Tag: Robert Stroud

Fresh Links Sundae – October 19, 2014 Edition from #SMFUSION14

NOTE: This is an abbreviated post from FUSION 14 in Washington. DC. If you are there this week, I appreciate you coming out to support the Chapter and the Conference #SMFUSION14.

Fresh 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!

Roll over Dogbert’s Tech Support, the application economy is here by Robert Stroud (CA Technologies)

Your Relationship with Metrics by Mark Dalton (HDIConnect)

Problem Management – The value in not knowing by Ryan Ogilvie (Service Management Journey)

Where Art Thou Hadoop? by Svetlana Sicular (Gartner Blogs)

16 Options To Get Started and Make Progress in Machine Learning and Data Science by Jason Brownlee (Machine Learning Mastery)

How to re-balance a data migration project plan by Dylan Jones (The Data Roundtable)

Project Risk Management, PMBOK, DoD PMBOK and Edmund Conrow’s Book by Glen Alleman (Herding Cats)

What Peter Drucker Knew About 2020 by Rick Wartzman (Harvard Business Review)

Fresh Links Sundae – May 4, 2014 Edition

To save costs and prepare for adoption of next-generation infrastructure technology, leading organizations are adopting commercial-style demand and service management. Himanshu Agarwal, Leandro Santos, and Irina Starikova describe the attributes of effective demand and service management for an IT organization. Managing the demand for IT infrastructure In a related article, Chandra Gnanasambandam, Michael Huskins, and Kara Sprague talk about overcoming several challenges of implementing the next generation of IT infrastructure. Next-generation IT infrastructure (McKinsey & Company)

In IT, we spend a great deal of time discussing the value of adopting ITSM. Earl Begley outlines the things we have to do in ITSM to help drive adoption, but are not covered in the typical ITIL courses. Things I didn’t learn in ITIL school (ITSM Review)

Configuration management supports the management of cloud services by providing information crucial to the other service management processes. Kai Holthaus discusses three common cloud-based models and the configuration management aspects to keep in mind for each model. Configuration Management in the Cloud (VMware Blogs)

Many IT organizations respond to calls, emails and chat session requests quickly, but those requests were then sent elsewhere for action. As a result, things slowed down significantly and IT customers still are not happy with the interaction with IT. Robert Stroud explains why today’s support centers cannot just “log and flog.” Close the Loop on “Log and Flog” Service Management (CA Service Management)

With the technology becomes more accessible, more business executives are willing to lead technology initiatives. Business-led IT initiatives are here to stay, but many business teams still struggle. Raf Gelders discusses ways IT can help the business teams extract value from their technology investments. Why Not All Business-Led IT Takes Off (CIO Leadership Council)

Although data analysis is at top priority of many businesses these days, the ROI and success rate of such projects are still very low. Pearl Zhu explains what the challenges are and how to overcome them. The Brutal Truth about Data Analysis (Future of CIO)

It can be difficult to get it right when estimating software development projects in an agile paradigm. Glen Alleman tackles three common estimating situations and recommends approaches for those situations. How To Fix Martin Fowler’s Estimating Problem in 3 Easy Steps (Herding Cats)

When asked about what changes that can be made to manage more effectively, many C-level executives believe they should delegate more. Marshall Goldsmith argues that, when it comes to delegation, quality still trumps quantity. Don’t Delegate More – Delegate More Effectively (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – April 27, 2014 Edition

Many IT organizations are transforming themselves to be a service provider to the enterprise, and there are quite a few different ways for the service provider model to work. Bob Lewis outlines the potential business models in case you’re serious about pursuing the plan of running IT like a business. More business models for ITaaS Yet more ITaaS business models (IS Survivor Publishing)

When making your data analysis case persuasive, assembling and interpreting data alone is fine but probably not sufficient. Scott Anthony believes you need to take a step further by generating your own data and experiment with them. Why You Have to Generate Your Own Data (Harvard Business Review)

Data Architecture and Data Governance, when done effectively, can support each other in a variety of ways. Kelle O’Neal explains how DA and DG help by increasing operational efficiency, decreasing costs and mitigating risk. What Is the Relationship between Data Architecture and Data Governance? (Blog: Kelle O’Neal – BeyeNETWORK)

