Excellent summary on the health of the “internet of things” (also called “Embedded systems“). “Embedded systems are commonly found in consumer, cooking, industrial, automotive, medical, commercial and military applications.” The title of the article actually summarizes the issue nicely: “The Internet of Things Is Wildly Insecure — And Often Unpatchable”. My personal experience confirms this. The problem is so large that the individual response is to shut down and not worry about it. The article further explains how this situation has come about and why there is no incentive for change. My warning to companies and consumers is don’t expect “everything to be connected” to be a good thing at first. We’ll all likely be experiencing the pain of all this until purchasers become so angry as to finally form the incentive.
Article: IT Should Stop Trying to ‘Surprise and Delight’
As BAs / Architects, I think we see this a lot. Personally, it makes me sad, because I know there are many more efforts of higher value if only we didn’t focus on trying to “Surprise and Delight”. Summary points: 1) Organizations Should Seek to Meet Customer Service Expectations, Not Exceed Them. 2) Low Customer Effort is the Key to Meeting Service Expectations.
http://www.executiveboard.com/blogs/customer-service-in-it/
What is Business Analysis?
Project Managers and Business Analysts have roles that blur together and are often confusing. So what is it that a BA does?
“…a Project Manager will deliver, on time, on budget and in scope, the perfect set of concrete shoes; but without a Project Manager, a Business Analyst might never deliver at all. … If [an] outcome doesn’t provide value for an organization we have concrete shoes. And here is our sweet spot for business analysis as a discipline. Yes I said discipline. It is time to stop thinking about business analysis as a role, title or profession. Business analysis is a disciplined way of approaching any decision so as to provide value to further an organization’s objectives. The objectives of an organization are fulfilled through its strategy. …”
Are your best employees thinking about leaving?
A great intro to what to expect from recruiters. It summarizes the different job seeking types, how frequently they move jobs and the level of enticement needed. It then moves on to describe a successful recruiter/candidate interaction.
www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130805013502-15454-are-your-best-employees-ready-to-jump-ship
Business Analysts ask “is this of value to the company?”
The value of a Business Analyst is asking “is this of value to the company?” Without someone to ensure the value of a project a project manager will take and complete what is given to them. It is often said that a Project Manager will deliver, on time, on budget and in scope, the perfect set of concrete shoes. The skillsets are complimentary as often a Business Analyst needs a project manager. Even analysis requires project management.
http://www.batimes.com/articles/the-value-of-a-high-performing-business-analyst.html
http://www.iiba.org//ba-connect/2013/oct/future-no-more-uncertain.aspx
New Metrics Every IT Leadership Team Should Consider
How do you know where you are going if you don’t know where you are? Excellent IT metrics article; provides clarity on what IT organizations can measure.