Infrastructure Library is a business framework that was developed by the U.K.’s Office of Government Commerce. It is the subject of much buzz on this side of the pond, with firms such as DHL and General Motors adopting the IT services efficiency framework. A quick search of the Indeed job search aggregator site netted 6,266 jobs, with salaries ranging from $50,000 to $130,000. ITIL is cited by Foote Partners‘ IT Skills and Certification Pay Index report, for the last three months of 2008 as a skill that is seeing a sharp increase in pay and demand.

Foote Partners notes a “sharp increases in pay and demand for ITIL, CoBIT and similar expertise” in 2009, and that “while valuable in short range cost reduction initiatives, these are also core enterprise skills with high re-use value long term.”

5. IT Architect/Project Management: The same Foote Partners report also notes that “nothing has been hotter” than IT architect and project management skills and that “they will still be hot commodities long after the economy improves.” Certified folks in that category reported pay increases of 10% in the last 12 months to January 2009, according to the Foote Partners report.

The Open Group’s IT Certified Architect and the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional designations were the certifications that commanded the highest pay premiums, according to the report.

6. IT Security: This skill was called out by Foote Partners as one of three certification groups that saw significant gains in pay. A total of 18 different security certifications, including Check Point Certified Master Architect and Cisco Certified Security Professional, were listed among the IT certifications that earned the highest pay premiums in Foote Partners’ 2009 IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index.

Security will never go out of style, even during a recession, as businesses are required to comply with regulatory controls and data protection requirements. Meanwhile, hackers continue their assaults no matter what the economy is doing. A survey by the SANS Institute showed that through the end of November 2009, 79% of respondents saw no cuts to their security staffing levels.

7. Wireless: Cisco generated buzz in its training community late last year when it launched the expert-level CCIE certification in wireless networking. As part of the launch, it commissioned a study conducted by Forrester Consulting, which found that 36% of global companies surveyed predicted that the number of dedicated wireless specialists on their IT staff would almost double in the next five years.

“In our research we found a pervasive need for wireless skills, and not just in North America,” says Sanjay Mehta, Cisco product marketing manager for wireless and mobility. “The need for experts to design, deploy, manage and troubleshoot is growing exponentially.” He says the wireless certification is particularly popular in emerging markets, such as Brazil, India, and China, where new wireless infrastructures are being built from the ground up.

8. Telecommunications: The government’s $7.2 billion broadband stimulus initiative to extend broadband to rural and unserved communities will mean jobs for pros with telecom skills. Telecom providers operate in a very competitive market, and while operators cut costs in stagnant areas of their markets, they’re still investing in others. For instance, AT&T this year cut its capital expenditure by $3 billion but it is investing in 3,000 new jobs for its mobility, broadband, and video initiatives, reports Unstrung.

Telecoms knowledge is also sought by CIOs. In Robert Half Technology’s Q209 report, telecoms support was the fifth-highest skill sought by respondents, up from the sixth highest in the previous quarter.

9. Programming Languages (C, C++, C#): Forget about programming jobs being outsourced, experts with C, C++ and C# skills “have emerged as a highly desired skill set, being cited as ‘in demand’ just as often as Business Intelligence and Enterprise Solutions skills,” according to the Veritude 2009 IT Outlook Report. Demand for software engineers increased from 27% to 32%, according Veritude’s survey of IT hiring managers.

Those programming languages are also consistently the top most wanted programming skills in Dice reports. In February and March, Dice posted 9,881 and 10,465 Cx jobs, respectively.

Software engineering topped Money Magazine and Salary.com’s list of Best Jobs in America in 2007, noting that the number of programming jobs would balloon from 800,050 in 2004, to 1.2 million in 2014. The profession, with an average annual salary of $80,427, beat college professor and financial advisor in the list.

10. Business Skills: Employment surveys have been telling us for a number of years that IT pros must possess business skills as well as technical expertise, and in a down economy IT folks who understand the business could be considered more valuable than those who don’t. A survey by CompTIA of 215,085 IT pros found that employers valued “interpersonal and communication” skills in addition to ‘strategic thinking” and “project management” know-how. The survey, which was conducted in 2007, found that 73% of respondents said they planned to upgrade their business skills within two years, with the majority studying for project management skills.

The IT pro who can understand how his employer’s business works and can articulate how technology can be used to meet and exceed the company’s goals is a true gem.

Less is More & Simplicity Rules.

Here’s a great company with great products, 37 Signals. Why are they so great, well their style is no nonsense, they get straight to the point and simplicity rules their product design philosophy. Oh, and they extracted Ruby on Rails from one of their projects. I’m not a hardcore developer, coder or hacker (or at all really), but I’ve worked with RoR in the past and it’s presently being used with the current project that I’m managing, and it’s definitely one of those tools that makes the life of the people doing the work easier, therefore making them happier and producing a better product (80% of the time).

In a sentence, what it comes down to is “Less is More”. They do less than the competition on purpose, and it’s paid off for them in a positive way. I’ve had the pleasure of using Base Camp for a few of my projects and it great for Agile Software Development. You only get what you need, the rest of the usual gravy features one finds in software don’t exist so there’s little to no learning curve when adopting it as your PM tool.

I’m also a big fan of the Agile Software Manefesto and it’s 12 Principles. It may not apply to certain safety related projects where one would be required to document and follow a process and plan for regulated purposes, however it has it’s place as a way to lower development costs and bring better software to market sooner.