Tag: Jessa Lyders

Fresh Links Sundae – March 30, 2014 Edition

http://www.dreamstime.com/-image24270014Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. Often they are from the people whose work I admire or resonate with me. I hope you will find these ideas thought-provoking at the minimum. Even better, I hope these ideas will, over time, help my fellow IT pros make better decisions, be awesome, and kick ass!

The word “Agile” in IT can take on a variety of meanings, depending on the organizational environment and context. Bob Lewis tries to explain and answer the question: What does it mean for an organization to be agile, and what does it take? How does a business become agile? (IS Survivor Publishing)

The future of IT organization is quickly evolving due to technology, so should how we practice ITSM. Courtney Bartlett recommends three news ways of thinking about ITSM in a world with ever-increasing complexity and fast-changing technologies. Revolutionize Your IT Service Management Journey: Focus On Your Customers! (Forrester Blogs)

With the advance in cloud services, more and more IT systems are being migrated into a cloud hosting environment. In a two-part series, Oded Moshe outlines six steps an organization should consider taking when migrating applications and data to cloud. What Are the First 3 Steps You Need to Take to Successfully Migrate Your Organization to Cloud? and 6 Steps to Successfully Migrate Your Organization to Cloud (SysAid Blog)

Morgan Hunter, Laszlo Gonc, Jenny Juliany, Rosanne Delaney, and Jessa Lyders of Intreis are running a blog series on compliance myths.  You can catch the last five posts in the series via the following links. Compliance Myth #6 – “Outsourcing a non-compliant process will make us compliant”  Compliance Myth #7 – “Internal Audit will detect any problems that exist.”  Compliance Myth #8 – “The right technology will make us compliant.”  Compliance Myth #9 – We don’t have enough resources to achieve compliance  Compliance Myth #10 – “Compliance is largely an IT problem” (Intreis)

The traditional website is alive and well, but the proliferation of the mobile devices require us to re-exam how we build mobile friendly websites. Lawrence Howlett walks us through the steps for planning a mobile e-commerce website that delivers productive user experience. How To Plan Your Next Mobile E-Commerce Website (Smashing Mobile)

Almost every organization has various islands of data stores. At the same time, many of them struggle to find productive or insightful ways of using the data. Larry Bonfante reminds us that the use of data is not about technology – it’s much more about using the information wisely to enhance the relationship with our customers. Big Data for Business Decisions (Enterprise Efficiency)

Good data analysis is hard to do, but bad data analysis can hurt more than help. Greg Reda goes over some useful principles to follow when tackling one of those deep-dive analyses. Principles of good data analysis (Greg Reda)

ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000 state the importance of having a definition for a major incident. Roman Jouravlev discusses one approach to define what major incidents are and what elements you will need to consider when crafting a process for handling major incidents. Major incidents in the real world (ITSM Portal)

Many organizations handle major incidents poorly because they fail to execute or don’t have a workable communication process in place. Ryan Ogilvie talks about the importance of having a major incident communication plan designed and vetted before a major incident strikes. Incident Management, Executive Gargoyles and Communication (Service Management Journey)

Sometimes the everyday life and work can make things difficult for all of us, but that does not mean we cannot invest some of our energy into something that can have a significant return. Ted Rubin helps us calculate the return on investment of taking the time to smile. What’s the ROI of a Smile? (Ted Rubin)

Fresh Links Sundae – March 23, 2014 Edition

http://www.dreamstime.com/-image24270014Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. Often they are from the people whose work I admire or resonate with me. I hope you will find these ideas thought-provoking at the minimum. Even better, I hope these ideas will, over time, help my fellow IT pros make better decisions, be awesome, and kick ass!

Many organizations are considering adopting the DevOps approach to help them accelerate the rate and pace of change internally. Robert Stroud explains the steps of starting the transition from a cultural and process perspective. The DevOps Transition Guide (CA Service Management)

Some would argue that Agile is more superior to Waterfall because Waterfall is bureaucratic and lacks flexibility. Bob Lewis points out that no one methodology is more superior to the other – both require discipline and responsible people to make them work as intended. Why Agile is agile (IS Survivor Publishing)

Jessa Lyders, Morgan Hunter, and Margaret Muir of Intreis are running a blog series on compliance myths.  You can catch the first 5 posts in the series via the following links. Compliance Myth #1 – “We don’t store sensitive data”  Compliance Myth #2 – “You don’t get to pick your controls, your auditors do.”  Compliance Myth #3 – “Compliance applies mostly to large size companies (not small companies)”  Compliance Myth #4 – IT GRC is a necessary evil  Compliance Myth #5 – “The ‘right’ policies and procedures will make us compliant” (Intreis)

Many IT organizations experience difficulty in determining what should be reported. Ryan Ogilvie suggests an approach to peel away the complexity and arrive at the potential answers. Peeling Back the #ITSM Reporting Onion (Service Management Journey)

Today’s businesses need to keep pace with the fast-moving technologies, and often consider IT a hindrance in achieving the business goals. Jason Stevenson recommends several approaches for reversing that trend? Top 5 Ways IT Can Stay Relevant in the Cloud Era (VMware CloudOps)

Some organizations put a great deal of faith on technology advances to help them solve complex business problems. Sherri Hammons shows examples where meaningful analysis can begin only after we think about the problems and ask the right questions. Big Data: Humans Required (Sherri Hammons)

Some are advocating that software projects are unique, creative and flexible by nature, and somehow are not subject to the fundamental principle of cost, schedule, and performance constraints. Glen Alleman explains why software is not immune from that fundamental principle. Why Software is Like Construction and Why it is Not (Herding Cats)

Some organizations believe quick, easy solutions are available to solve long-running personal behavioral problems. Marshall Goldsmith points out that there’s no product, no diet, no exercise program, and no executive coach who can make someone better, unless that person also wants to change. Turning Those Flabby Abs Into That Sexy Six-Pack (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)