February 2013
1 post
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October 2011
1 post
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Why Digital Talent Doesn’t Want To Work At Your... →
Why doesn’t digital talent want to work at your company? It’s not because you’re a consumer packaged goods company, rather than Google. It’s not because you’re in Ohio instead of Silicon Valley. It’s not because your salaries are too low, or because you don’t offer free food and laundry services. It’s because you’re not providing them the right opportunity. The talent you want would be...
September 2011
1 post
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Annual Budgeting and Agile IT, Part II: Why Agile... →
From: The Agile Manager (Ross Pettit)
In corporate IT, the CFO isn’t trying to solve a “make better use of capital” problem in the business. He or she is trying to solve a “consistent cash flow from operations to service our capital obligations” problem. When Agile goes corporate, it is subservient to, and most often compromised by, that latter problem.
August 2011
1 post
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Beware of Agile Job Postings...
“Wanted, Agile Project Manager…or Agile Expert/Guru, Agile Coach/Trainer or Certified Scrum Master”…sounds awesome right? Perhaps.
Most jobs requiring agile knowledge and expertise genuinely do come from true agile shops or shops that have hit the wall with other methods and sincerely want to make the transition, but be careful, know the warning signs of “not so...
July 2011
2 posts
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Stop Blaming Waterfall | Agile Zone →
Here’s a reblog of an all too tired debate. I agree with the author’s premise that Agile projects can tank just as well as Waterfall based projects. An inclusion of the best of each framework tends to be the best course for many large organizations struggling with Agile adoption.
In the end, its rarely the project methodology and more the team/leadership of the project that must...
5 tags
Why Your Company Should Do An Internal Hackathon →
The rules were simple: pitch an idea, form teams, build something, then demo it 30 hours later. The winning team would get a prize.
June 2011
1 post
2 tags
10 Lessons In IT Strategy From Ex-HP CIO Randy... →
Some very timeless advice from one of the most top-ranked CIOs.
May 2011
2 posts
6 tags
Agile, when all else fails, "Just Stand Up"
If you don’t have the luxury of working for a true, agile organization or you are struggling with an agile transformation from predictive methodologies, take a huge step back and focus on one tenant of agility; the Daily Stand Up Meeting.
So many companies (especially larger firms) fail to incorporate agile in their I.T. departments because it requires such a broad change in thinking, style...
Four Reasons Not to Jailbreak Your iPhone, iPod... →
We love jailbreaking our iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads because it opens up it opens up so many great new possibilities. It also has the potential to cause a lot of problems and headaches.
April 2011
1 post
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Father and son launch iPhone into space...Amazing. →
March 2011
3 posts
3 tags
Project Success Sliders - A Simple Tool →
This very visual tool from Mountain Goat Software proved its value yet again for my teams yesterday when our business partners indicated that “Meeting Quality Requirements” was #1 and that “Delivering on Budget and on Time” were at the bottom of their expectations.
Give it a try at your next project kick-off. Perhaps it will set a tone to follow throughout the entire life...
6 tags
Critics wrong again on iPad2 sales... you know you...
Well this Apple Fan wasn’t disappointed when I went to get my iPad2 today. Why wasn’t I disappointed? Well, I couldn’t get one, that’s why! I’m not disappointed because I’m validated for telling everyone a year ago that 2010 would be the year of the tablet…ok, I was off by a year.
So four stores and a couple hours later, I came up empty handed. It...
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How Tablets Are Actually Great Productivity Tools →
February 2011
1 post
7 tags
PMI Further Embraces Agile →
It’s not breaking news that the PMI has been embracing Agile over the last few years. They look at the adoption of Agile methods as providing more “tools in the toolbox” to successfully manage projects. They are absolutely correct.
The greatest thing about the PMI Agile Certification is that it further legitimizes Agile as the most popular, trending and successful project...
January 2011
2 posts
InfoQ: Keeping Agile Agile →
Dan North argues that Agile best practices can help an organization only to a point, and continuing to rigidly apply them after that will stifle innovation and drive people away. Organizations need to continue to innovate, finding new ways and practices to develop software by looking at the motivations behind Agile practices and not just implementing them.
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Book Review: Managing Agile Projects - Kevin... →
Kevin Aguanno’s “Managing Agile Projects” is a must read for the modern project manager. Notice that I didn’t say Scrum Master or Agile Guru. No this book is refreshingly unbiased and although written for an Agile audience, pays tribute to the incorporation and value of some traditional methods.
