17 February 2009

Quest to Learn

Neal Leininger

Neal Leininger
Senior Consultant
Veris Associates, Inc.





I found an interesting article on new teaching techniques at the "Institute of Play" in New York

LINK

New York's Institute of Play has officially announced the foundation of Quest to Learn, a new school for "digital kids" that will be accepting its first 6th grade class this fall, which "uses the underlying design principles of games to create highly immersive, game-like learning experiences for students."

It's fascinating to watch the principles of "Play Learning" maturing with technology.

They're also hiring teachers : LINK

Many moons ago, I recall a space invaders game at my school for learning multiplication, addition, and subtraction. I remember how profound the idea was at the time.

Tell us, how do you learn best?

Is it in a classroom, or a virtual classroom with avatars?
Do you prefer flashcards, or a game that incorporates those facts/figures into a learning exercise?


Comment below or visit us on LinkedIn
you can also find me directly for feedback at : http://www.linkedin.com/in/neall



Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

16 February 2009

Metrics

Neal Leininger

Neal Leininger
Senior Consultant
Veris Associates, Inc.


You may have seen the posting last week about Google taking on Electricity monitoring: LINK

Personally I think it's a great idea, it takes away the ambiguity of how the utility companies are charging for services at a granular level, and enables transparency for the consumer.

It also spurs the discussion around metrics, without metrics how do you know any given service is performing as advertised, under-performing, or over-performing?

Granted, overcapacity is rarely an issue in the world of IT Service Management, but in practice it can be a goal for success.

There's the old adage of "If you don't measure it, it won't be done."

What are your thoughts around metrics? What are the Key Performance Indicators for your organization? How where they determined? How have they changed your day-to-day tasks?


Comment below or visit us on LinkedIn
you can also find me directly for feedback at : http://www.linkedin.com/in/neall



Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

New Obama Pick

Neal Leininger

Neal Leininger
Senior Consultant
Veris Associates, Inc.


Hard to believe we are almost through February already!

Today it was announced that Obama picked Google Vet Katie Jacobs to head up the "Citizens Participation" post.

LINK

I think we have the opportunity to do a lot of things right with this situation.

It also reminds me how important requirements gathering is for any project, how else will we know we've achieved the desired outcome?

Along that same line, there were several articles on how Google kills projects, also a topic from previous Blog posts found HERE

The article talks a little about the projects that Google is working on, but also how previous incarnations were killed due to lack of interest, or not living up to expectations. LINK

My favorite quote was : “Perfection closes off the process,” Mr. Jarvis said. “It makes you deaf. Google purposefully puts out imperfect and unfinished products and says: ‘Help us finish them. What do you think of them?’ ”

Like it or not, that's Project Management in a nut-shell, sure we talk about the triple constraint of "Time, Cost, Quality" ; but we all know in the real world it's about getting the product or project out the door so we can find the flaws and fix them, some flaws will never be discovered "in the lab."

Comment below or visit us on LinkedIn
you can also find me directly for feedback at : http://www.linkedin.com/in/neall



Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

06 February 2009

Tactical Failure, Strategic Success

Neal Leininger

Neal Leininger
Senior Consultant
Veris Associates, Inc.



It has been written on numerous sites, the challenges of implementing ITIL, the "true" cost, and the "true" return on investment.

In our newsletter a few weeks ago, I mentioned how technology has shaped everyday events, like the "Miracle on the Hudson" of Flight 1549 with Captain Sullenberger at the helm. Not only was it the outcome that was amazing, but so were the "Lessons Learned" of what went right.

This is an example of how planning and paying the costs are not only a short term improvement, but in the long term, the cost of NOT DOING IT are far greater.

Without decades of safety engineering, and black box engineering, not only would they have lost many lives, but they wouldn't have known what went well or failed.

So it goes in IT, without proper processes and procedures, when disaster strikes, it may well still be a disaster, but through the toil and hardship of prior improvements, you will have the tools and wherewithall to recover and hopefully show the steady hand that Captain Sullenberger exhibited.

So in closing, never forget the price of not improving your craft, be it Flying a Jet, or Flying an IT Department.

Disaster will strike, and there will be tactical failures. Help your IT Service Management organization ensure a Strategic Success.

Below is an excerpt of the CBS Special with Katie Couric




Can you say "Mayday" with a calm voice to your CEO?





Comment below or visit us on LinkedIn
you can also find me directly for feedback at : http://www.linkedin.com/in/neall




Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.