It's a perfect time of year to reflect, in front of the fire, glass of port on hand, on the past year and what I feel I have taken away from the distributed development projects I have worked on, conferences that I have attended and text-bytes that I have come across.
Some I have shared via twitter @stugom and others I have yet to share at all. In the coming weeks, I plan to put some of these lessons learnt and snippets down for my own benefit as well as yours.
Here's to a happy festive season and happy reflection on a successful and growing year.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Back in the game
I am back working on distributed development projects again... after a hiatus doing admin, sales and business development work - oh and some strategic IT work for a global electronic manufacturer, I am back working with a development team based off-shore again. More randomness and thoughts on the process soonest.
Friday, 5 December 2008
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Making your distributed offering sensible
When working in a distributed manner, the one thing to bear in mind is the applicability and/or sensibility of what you are trying to offer online in a distributed context. The best model will mean you will need to spend some time with your client. There is an ancient tangible nature to business and I feel there always will be... it is a good thing. The relationship between supplier and customer is important and it needs to be physically re-inforced at some point in the engagement.
Getting back to the sensibility of your value to the market - the medium needs to be appropriate and sensible. Don't deliver ice to eskimo's type thing. Similarly - the latest offender in this regard: www.pleasehelpme.com - an online PC helpline; which is great, but only when you PC is not broken. Delivery of an online solution will require you to be online. And if your PC is broken and you cannot get online... how can you seek help?
Getting back to the sensibility of your value to the market - the medium needs to be appropriate and sensible. Don't deliver ice to eskimo's type thing. Similarly - the latest offender in this regard: www.pleasehelpme.com - an online PC helpline; which is great, but only when you PC is not broken. Delivery of an online solution will require you to be online. And if your PC is broken and you cannot get online... how can you seek help?
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
So what does the BBC Olympic coverage have to do with this?
Having the flat to myself this weekend - I took the opportunity to "veg" on the couch and channel hop - I came across the BBC Olympic coverage presented pretty much 24/7 on several channels showing all the sports in which Britons had qualified to compete in Beijing representing their nation.
This still seems to be going no-where, but wait... The presenters were talking about the time of day according to the time of day IN ENGLAND - not in Beijing - as if in some alternate reality. So the point of this entry to is to talk about the need to localise delivery - ensure that your message is tailored to the audience and their environment. This is particularly important to make the intended recipient of the information to feel comfortable. Or maybe the BBC presenters feel at home too.
Indian companies have been known to work during your working day rather than their own - so right now at 12:11pm in New York, USA... half way through the work day, it is actually 21:41 (they have a half zone there) in Mumbai, India. Talk about night shift. Global commerce in a 24/7 business... in fact so firms now offer a 24 hours working day at centres in the States, India and China effectively getting through two man days "while you were sleeping" (to quote Tom Friedman in "The World Is Flat").
The ultimate goal is to reduce the difference (distance, time, language) between people. So next time you see Sue Barker saying good morning to you when the brunch team take over at 11am on BBC1; say good evening - because it's 6pm there!
This still seems to be going no-where, but wait... The presenters were talking about the time of day according to the time of day IN ENGLAND - not in Beijing - as if in some alternate reality. So the point of this entry to is to talk about the need to localise delivery - ensure that your message is tailored to the audience and their environment. This is particularly important to make the intended recipient of the information to feel comfortable. Or maybe the BBC presenters feel at home too.
Indian companies have been known to work during your working day rather than their own - so right now at 12:11pm in New York, USA... half way through the work day, it is actually 21:41 (they have a half zone there) in Mumbai, India. Talk about night shift. Global commerce in a 24/7 business... in fact so firms now offer a 24 hours working day at centres in the States, India and China effectively getting through two man days "while you were sleeping" (to quote Tom Friedman in "The World Is Flat").
The ultimate goal is to reduce the difference (distance, time, language) between people. So next time you see Sue Barker saying good morning to you when the brunch team take over at 11am on BBC1; say good evening - because it's 6pm there!
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Gap analysis
Tricky thing this gap analysis. It is quite an obvious process by definition - analyse the gap between two things. Simple right? Surely? Um... no.
