Clouds

In my new role I am thinking about cloud computing all the time. Its kind of fun to stretch my muscles (I’ve been doing the same thing for a long time).

So I am wandering though IaaS, PaaS thinking about the changes this will make to various solutions. I’ve even changed a couple of thoughts in my transitional services process to reflect some new thinking.

Which brings me back to something my old boss Orrin Wolf used to say. take a day to think strategically. Think about what may be, or what is yet to be.

I still love doing that. It is the best part of my job. So, thanks Orrin, again!!!

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the fastest growing architecture in the world

Can an architecture grow rings like a tree (actually I suspect the answer to that is in fact yes, I’ve seen architectures that couldn’t bend if they wanted to.

Why do architectures stiffen over time?

They are less open to change and become as rigid as a large tree without learning the lesson of the large tree (move with the prevailing wind!!!!!).

It is the same with architects over time. They become rigid and unmoving.

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Wait, Wait, oh crap

I have built dozens of solutions for customers over the years. In my 13 years at my present company I’ve been customer facing the entire time. In 7 days I am taking a new role to build a world wide community and for the first time will not be in a customer facing role.

So, goodbye for now to the many customers I have had a joyous opportunity to work with.

Now its time for the next state in my career.
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Transitional Services, a definition

A definition:

Transitional Services and a Transitional Service represent the two sides of the coin. The first is the process by which traditional services organizations can build solutions that will benefit their customers in the new world of cloud solutions. The second is what the business actually does to solve the problems that are delaying their solutions and implementations.

Transitional services or from a business perspective a transitional service represents a paradigm shift in how businesses and services companies approach both their ongoing relationship as well as what happens next within the technology solutions deployed in the business.

 

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Just a small shift to the left

I’ve talked before about my friend the engineer who helps build bridges. If they are off by an inch it can cost as much as a million dollars to fix the problem. In the software world we often have bugs and other issues that cause us to miss, would you believe by just this much.

• Is it a design issue?
• Is it a shifting requirements issue?
• Is it a planning issue?
• Is it an issue with software development process?

I find the overall concepts of missing and failure to be great area’s where software development could make easy strides. I go to customer after customer and the thing that always gets me is that they don’t know the last time they failed. They know in the sense that the project did not deliver, but they don’t remember.

Organizational memory should include the past failures so that you can recall why you failed the last time. So often though it does not…

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Cadence of solutions

Huge John Wayne fan as a child – in particular the epic movie Green Berets. The unity of such a team of high performers creates a cadence. Much like a good marching band will seem to be walking as a single person.

Solutions have a cadence as well. A process based flow that takes them from where they are to where they need to be in a linear fashion.

Like a railroad the path or velocity of a solution is determined by a number of factors. Clean and clear railroad tracks are easier for the train to navigate and succeed at its mission.

Getting to clean is the goal then for every solution path!

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Watching film like a professional football player

It seems to me that the great football players watch films constantly trying to find an edge over their opponents. It seems to me that architects like football players plan and prepare more and more.

So is that true?

Its a funny thing to compare professions (few architects have people running at them to kill them on every play) but the analogies are there.

Planning and preparation to win the day.

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The sliding glass window

So I was thinking yesterday evening while talking with some friends about inventions that didn’t quite make it to the big time (the sliding glass window is a perfect example – kind of a why thing).

Why do some things catch on and others fail miserably?

It is the fickle nature of marketing sometimes. The value of the item at others (who needs a pocket fishing pole – well I did once at 3 am).

The same can be said for solutions (they topic of the conversation). Why do some succeed despite everything, and why do others fail with everything?

It is a conundrum…

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Waiting for the plane

Its pretty scary when at 5 am in the morning you are waiting for a plane to dive into the sky and take you back again, to the road.

Traveling is a part of being a consultant but it is not the best part. It is simply the vehicle to get you to where you need to be.

short monday blast.

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Operations

Recently I’ve had an opportunity to spend some time thinking about operations. they are the baseline to which all solutions should be measured – can we operate this.

New solutions:

• Can the team that exists today operate the solution without net new training
• Can they operate the solution with some net new training
• This operation requires a complete retraining of the team

Its funny but those three questions are often not asked during the development of a solution. Why is that? Why wouldn’t it matter as much about operating the solution as it would building and deploying it?

It is something to think about…

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