Just completed a number of meetings and discussions among thought leaders in the area of complex project management this week, and I was struck by a number of zombie ideas in project management, especially related to information, that just won’t die. The use of the term zombie idea is usually attributed to the Nobel economist Paul Krugman from his excellent and highly engaging (as well as brutally honest) posts at the New York Times, but for those not familiar, a zombie idea is “a proposition that has been thoroughly refuted by analysis and evidence, and should be dead — but won’t stay dead because it serves a political purpose, appeals to prejudices, or both.”
(more…)IT management
The Future — Data Focus vs. “Tools” Focus
The title in this case is from the Leonard Cohen song.
Over the last few months I’ve come across this issue quite a bit and it goes to the heart of where software technology is leading us. The basic question that underlies this issue can be boiled down into the issue of whether software should be thought of as a set of “tools” or an overarching solution that can handle data in a way that the organization requires. It is a fundamental question because what we call Big Data–despite all of the hoopla–is really a relative term that changes with hardware, storage, and software scalability. What was Big Data in 1997 is not Big Data in 2016, and will not be Big Data in 2030.
(more…)Stay Open — Open and Proprietary Databases (and Why It Matters)
The last couple of weeks have been fairly intense workwise and so blogging has lagged a bit. Along the way the matter of databases came up at a customer site and what constitutes open data and what comprises proprietary data. The reason why this issue matters to customers rests of several foundations.
First, in any particular industry or niche there is a wide variety of specialized apps that have blossomed. This is largely due to Moore’s Law. Looking at the number of hosted and web apps alone can be quite overwhelming, particularly given the opaqueness of what one is buying at any particular time when it comes to software technology.
(more…)Walk This Way — DoD IG Reviews DCMA Contracting Officer Business Systems Deficiencies
The sufficiency and effectiveness of business systems is an essential element in the project management ecosystem. Far beyond performance measurement of the actual effort, the sufficiency of the business systems to support the effort are essential in its success. If the systems in place do not properly track and record the transactions behind the work being performed, the credibility of the data is called into question. Furthermore, support and logistical systems, such as procurement, supply, and material management, contribute in a very real way, to work accomplishment. If that spare part isn’t in-house on time, the work stops.
(more…)New Directions — Fourth Generation apps, Agile, and the New Paradigm
The world is moving forward and Moore’s Law is accelerating in interesting ways on the technology side, which opens new opportunities, especially in software. In the past I have spoken of the flexibility of Fourth Generation software, that is, software that doesn’t rely on structured hardcoding, but instead, is focused on the data to deliver information to the user in more interesting and essential ways. I work in this area for my day job, and so using such technology has tipped over more than a few rice bowls.
(more…)Do You Believe in Magic? — Big Data, Buzz Phrases, and Keeping Feet Planted Firmly on the Ground
My alternative title for this post was “Money for Nothing,” which is along the same lines. I have been engaged in discussions regarding Big Data, which has become a bit of a buzz phrase of late in both business and government. Under the current drive to maximize the value of existing data, every data source, stream, lake, and repository (and the list goes on) has been subsumed by this concept. So, at the risk of being a killjoy, let me point out that not all large collections of data is “Big Data.” Furthermore, once a category of data gets tagged as Big Data, the further one seems to depart from the world of reality in determining how to approach and use the data. So for of you who find yourself in this situation, let’s take a collective deep breath and engage our critical thinking skills.
(more…)Super Doodle Dandy (Software) — Decorator Crabs and Wirth’s Law
![decorator-crab[1]](https://pisanond.me/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/decorator-crab1.jpg)
The song (absent the “software” part) in the title is borrowed from the soundtrack of the movie, The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Made in the day before Pixar and other recent animation technologies, it remains a largely unappreciated classic; combining photography and animation in a time of more limited tools, but with Don Knotts creating another unforgettable character beyond Barney Fife. Somewhat related to what I am about to write, Mr. Limpet taught the creatures of the sea new ways of doing things, helping them overcome their mistaken assumptions about the world.
(more…)A Little Bit Moore — Moore’s Law and Public Sector Economics
Back in the saddle and have to just find the time to put some thoughts down. In dealing with high tech and data issues one of the most frequent counterfactuals that I have been running into lately is in regard to the “cost” associated with data, especially data submissions. If one approaches this issue using standard economic theory pre-high tech then the positive correlation applies.
But we live in a different world now folks.
(more…)Let’s Get Physical — Pondering the Physics of Big Data
As a primer a useful commentary on the ethical uses of Big Data was published today at Salon.com in an excerpt from Jacob Silverman’s book, Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection. Silverman takes a different approach from the one that I outline in my article, but he tackles the economics of new media that were identified years ago by Brad DeLong and A. Michael Froomkin back in the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century. This article on First Monday from 2000 regarding speculative microeconomics emerging from new media nicely summarizes their thesis. Silverman rejects reforming the system in economic terms, entering the same ethical terrain on personal data collection that was explored by Rebecca Skloot on the medical profession’s genetic collection and use of tissue during biopsies in the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
(more…)Forget Domani — The Inevitability of Software Transitioning and How to Facilitate the Transition
The old Perry Como* chestnut refers to the Italian word “tomorrow” and is the Italian way of repeating–in a more romantic manner–Keyne’s dictum that in the “long run we’ll all be dead.” Whenever I hear polemicists talk about the long run or invoke the interests of their grandchildren trumping immediate concerns and decisions I always brace myself for the Paleolithic nonsense that is to follow. While giving such opinions a gloss of plausibility, at worst, they are simply fabrications to hide self-interest, a form of tribalism, or ideology, at best, they are based on fallacious reasoning, fear, or the effects of cognitive dissonance.
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