celiaaiguille – Page 2 – TI2011 Spring 2020

Continuous improvement

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

Webster and Belinda keep meeting people about how improve the way they are working on their projects. This time, they met a consultant named Johns Caporous. They talked about many things in a very little among of time. Webster learns a lot during his meeting, at the end Waldo become manager because they decided to study old data and they need someone that knows well the company (Belinda encouraged it, since being a good manager is putting the right person at the right place for this person even if it means losing something for you). Waldo will be working on the data to improve the project productivity and the productivity measurement. I will not talk about all the lessons Webster learn in this chapter (because it’s kind of technical and I did not understand everything perfectly, so I will not risk that). I want to talk about the doubt that Belinda had about her life in this chapter and the importance of continuous improvement in the process of a company.

In this Chapter, we know that Belinda still live in the street and after the all meeting with the time, once Webster and they were walking to the place she will sleep for the night and they have a talk. She doubted about her life, about the final goal of the life. It’s the type of question everyone asks one day: if what you try to achieve in your life has a real interest, will it make you happy? She doubted that the project they are working on doesn’t have a real interest. It looks like of searching the sense of life (that’s a big debate). This part makes me like her more, she looked more human. It creates more realistic dimension to the

What I’ve learnt in the first part of the semester in project management class?

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

I have learnt many things this semester in the project management class. We studied diverse supports. We had three major learning resources: the book The Deadline Novel, the class where the teacher was doing a lecture or with groupwork and the different speakers that came in class these past months.

I learnt many things in class but to be honest I’m a distract person (sorry teacher) and even if I really enjoy class and working, I can be really distract when I’m supposed to listen (How was my surprise when I didn’t see any PowerPoint uploaded on Canvas, oops). However, I didn’t forget everything (not yet).

One of the first task we had to do was about engineering economics. We’ve seen that you can’t separate the engineer from the business side. Business is essential to sell and promote a product but as well to make the company live and be profitable. It is important to have economics measures to be able to make good decision for the organization, you can take decision without having indication (at least good ones), it helps to avoid making mistake that can lead. When engineers do not have any knowledge in the business field, they will not really (in general) have concerns about the business part (the profitable part).

We have worked as well on the simple interest and compound interest notions. The simple interest is calculated on the original of money while the compound interest is calculated on the original amount the first time and then on the accumulated interest of the previous periods. With the compound amount you will own more money at the end, it’s more advantageous.

By the reading of the Deadline Novel, I’ve discovered many things about management of project. First, project management is more about the people. To manage Continue reading "What I’ve learnt in the first part of the semester in project management class?"

Why you should consider working from home (even after the end of the pandemic)

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

Working from home it’s now something we all experiment because of the recent events that happen worldwide (Coronavirus – COVID19). At the beginning, it could be strange to not move from your house the morning when you’re supposed to go to school and that you finally just put your computer on and start your class. For the majority, working from home is something unusual and we need to do many adjustments in the way we’re doing our daily tasks.

My personal experience with that (after only one week of online TEC class): it’s way more difficult that I thought before. I’m not used to have class at home and even the teachers are not used to that. I get rapidly more distract, because of the noise (I live with 15 other roomies), sometimes WIFI is so bad that I can barely hear the class. Sometimes I feel that I’m bringing school in my privacy. However, it’s great that we still can have class because of all the technology we have, we still can be all connected to each other, we can still work on our group project. I need to get more organise and to be more concentrate (it’s not always easy when you see the blue sky outside and that it could be so easy to just go outside and do nothing). I still prefer having class on the campus, I prefer to keep house to be a place where I can rest without any stress. I know it something we have to do right now for public health but I still hoping we will be back to TEC at the end of the semester (I’m an eternal dreamer).

Although, for some companies and some people this sanitary crisis didn’t change so

Mr Bolok, the anti-productivity new chief

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

Remember what we learn after 10 chapters of the Deadline Novel: setting super ambitious deadlines doesn’t make you achieve the work more quickly (it only give you more stress), creating bigger team can decrease the productivity in a project…. So now, that you have that in mind, let me explain you the new situation.

It’s been 3 months that Webster live in Morovian, he looks to be used to live there, to have some habits. Then, we learn that NNL was gone to work for some times and during his absence Mr Bolok will replace him.