Creating a continuous improvement mindset is about creating the conditions for all IT stakeholders to improve their work, processes and services. Dave van Herpen gives an example of how explains how agile and lean elements can work with ITSM and help the IT function deliver great services. Agile CSI: continual service improvement done right (ITSM Review)

To effectively influence the IT employee mindsets, leaders must send messages that powerfully communicate IT’s objectives and priorities. Andrew Horne suggests how IT leader can decide what metrics to pick and to emphasize. When Designing an IT Scorecard, Don’t Forget the Message Behind the Metric (CIO Leadership Council)

Processes underpin organizational capability, which in turn support the strategy execution. Pearl Zhu outlines the criteria to consider when mapping and evaluating processes to support business capability. How to Evaluate Processes (Future of CIO)

Robert Stroud believes that the transition of the IT Service Management department to a Service Broker model has only just begun. He explains the rationale behind the movement of IT organizations to embracing the IT Service Broker model. From Service Manager to Service Broker (CA Service Management)

When starting out on a career, it’s important to build credibility with new people, learn about your organization, and make a solid contribution. Through a four-part series, Laura Brandenburg gives a detailed run-down of what a new Business Analyst can do to be effective on the job from day one. Starting a New Business Analyst Job (Part 1): What To Expect on Your First Day Starting a New Business Analyst Job (Part 2): How to Prepare for Your First Day Starting a New Business Analyst Job (Part 3): How to Make the Most of Your First Week Starting a New Business Analyst Job (Part 4): Your First 60 Days (Bridging the Gap)

Why is asking so important for leaders in today’s Information Age with the knowledge workers? Marshall Goldsmith explains why leaders need to do more asking, listening and learning from everyone around us. Why Don’t We Ask? (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – March 23, 2014 Edition

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)

Fresh Links Sundae – February 2, 2014 Edition

IT infrastructure managers need to meet a number of challenges in 2014. Björn Münstermann, Brent Smolinski, Kara Sprague describes 11 practices that will help infrastructure managers navigate a challenging, and sometimes conflicting, set of demands. The enterprise IT infrastructure agenda for 2014 (McKinsey & Company)

IT organizations should periodically exam and evaluate the key metrics they measure. For 2014, Andrew Horne suggests seven measurement priorities recently highlighted in a CEB’s research. 7 New Metrics for 2014 (CEB’s IT Blog)

Many non-IT end users probably are not aware of the software asset management (SAM) practice in the organization and what it means to them. David Foxen explains why SAM is important to an organization and how IT can collaborate with its end users and effectively communicate its SAM practice to them. Introducing Software Asset Management to end users (The ITAM Review)

Often people will ignore ineffective governance or unenforceable policies. Michael Scarborough suggests that IT organizations can improve their effectiveness by regularly evaluating whether the existing policies and procedures in place are still making sense. Governance That Makes Sense (Global Knowledge Training Blog)

Big Data, when practiced correctly, can yield a good amount of insights that might not have been possible with human analysis before. Michael Schrage believes those insights can also lead to dilemmas and unwarranted discrimination when improperly used. He further cautions that all Big Data champions and practitioners need to have a better understanding of how they intend to use the insights for making decisions. Big Data’s Dangerous New Era of Discrimination (Harvard Business Review)

With a strong dependence on IT for many businesses, IT organizations have many challenges on their hands to deliver a stable operation while continue to leverage technologies and innovate. Robert Stroud believes IT service delivery managers have many opportunities to add even greater value to the organization in 2014. Long Live Service Delivery! (CA Service Management)

While resolving incidents and putting fires are commendable things to do, Ryan Ogilvie recommends that understanding and addressing the root cause to an incident will be a much more value-added activity. Score a Service Management Touchdown through Incidents (Service Management Journey)

While use cases are an extremely useful requirements tool and one tool that every BA should have handy, Laura Brandenburg suggests that there are situations in which writing use cases would be a big mistake. 3 Signs You Shouldn’t Be Writing a Use Case (Bridging the Gap)

Fostering a successful culture entails hiring employees who buy into the corporate culture, and it also means getting the wrong employees off the organization. Joel Greenwald believes that the best companies use culture as both a sword and a shield, to improve performance and reduce risk. How to Get the Wrong People Off the Bus (strategy+business)

Today’s connected world means many leaders have access to a global mind that represents both opportunities and challenges. Marshall Goldsmith explains the process of e-coaching and how leaders can leverage the process to manage the opportunities and challenges. E-Coaching Roles (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)