Kevin’s book illustrates project management from a 360 degree...
December 2010
3 posts
6 tags
SlimDrivers - Update your drivers. →
SlimDrivers is freeware (for now) that scans your Windows computer and automatically updates system drivers. All drivers appear to be covered with this application from display drivers to motherboard chipsets.
I run it once a quarter. It will make a backup and restore point prior to any updates. I’ve used it for about a year now without causing any harm to my Window 7 PC.
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GAO and VA Squabble Over Agile Development... →
Agile is a framework of never ending improvement exercises. It simply doesn’t end with attempting Agile (or any method, process, framework or methodology) once and abandoning it without a learning and refinement effort.
Show me something that works better.
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Dr. Dobbs Agile Q&A →
Nothing Earth shattering here, but still some more good press for one of the best tools in the I.T. arsenal.
November 2010
4 posts
7 tags
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Agile Community of Practice Members Showcase Their... →
Great PMI Today article featuring creative videos from various teams documenting their discovery and success stories with Agile development practices.
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The iPad Wine List...brilliant →
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Agile programming 10 years on: Did it deliver? →
October 2010
1 post
1 tag
iPhone Band Jams out on NYC Subway →
September 2010
2 posts
1 tag
Recruiters, LinkedIn + iPad = You best own one.
If you’ve been following me, you know that I’m an iPad junky who looks for cool ways to make an already cool device even cooler (Can I say cool again?)
Many of us already realize that LinkedIn is the no-brainer, go-to for recruiters to find talent for various job searches. I’m not convinced that many recruiters and staff-aug vendors appreciate how you can leverage both the...
3 tags
Cool iphone/ipad App - Show of Hands →
I stumbled on this application while cruising through the AppStore. Basically each day it presents you with polls and surveys and then tells you the results from across the entire country and by each state.
Doesn’t sound that cool right? Try it… you may be surprised by the data you see. It’s a very simple and fast representation of trending thoughts, opinions and...
August 2010
3 posts
1 tag
What's on that old hard drive after all?
Got old hard drives laying around? Better yet, do you have old drives sitting in a corner somewhere with sensitive data on them? How about all of those pics and MP3s you used to have?
There are a bunch of ways to attach a hard drive to a PC and shuttle data off of them, but the Apricorn ADW-USB-KIT makes it so brain-dead easy. As you can see from the picture, this little unit can attach...
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Easy way to increase Wi-Fi signal strength
My FIOS router is located in my basement and wireless signal strength throughout the house is somewhat spotty.
I can’t really move the FIOS equipment to another floor without routing a network LAN cable through the floors, etc.
I picked up an Apple Airport Express from my local BestBuy and within minutes I was able to increase the WiFi signal to our 2nd floor iMac from a measly 2.4Mb/sec...
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The Perfect Development Environment. →
July 2010
7 posts
6 tags
FourSquare is the new rage in Social Media
Some of you early adopters may already be “Checking In” with FourSquare, but I bet a majority of you haven’t even heard of this new social network.
Basically you download it on your mobile phone and it lets you check-in to stores, bars and every other location around you. It may not seem like much, but just try it. You earn points, awards, badges and giveaways as you check-in...
4 tags
Hottest iPad apps from Retailers. Part 2
I don’t know why I didn’t post the Gilt Groupe’s application first, maybe I was taxiing down the runway a bit with these applications.
I was at the Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise conference in Philadelphia where the director of technology from Gilt showed up some of their web services infrastructure supporting their online applications. They are a slick and emerging...
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How to speed up your Apple iPhone 3G
You would think that I would have an iPhone 4, but truth be told, I’m still pimping my 3G model. If you haven’t yet upgraded your 3G iPhone and you’ve noticed significant performance problems, you’re not alone.
The biggest performance hits I’ve experienced are with text messaging and web browsing. The phone in general is slow, but these two functions are...
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Global CIO: Oracle's Top 10 Retail Insights A... →
First: “Just 10 years ago, technology was never talked about in the retail boardroom—the CIO wouldn’t report to the CEO, wouldn’t even have a seat on the board, and would instead report to the CFO. That totally changed—because now consumers are carrying iPhones and mobile technology into stores,” Angove said. “Consumers are bringing technology into the retail...
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iPhone 4 Reception Problem = Sensationalism
Call me an Apple purist if you want, in fact, please do, I would appreciate that compliment— but the hype and drama around the iPhone 4 and it’s reception problem is ridiculous.