Webster meet his new chief that decided that everything need to change in the way he is managing the project. First, he changed the deadline (even if officially there wasn’t any, Webster put one). Initially, they had 606 days left before the deadline, Mr Bolok set a 420 days objective and to do so he asked Webster to doble the team worker. Webster tried to negotiate a lot and explain the model relate to the productivity/number of workers in a team, but nothing changed.

Webster learnt how the political aspect (because the choices of Mr Bolok are about politics) of a company can influence all the work done or that will be done. He wrote that Mr Bolok makes pathological politics, that means “that goals of personal power and influence come to override the natural goals of an organization.”.

With his board manager team Webster tried to find solution and they found some to hide the fact that there will still be the same sized team working on each project… but Webster still feel unsafe and depressed after this discussion…

Sorry I’m late

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

Sorry everyone I’m late with all the coronavirus stories I did not had the time to do my weekly task of writing about The Deadline (I’m sur you’ve already missed me). So, I’m back at it nooooow.

Starting now with a resume of the situation: Mr. T met a new guy when he was travelling outside of the country (in Rome, I hope he did not bring the coronavirus with him to Morovian lol, sorry, I’m trying to laugh about the situation, better to laugh than cry, isn’t it?). The guy and him had a discussion about productivity and hunches in project management. The guy tried to explain to Webster the importance of transforming hunches in models to get better in your previsions.

Webster said that by doble the persons working on a project, the productivity won’t doble. However, he couldn’t give number or say exactly how it’s will change with precisely and the give taught him that with a model he could know. If the productivity is not as great when you work with more people, it’s because they lose time interactions between each other.

As well to know your productivity rate and how the people affect it you have to be aware about the hiring and quitting rate. Since, someone arrive in a project you have to teach him stuff, so you will lose time at the beginning. Also, with the explications and the software the man gave to Webster, now he can modelized all his hunches. The models will be turn in actual result if he uses it well.

« SCRUM app » *by Novi Milenkovic is licensed under* CC BY-NC 4.0

ONLY 750 DAYS TILL D-DAY!

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

In these news chapters we meet to new characters: Dr. Rizzoli and the ex-general Markov. Mr. T met Rizzoli because he is a world know risk manager, he asked him some advices to determine how to manage the risk and how improve the productivity in his future projects. The Tompkins met ex-general Markov since he thinks he will need him in the realization of the projects.

Mr. T lessons from his discussion with Dr. Rizzoli

To my opinion, the most important learnings that Mr. T had during his discussion with Dr. Rizzoli is that productivity improvement comes from long term investment. You can’t improve your productivity by fixing stuff with short term solutions. The work has to be thought in a long-term vision to really improve the quality of your production chain or of your teamwork. It means as well that it’s better to keep your team together when they work well (see the paragraph about the meeting with Markov), because they will get better together.

Then, the other learnings are about risk management. As Mr. T wrote “assess each risk for probability and likely cost” and “Track the causal risks, not just the ultimate undesirable outcomes”. I think that managing risk in a project can be really hard, because first you have to think to every risk that can occurs. These lessons, that Mr. T learnt about risk management make me think to the pareto principle that says that for many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. I learnt this principle in my studies in my first year of two year degree (a few years ago, time flies, my teacher of project management told us that we have to look for the 20% biggest risks that could happen in the project to avoid 80%

It’s time to start working

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

Now that Mr. T talk to NNL, have all the conditions he wanted, it’s time to start working. However, he cannot work alone, and he needs a team of manager to help him. He has to manage fifteen hundred people. Waldo advise him about one of the greatest managers that lives in Morovian. He has a conversation with Lahksa, to know how to find this person. He finds it and then they start working together and give job interviews to managers and they start hiring persons together for the different projects.

The best way to manage people

With the discussion with his new colleague, Mr. T learnt that managing is not only made with brain, it involves: gut, heart, soul and nose. You must use many senses to be able to manage in a good way. Is more a question of feeling sometimes than a question of reason. What I found really true is the way his new co-worker explained what the real job of a manger is: « . . . creating the atmosphere where healthy interactions have their best chance to happen”. So, it’s not only leading, giving order, it’s be able to bring out the best in everyone to work better altogether.

Woman at high position

HAHAHAHA, now it’s time to the part I was waiting for (Feminist life, don’t blame me). This new great co-worker, who is supposed to be one of the best manager in Morovian, it’s a woman (and a bag lady, who knows perhaps it’s important for the rest of the story, so I prefer to write it). Everyone seems to know her, or to know some stories about her, but no one (when I said no one, actually it’s only Waldo, but it’s to create a bit of drama) never saw her. In fact, with

Lessons that Mr. Tompkins learn

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

What’s the situation now?

