======================================================================== THE ADVICE LINE: BOB LEWIS http://www.infoworld.com ======================================================================== Wednesday, November 24, 2004
LATEST WEBLOG ENTRIES ======================================================================== * Some devilish questions * A photo finish ADVERTISEMENT -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- GRID COMPUTING: AN INTRODUCTION DEMONSTRATION The Grid unites servers and storage into a single system that acts as a single computer ? all your applications tap into all your computing power. Hardware resources are fully utilized and spikes in demand are met with ease. This demonstration sponsored by Oracle brings you the resources you need to evaluate your organization's adoption of grid technologies. The Grid is ready when you are. http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1B484:2B910B2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- SOME DEVILISH QUESTIONS ======================================================================== Posted November 23, 9:10 AM PST Pacific Time Dear Bob ... As someone who (in past years) has been guilty of building Access databases, maybe you can answer a more general question for me: When is it appropriate to use Rapid Prototyping tools to boost productivity? When is it better to remain COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf)? And how do you know when it is better to fundamentally overhaul a workflow instead of just automating a part of the process that had previously been done manually? Or to put it another way, are Excel macros the work of the devil? - Satan Dear Satan ... When is it appropriate to use rapid prototyping tools to boost whose productivity? The programmers? Or the end-users who will benefit (presumably) from the result? As a general rule (ManagementSpeak for "The exceptions are nearly as numerous as the situations where this guidance makes sense.") use rapid prototyping tools when nobody knows or can know exactly what they want just yet. One of the great myths of IT is that the requirements for a system that's going to automate a previously manual (or very badly automated) business function are knowable in advance. They aren't. So before building an expensive system, build a cheap one that works the same way so the business can gain experience and learn from it. Even better, assign a programmer to the business area to build the system and use it, side-by-side with the end-users. Doing the work is a far better way to learn what's needed than interviewing end-users. Use COTS when everyone's understanding of what's needed is well-defined and there isn't a lot of uncertainty about it. Also use COTS when it means adding a module to a software suite that's already part of your core architecture. Which is to say, if you're an SAP shop and need to automate (for example) project resource scheduling, don't even think about it - use the SAP module and use its capabilities as the starting point for business process redesign. Your last question is the toughest. The diagnostic answer is to talk one-on-one with the people who do the work now and have them describe how they go about it. Don't even bother with process mapping - just listen. If the whole thing sounds really stupid, like nobody really knows how it works and everyone expects it to collapse any second, DON'T TOUCH IT! Just kidding. If it sounds like a Rube Goldberg apparatus, serious process redesign is a good idea. Otherwise, you're better off looking for the process bottlenecks and fixing them. - Bob ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1B47E:2B910B2 A PHOTO FINISH ======================================================================== Posted November 19, 5:21 PM PST Pacific Time Dear Bob ... Could you recommend a good resource, web site, book, chat room, et al, where I can review or discuss options in copyrighting my written and particularly my photographic works. People want to purchase and use my photos for publication, but I prefer that be limited, based on whatever options are common and in common sense. Rephrasing, I'd like to be able to succinctly overview the variety of options that are available to me for providing my work, yet limiting it's use, while retaining my rights for other applications. - Picturing success Dear Picture ... I'm far from an expert on this subject. If hiring an IP attorney is beyond your means, the best advice I have is to visit several on-line photo sources to see what strategies they use. The one or two times I've used one - quite some time ago, so my memory isn't fresh - I seem to recall that most provide downloadable photos that have superimposed logos. This makes the downloads usable for evaluation but useless for commercial, or even display use. When you decide to buy you indicate acceptance of license terms, very much like in a software license, and get the download (or, I imagine, you pay, provide shipping information, and receive a printed photo). This gets me to a more important point, or at least one that will be of interest to non-photographers as well: Some people seem to think it's cheating to see how their competitors handle situations - if you don't come up with an idea yourself, the thought process goes, then you shouldn't get to use it. Smart businesspeople grab every idea that isn't nailed down to use wherever they fit. And they do everything they can to keep up with how their competitors are winning business, too. A long time ago there was a saying: "Macy's shops Gimbel's; Gimbel's shops Macy's." Macy's is still around, too - I guess they did more shopping. - Bob ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1B47F:2B910B2 Bob Lewis is president of IT Catalysts, Inc., http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1B485:2B910B2 , an independent consultancy specializing in IT effectiveness and strategic alignment. Contact him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Advertisement - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Have you ever wished you could give every manager in your IT organization a practical toolkit of leadership techniques, the way you can for database administrators or developers? You can. That's exactly what I've engineered my IT leadership seminar to accomplish. If you're interested, visit http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1B480:2B910B2 - Bob Lewis ======================================================================== INFOWORLD PRODUCT GUIDE Get the latest reviews, news, product specs, and information on the products essential to your business today! http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1B482:2B910B2 ======================================================================== ADVERTISE ======================================================================== For information on advertising, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] UNSUBSCRIBE/MANAGE NEWSLETTERS ======================================================================== To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your e-mail address for any of InfoWorld's e-mail newsletters, go to: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1B47D:2B910B2 To subscribe to InfoWorld.com, or InfoWorld Print, or both, or to renew or correct a problem with any InfoWorld subscription, go to http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1B483:2B910B2 To view InfoWorld's privacy policy, visit: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1B481:2B910B2 Copyright (C) 2004 InfoWorld Media Group, 501 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94107 This message was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