Having recently been asked to conduct such an exercise, I found myself flummoxed at the simplicity of the statement of work - yet the sheer complexity of the task itself. Even in itself - there is a gap between the theory and the practice.
Simple life's lessons phrases abound - let me try and use some of them to illustrate the point.
"Establish a level playing field" (no-one likes to run uphill, even in the second half)
You see, it's all about metrics and creating a relativity to the gap - making it quantifiable. I could ask you to do a gap analysis between life in London and Spain. Like things you will look at are cost of living, standard of living (measured by pollution, green space, education, etc), exchange rates, job opportunities, etc. You have a common ("level") set of metrics ("playing field") to work with.
"Compare apples wth apples" (cos apples are good for you)
I won't ask you to do a gap analysis on sea levels and the coffee temperature. Unless you are Dr Seuss in which case it may be amusing, but uninformative as the gap is not measureable. But even apples don't have to be compared with apples - this is a stupid phrase; you cannot compare the life in London with life in London. That's nonsense. Stupid phrase.
"Do not wearing rose-tinted glass" (cos only Elton John looks good in them)
Besides the fact that this is a general rule anyway, how can you look objectively at a gap? Are requirements not met if there is a workaround - it depends on your point of view really. The metrics again must be commonly accepted and agreed - like using fahrenheit or celsius to measure heat. But when it comes down to feet and inches; some people's feet are bigger than others! The human element tends to creep in - and so do hidden agendas (but that's big dark glasses not rose-tinted spectacles).
In short - I have been working in between writing this - so it's likely that it is unstructured... glib in parts, deep in others. Or just drivel all round. It should provide some insight, Insallah.
Having recently been asked to conduct such an exercise, I found myself flummoxed at the simplicity of the statement of work - yet the sheer complexity of the task itself. Even in itself - there is a gap between the theory and the practice.
Simple life's lessons phrases abound - let me try and use some of them to illustrate the point.
"Establish a level playing field" (no-one likes to run uphill, even in the second half)
You see, it's all about metrics and creating a relativity to the gap - making it quantifiable. I could ask you to do a gap analysis between life in London and Spain. Like things you will look at are cost of living, standard of living (measured by pollution, green space, education, etc), exchange rates, job opportunities, etc. You have a common ("level") set of metrics ("playing field") to work with.
"Compare apples wth apples" (cos apples are good for you)
I won't ask you to do a gap analysis on sea levels and the coffee temperature. Unless you are Dr Seuss in which case it may be amusing, but uninformative as the gap is not measureable. But even apples don't have to be compared with apples - this is a stupid phrase; you cannot compare the life in London with life in London. That's nonsense. Stupid phrase.
"Do not wearing rose-tinted glass" (cos only Elton John looks good in them)
Besides the fact that this is a general rule anyway, how can you look objectively at a gap? Are requirements not met if there is a workaround - it depends on your point of view really. The metrics again must be commonly accepted and agreed - like using fahrenheit or celsius to measure heat. But when it comes down to feet and inches; some people's feet are bigger than others! The human element tends to creep in - and so do hidden agendas (but that's big dark glasses not rose-tinted spectacles).
In short - I have been working in between writing this - so it's likely that it is unstructured... glib in parts, deep in others. Or just drivel all round. It should provide some insight, Insallah.
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Distributed Teams and Delivery Apathy
Organisational behaviour topic could be the impact of lack of 'face time' with the client and the delivery focus from the distributed teams. Not being located in the same place as the client and having someone else managing the relationship with the client could lead to less focus/concern being placed on quality deliverables (in content, timeliness or otherwise) by the distributed team as they may not have to face the music should delivery not meet expectations.
Strong ownership by the distributed team, clear and concise expectations management and a sense of diligence with regards to meeting the needs of the client should be pervasive in the organisational culture.
Also, penalty clauses in contracts may help ;)
Strong ownership by the distributed team, clear and concise expectations management and a sense of diligence with regards to meeting the needs of the client should be pervasive in the organisational culture.
Also, penalty clauses in contracts may help ;)
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