Let’s start by a small resume of the situation. I’m afraid I will forget this part of the book if I’m not doing it (sorry to not trust my brain enough, if you’re not interested you can just skip this paragraph).

Our Mr. Tompkins woke up in a hotel room, in another country: Morovian. Mrs Hoolikan is here, and they talked about the job. First, he was sceptical to accept it but then after some discussions, he accepted it (money is sometimes the biggest argument in life decision, sad uh?). So, he will earn a lot of money and will work on the creation of software with great engineers. In the next chapter, he received a book that he will use as a personal journal (and that’s what we will use in our next paragraphs) he met a guy (Waldo Montifore) that will be his personal assistant. The guy looks super stressed and he is threatened by the NNL (the leader of Morovian) and he must work very hard on some project to achieve it on time if not, he could die (really a good CEO, NNL, isn’t?). To be sur to work for this country, Mr. T wants to meet THE leader to ask him some conditions (many employees etc.) to achieve his job goals. He is a tyrant and has a weird vision of managing people. They met, everything went well, NNL accepted every conditions.

The first lesson

He didn’t write himself de first lesson he learnt, Mrs Hoolikan did it for him.

“Four Essentials of Good Management

Get the right people.
Match them to the right job.
Keep them motivated,
Help their teams to jell and stay jelled

(All the rest is Administrativa)”

That was the lessons he learnt the Continue reading "Lessons that Mr. Tompkins learn"

Why you should never dissociate engineering and economics ?

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

First, what is engineering economics?

According swebowiki « Software engineering economics is about making decisions related to software engineering in a business context.” It’s looking for the balance between cost and value of a product or a project.

You can’t separate the engineer from the business side. Business is essential to sell and promote a product but as well to make the company live and be profitable.

How?

It is important to have economics measures to be able to make good decision for the organization, you can take decision without having indication (at least good ones), it helps to avoid making mistake that can lead.

When engineers do not have any knowledge in the business field, they will not really (in general) have concerns about the business part (the profitable part).

Having the both: engineering and business knowledge is a real advantage.

Which indicators?

There are many departments that should be considerate while taking a decision. I choose to develop a bit the finance part, but they are all important (life cycle of the product, risk management etc.)

Finance has an essential place in an organization. It indicates how goes the financial health of the company.

The finance field include accounting (helps to be aware of the results of the organization activity), controlling (to reach the organization objectives and plans and to know exactly how much cost any process), the cash flow (it’s when money go out, how much go out? When money go in? and how much?).

This helps to the decision-making-process in a company. Also, it helps to determine how to maximize the total value which is the most important for a company.

Other elements must be under consideration: inflation, depreciation of the asset, the taxation, the time-value of money (money now doesn’t have the same Continue reading "Why you should never dissociate engineering and economics ?"

What is project management through the two first chapters of The Deadline from Tom DeMarco?

--Originally published at Blog de Célia

When you pick a class, sometimes you do not have any idea precisely of what it will be about. You just thinking, “yes the name looks good, why not?”. I was the same, of course I had my idea of what is project management, but I do not think I had the whole concept.

When we enter in our first day of Project management class, I was surprise, we did not start by the definition of what exactly does it means. We talked about a book (everyone seemed to know it, and to be honest, I did not know at all what they were talking about): The Deadline by Tom DeMarco. That was a novel, supposed to teach us stuff about project management, I was sceptical. First, because it’s been a while that I didn’t read any fiction book (Netflix got me and I only read schoolbooks now, I know, what a shame, for an ex booklover) and second because I am French (it’s my favourite excuse when they ask why I’m pessimistic).

Then, I read the two first chapters. I remembered why I used to love reading. It’s easy, pleasant to read and the story is catchy.

Opportunity Knocking

On the first chapter, we learn to know who this Mr. Tompkins is. An ex manager that was fired (I guess) and he is attending some out-placement lectures with other unemployed Of course, they used many other words to say dismissals. “Downsized”, “right-sized” or even “Released to Seek Opportunities Elsewhere”, I find this part funny. It looks like these persons that attend this seminary cannot face the truth or that they prefer to see the optimistic part of the situation (which is more positive, I agree). So, this Mr. Tompkins is bored as hell in this auditorium and Continue reading "What is project management through the two first chapters of The Deadline from Tom DeMarco?"