Entries for May 2008

» Cascade Day 11 - Principle #9: Leave a record of what you have done, so the project will not miss you if you leave

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#9. Leave a record of what you have done, so the project will not miss you if you leave. If change is the only constant, then resources on a project will change. The risk in such change is that a person’s contribution to a project will be lost, and that the new person assigned to the project will have to start over. This is a particular risk in...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cascade Day 10 - Principle #8: It’s the Deliverable (that matters), not the Task

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#8 --> It’s the Deliverable (that matters), not the Task. The final deliverable is the Information System ready to be used effectively by the Business. If you can jump from ‘Start’ to this final deliverable in one “Task”, then power to you. Some people can do this; most cannot. This is again where a team of specialists is most effec...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cascade Day 9 - Principle #7: One Architect/Analyst can generate enough work for two Developers and one Tester, structure your project teams in this ratio.

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#7 One Architect/Analyst can generate enough work for two Developers and one Tester, structure your project teams in this ratio. This is actually one of those “rules of thumb” that have been borne out over time. (The ratio may vary a bit from case to case, like when the experience levels are different across the roles.) This ratio combines with...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cascade Day 8 - Principle #6 - Specialize – each member of a team assigned to a project should do what they do best for the length of that project.

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This principle supports #5. With limited resources, there is another strong tendency to have IT staff ‘wear multiple hats’ on a project, especially the Business Analyst who is asked to also be the Project Manager and/or Lead Tester. Rather than getting more than you are paying for, you get less as an IT Staffer skilled in one role spends more time ...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cascade Day 7 - Principle #4 - Pick the right project(s) for the business

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Principle #4 - Pick the right project(s) for the business. At any one time, the IT department of an average company is running multiple projects. How did they get started? How were they even defined as a project that needed to be carried out? No one may actually know. In more chaotic environments, projects can start as a seed of an idea, pic...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cascade - Day 6 - Principle #3: Use Architecture to describe the business, before and after projects.

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Principle #3: Use Architecture to describe the business, before and after projects. “Architecture” is becoming a more widely used term associated with Information Technology. The number of adjectives applied to the term seems endless: “Technical Architecture”, “Systems Architecture”, “Business Systems Architecture”, “Enterprise Architecture”, and ...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cascade - Day 5 - Principle #2: Projects change the business, so know the overall business first

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Principle #2: Projects change the business, so know the overall business first A never-ending discussion in IT circles is about how much IT staff need to know about the business that the information systems are supporting. It is high-lighted by every want-ad for an IT job that says previous experience in the employer’s industry is mandatory. Is d...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cascade - Day 4 - Principle # 1: There is always more work to be done than people to do it.

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Let’s look briefly at what each principle means or implies; which will serve as introductions to subsequent posts that will cover the principles in more detail. #1. There is always more work to be done than people to do it. Bordering on glibness, this principle summarizes the reality of virtually all organizations and activities, not just Informa...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cascade - Day 3 - Principles

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Like you, I have read my fair share of IT books and blogs, and each author has to decide how to best present what they are trying to communicate. One way is to describe the problems/opportunities of interest to the reader, then document the new approach or method that solves the problems, etc.; the reverse is to document the new approach/method fir...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cacscade - Day 2 - what can you do to be successful?

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The premise of these blog entries is that the situation described in the previous post can change, but it is usually slow-going; or worse, there can be an immediate channge when your department is outsourced; it happens. In the meantime, what can be done to be “successful” in your average IT department in your average company? What has to be do...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cacscade - Day 1 - does this sound like where you work?

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Day 1: I have recently made a major career change, moving from what I would now call a client company to a consulting company. It's an exciting change, but I don't expect to write about my new experiences at this time. However, I had also been spending some time writing an extended piece about my experiences over the years working ...

Posted by: David Wright

» Cascade - The Book

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This blog has been started because, like anyone who writes a bit for a living, I thought I had a book to write...so I did. This blog also hi-lights the arrival of lulu.com, a website that will publish your book with the 'tarnish' of a vanity presss. So, check both out at http://www.lulu.com/content/2088656 . The book is "Cascade - Better practice...

Posted by: David Wright

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Entries for May 2008

Join the Premier Community for Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals, Systems Analysts, Data Analysts, and more…

The Community Blog for Business Analysts

Entries for May 2008

Join the Premier Community for
Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals,
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