With millions sold, I am not hearing any rampant stories about people returning them in droves, only stories about droves of people buying more iPhones. Interestingly enough, it’s been quoted by...
4 tags
Change your WiFi channel for better performance.
So I downloaded this application called inSSIDer for free. In a nutshell this application scans all the wireless networks around your house or office and then provides information about each one.
Some obvious things are the names of the networks (some of these names are amusing) and if they are secure or not. However, there is this one value called RSSI which stands for Received Signal...
1 tag
Hottest iPad apps from Retailers. Part 1
Over the next several posts I’d like to share with you how some of the traditional, premier and niche retailers are providing feature rich iPad applications with incredibly slick UX styles and content to create a unique and new shopping experience for their customers.
Retail competition is fierce, especially with the fashion players who need to constantly look for ways to stimulate their...
June 2010
13 posts
1 tag
One step closer to repealing SOX? Fingers... →
If the Supreme Court strikes down the board, the ruling will put pressure on Congress to revisit the law, opening it up for potential changes in the reporting duties of companies.
The wheels of justice move slowly my friends, but perhaps they just might move enough to repeal one of the worst pieces of legislation ever bestowed on this country.
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Is Email Dead?
It might not be dead and buried, but what do you honestly use more of, email or “Facebook”?
Personally I don’t think it’s dead, but the once informal means of communicating by an email has been eclipsed by social media sites that simply make it easier to collaborate and have a one stop social site (messaging, chat, event calendar) to organize one’s affairs.
Similar...
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Craigslist iPAD application is top notch!
Again, some genius out there fixed one of my major problems in life; how to surf multiple Craigslist locations at the same time….or all of them for that matter…and on my iPad which is key.
I know there are websites that aggregate Craigslist as well as stand alone desktop applications you can get for free, but for 99 cents, you can’t beat the way this app simplifies searching...
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Apple Sells Three Million iPads in 80 Days →
You know you want one :-)
5 tags
Scrum is not something “I.T. does” →
A great one pager by Katie Playfair of CollabNet. Rather than simply touting how Agile and Scrum will positively change your I.T. organization, Katie points out a fundamental flaw in most organizations; the lack of quality communication, collaboration and partnering with the business.
Many organizations think Agile is a silver bullet, but they fail miserably because they don’t address...
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theFIND (Click here to try) →
If your website is named “thefind”, you better find me literally EVERYTHING about a product. What it is, what it does, how much, where it is, colors, brands, cheapest price, online and brick & mortar locations near my zip code….ummm can I get a list by pay method (paypal, credit card, billmelater, etc)? ….ummm how about a listing of online retailers that have...
1 tag
Soluto Anti-Frustration Software (click to try) →
Soluto is a really clever Windows application that analyzes the time it takes for your computer to boot and then provides a VERY simple graphical display of every piece of software and service that your computer runs during startup.
The value of this is that Soluto tells you what software you can safely remove, what software and services you need to keep during startup and optional ones that you...
1 tag
SitorSquat.com (Click me to find out) →
Sorry if this post seems low-brow, but I can’t help but share a link and an iphone application that I truly believe is a valuable service to many of us. Sitorsquat.com determines your location and presents all the public restrooms around you. I’m not a parent, but I can only imagine that taking long trips with a car load of kids can present certain challenges that this site/service...
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www.measy.com (click me to find out) →
Last night during dinner with friends a conversation started around how the four of us exhaustively compare features and prices on just about every major purchase we make. That’s just good common sense, however choices around technology purchases (computers, mobile phones, flat screen TVs, etc) can be a challenge.
Measy.com is a great way to compare features, price, location, reviews,...
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Apples iPad, you know you want one...part four
What are the social impacts of the iPad? How is it a game changer in social media, advertising and potentially another kick in the ass for printed media?
One physical social impact is evident in the form factor and easy portability of the device vs a full size laptop or mini. The portable real estate in the display blows away mobile phones, kindles and other mobile devices. Tack on to that...
One of the greatest things about the iPad is it’s fantastic battery life — close to 12 hours of continuous usage even when hammering the thing with lots of video streaming and playback.
On a recent plane trip back from Italy, I was able to push my iPad to the limit. I watched two episodes of lost, two films (Avatar and Sherlock Holmes) and I read an eBook for hours. No laptop or...
May 2010
5 posts
Apples iPad sells 2,000,000 units in 60 days. →
