Author Archives: greg

#12 – EXPECTATION IS THE ROOT OF ALL HEARTACHE – ELIZABETH LIONS

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Elizabeth Lions PixWilliam Shakespeare said “Expectation is the root of all heartache”

As Westerners, this tends to be our downfall: expectation.

When unchecked, this becomes our Achilles heel, the thing that drives us nuts and ultimately bitter.
 Yet we do it.  Again and again.
 We expect our children to behave in a certain way – towards us.  We expect our spouses to listen and support us, at all times.  We expect our boss to give us the raise, the praise the whatever.  We wait.  Expectations looming in the dark.  Wants go unfulfilled.  Disappointment festers.  Yet here we are. Continue reading →

#12 – WHAT’S REALLY NEW? – UMBERTO TUNESI

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Umberto Tunesi pixWe are obsessed by the ‘new’, but what’s really new?  I think that in many cases, we are repeating history and not getting the ‘lessons learned.’

Let’s look at a few design examples.  After 1973 Lyall Watson’s Super Nature book, a multinational food company now packs its frozen peas in pyramid-like plastic packages. Continue reading →

#12 – RISK MANAGEMENT: TODAY’S QUALITY MANAGEMENT PARADIGM – GREG HUTCHINS

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Greg Hutchins pixThe quality profession has been very successful over the last 15 years.  .  American Society of Quality (ASQ) surged in membership, national prominence, and public policy influence.  Quality and six sigma became synonymous with competitiveness and flawless execution.  More than 1,000,000 companies are registered to ISO 9001.

All of this success came at a significant cost and now begs the question: “What’s the role of a quality professional, when everyone is responsible for the quality of his or her efforts.  Today, there is much soul searching what it means to be a quality professional and even where quality management is going. Continue reading →

#12 – EARLY SIZING AND EARLY RISK ANALYSIS FOR SOFTWARE PROJECTS – (C) CAPERS JONES

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Capers Jones pixMost methods of software sizing are based on software requirements and design documents, or on the source code itself.  For both new applications and enhancements this means that substantial funds will have been expended before sizing takes place. 

Many risks are proportional to software size.  As a result of delayed sizing, software project risk analysis usually occurs after development methods are locked in place.   When problems or risks are identified, it is often too late to introduce improved methods so the only options are staffing increases, unpaid overtime, or deferred functionality. Continue reading →