Information = Data + Processing
There is nothing more unproductive than to build something efficiently that should not have been built at all.
Organizations progress when the impact of good actions and decisions outweighs the impact of poor actions and decisions.
The solution to improved productivity is not better software but rather a better understanding of business and its objectives.
We must apply the same discipline, organization and automation that we recommend for other parts of the company.
Technology alone will not solve our problems, only effective management will.
No amount of elegant programming or technology will solve a problem if it is improperly specified or understood to begin with.
If anything in life is constant, it is change. The only constant involved with information is that it is seldom static.
If an information requirement is stated improperly to begin with, then everything else that follows will be incorrect.
The only way that information systems communicate, both internally and externally to other systems, is through shared data.
Data is the glue that holds systems together.
Data is stored, Information is produced.
Quality must be built into the product during design, not inspected in afterwards.
Never embark on a journey without knowing your destination.
Whereas logical information resources will remain relatively static, the physical resources will change dynamically.
100% of your design documentation is contained in the specifications of your information resources.
Information is a perishable commodity; it only has value at a particular point in time.
Information is highly volatile in that it is greatly influenced by external factors, such as government, economics, competition, customers, etc.
There is little point in producing information if nobody is going to act on it.
An elegant solution to the wrong problem solves nothing.
The day a company goes into business is the day when its information systems are born.
Only when the systems engineer can walk in the moccasins of the user does the engineer have a right to design a system for the user.
Information is for people, not for the computer.
An information system is a product that can be engineered and manufactured like any other product.
Systems =/= Computers
Systems =/= Software
Systems =/= Projects
Q: How many interpretations of systems development are there?
A: How many analysts and programmers have you got?
All information systems have the same structure. In manufacturing terms, it is known as a "four-level bill of material."
Systems are designed by 'explosion' and implemented by 'implosion.'
Documentation is a working tool and a byproduct of design.
The word 're-engineering' implies something was 'engineered' in the first place, which is rarely the case.
No one has ever built a perfect system the first time, and no one ever will.
Systems are built by evolution; not by revolution. The day when a system is installed, is the day it begins to undergo change.
85% of all systems development work is modifications/improvements.
Good Systems Design + Good Programming = Great Systems
Good Systems Design + Bad Programming = Good Systems
Bad Systems Design + Good Programming = Bad Systems
Bad Systems Design + Bad Programming = Chaos
How a system is implemented is of little importance if it solves the problem effectively.
Forgetting the human-being during design will cause the human-being to forget the system at time of startup; it will be DOA, Dead On Arrival.
Systems are logical, programming is physical.
Programming is a translation function, going from human understandable specifications to machine readable instructions.
Good specifications will always improve programmer productivity far better than any programming tool or technique.
Whenever you see a ratio of 1:4 analysts:programmers you will find systems analysis being performed at the wrong time and by the wrong person.
Beware of your "firefighters," they are probably your chief arsonists.
If we built bridges the same way we build systems in this country, this would be a nation run by ferryboats.
There are very few true artists in computer programming, most are just house painters.
Systems will fail more for the lack of administrative procedures than well written computer procedures.
A program without any form of transaction serves no useful business purpose.
The first on-line, real-time, interactive, data base system was double-entry bookkeeping which was developed by the merchants of Venice in 1200 A.D.
Successful screen design is based on how well the developer knows both the user and the data.
All organizations have a data base; some are managed, most are not.
A methodology is nothing more than an assembly line that produces a finished product.
Every step in a methodology should produce a reviewable result in order to substantiate completion and assure a quality product.
Without a road map, you might be driving in circles.
Project management is only possible with an effective methodology.
Having a Project Management system without a methodology is like attaching a speedometer to an orange crate; it measures nothing.
The number of lines of communications grow exponentially based on the number of people involved in a project.
Systems do not have a "life cycle." They may go on forever if kept viable with change. The only thing that has a "life cycle" is a project which has a beginning for planning, a middle for execution, and an end for review.
Project management is a philosophy of management, not a tool or technique.
A project requires a methodology, but a methodology does not require a project.
If we lived in a perfect world, there would not be a need for managers; projects would be executed on time and within cost. However, the reality is, we live in an imperfect world.
If there is no governing science supporting it, use of the term 'engineering' is fraudulent and misleading.
I have never encountered a technical problem that couldn't be conquered with a little imagination, some concentrated effort, and a lot of good old-fashioned management.
It's never lonely at the top of an IT organization, primarily because the IT Director is never there.
It takes a brave soul to divert from the path of least resistance.
Tim Bryce is a writer and management consultant located in Palm Harbor, Florida.
You can find his work on the Internet at:
http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm
He can be contacted at: timb001@phmainstreet.com
Copyright © 2007 Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.