nikosnotes.eu

Life is a journey, not a destination. During that journey I set aside a few minutes to share my thoughts about movies, books and information technology evolution. Thank you for reading.

[maroulas]

Living in SciFi

From SIRI to self-driving cars, artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotics are progressing rapidly. The computer processing power from 1956 to 2015 increased 1 trillion-fold in performance over the last six decades. At the same time the cost of computer storage decreased from $193K (1980) to $0.03 (2015). Over and above of all this progress, the majority of human population are Millennials (born >2K) ie highly familiar with technology.

The challenge for corporations and business is how fast will adapt and/or transformed by using these technologies for their benefit.

[maroulas]

ROI on IT Projects

Many times its not so easy to justify the economic benefits from a software improvement or project. During the software demand management process many tools can be used - from the demand side - in order the correct prioritisation to be assigned. The most popular is the “business case” justification, “cost benefit” analysis, but one that usually is neglected is the ROI. 

The first step in justifying the value of IT investment is to perform an ROI analysis. The evaluation of proposed/planned projects based on costs, savings, strategic benefits and risks can be one of the most valuable tools in executive level. Top management can prioritise and sponsor the projects which will contribute the most to the strategic and tactical business goals. ROI offers tremendous leverage and benefits in establishing the business case to justify technology initiatives.

ROI = (EXPECTED BENEFITS / EXPECTED COST) * 100

Additionally, during the implementation of the projects - and as the project figures changes, such as expected cost due to project issues - the ROI can provide us a significant variable if let say we have to decide whether to continue with the project or not. 

The question is “how many times have you seen such an analysis”? and how many times have you measure “what actually a particular investment returned to the enterprise”?

[maroulas]

Become a Leader by Thinking Like an Owner

In our jobs, we often give our opinion from a functional or departmental point of view – in other words, from a limited perspective. We may do it because we don't have access to additional information or because we believe that broadening our perspective simply isn't part of our job. And in some situations, a narrower point of view is appropriate. But leaders have to have a high-level perspective. They must think through an issue from all sides and weigh the needs of various stakeholders. So if you want to become a leader in the future, start thinking like one now. If you were the boss, or even the company's owner, what kinds of problems and opportunities would you need to consider? Who would you need to seek input from? Thinking like a leader doesn't mean having all the answers, but it does mean always keeping the bigger picture in mind.

Adapted from “To Become a Leader, Think Beyond Your Role,” by Robert Steven Kaplan. - Harvard Business Review

[maroulas]

This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Sit All Day [VIDEO]

If nothing else has inspired you to try a standing desk at work, this video will.

[maroulas]

IT toward an industrialized model

IT is a service business. The standardization of IT services through predesigned and preconfigured solutions is the next best thing in IT evolution.

[maroulas]

Teams Communication

The common rule of thumb is 7+/- 2 based on "scram". More team members and the communication overhead starts to get excessive.

[maroulas]

Industrialization

the next step in IT evolution 

Standardization of Service

Modularization of Solutions

Automation of Service Delivery

[maroulas]

Current IT Challenges

The wold of information technology (IT) continues to undergo a rapid change. Cloud computing, big data, mobile communication, social media are some of the technologies which change the game. The use of IT in creation of new business areas/models is undeniable. 

Today - more than ever - cost, security, efficiency, continues improvement and quality as well as  focus on customer (internal or external), innovation and agility are the most critical challenges IT industry facing.

These challenges are affecting both in-house IT departments and IT service providers. Nevertheless, the most important of all is, who is prepared to deliver such high quality services and provide continuesly “clock speed” solutions. In any case, these can not be achieved by organizations standing in the past. The rapid changes in IT industry demands changes in IT management and structure as well.

[maroulas]

PMO Maturity Level

In which level of maturity your organization is?

(Source the PMI Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)

LEVEL 0: Chaotic — No evidence of documented processes or best practices LEVEL 1: Active — Documented processes carried out, but not formalized (ad hoc, with unpredictable results, and dependent on heroics) LEVEL 2: Efficient — Consistent discipline started (repeatable processes supported by materials and templates, but only in use in pockets) LEVEL 3: Responsive — Ubiquitous and measured (processes are applied consistently in the majority of situations and managed proactively) LEVEL 4: Business-Driven — Provides data and information to drive business decisions (used as the standard throughout the organization, provides metrics for continuous improvement)

Businesses need efficient processes. Obviously, the target for all companies must be Level 4, but the most difficult job is passing from Level 1 to Level 2. Usually, companies at that level, lack processes formalization, neglecting the use (of processes) as well as the process monitoring. Very few companies have allocated these topics among the directorial responsibilities of their executive managers.

[maroulas]

IT budgets shrink, but expectations grow

Employees are the most valuable asset and the biggest expense for most organizations. One of the most critical challenges todays executives are facing is the return on human resource investments.

Survey results from 2013 Gartner PPM and IT Governance Summit. (surveyed about 100 IT executives)

The ability to deploy employees effectively against often-conflicting projects and other work priorities, and maximize their utilization, enables organizations to:

optimize their return on human resource investments

"achieve more with less"

cover the growing expectations

[hepburny]

Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963)

[maroulas]

"Great coders are today’s Rock Stars"

Watching this video I remembered the first time i wrote code. It was at high school, during a computer science course.

I remember the computer. A “zx spectrum” with the rubber keyboard. I remember my first program on “basic”. “HELLO WORLD”.  It was a love  at a first site and I was 11 years old. 

But that was me. One of a few - back in 80s - who had access in a computer lab. Since then the world turned upside down. Today the technology is everywhere. From the our mobile phones to agricalture, but still many students do not have the opportunity - from their schools - to learn basic programming skills.

Code.org has a vision to demystify coding. More than 60 million students worldwide access their teaching programs (impressive), providing (a) tutorials on programming for students and (b) resources for educators. They train both students and computer science teachers. It is impressive. And all these for free. This is something that the technology provides! Free online education.

Definitely, I am a huge fun of it.

and as Will.l.Am said: “Great coders are today’s Rock Stars”

[theacademy]

Choose wisely this weekend.

[maroulas]

Netflix, House of Cards

Season “House of Cards” season three will debut on Netflix on Feb. 27. I cant wait !

[maroulas]

Bond24: from 1963 to 2015. SPECTRE reappears. (aka Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion). Can't wait to watch it ! 

[maroulas]

New name, Same topic!

It was December of 2009 when I first decide to start writing a blog. I found a name, and i found a topic. “unrealspot.gr everything that holds my interests”. Everything was settled. The only problem was my consistency on writing. Even though the blog was up and running, most of the times I preferred to write something on “facebook” or “twitter” rather on my blog. “Social Media” hogged my online presence. 

This year - out of nowhere - I decided to migrate all the past posts into a new  platform and ‘restart’. New name, same topic. “nikosnotes.eu everything that holds my interests”. Maybe was the un-fulfillment of the first attempt. Maybe is the new blogging tools, such as “tumblr”. Maybe is the integration with “instagram”. Maybe is something wrong with me and I want to share my thoughts. For certain, is that from now on you can find me here. Sharing thoughts about what I saw (movies) what I read (books) and on what I am working on (information technology evolution and project management). everything that holds my interests.

I thought to initialize this new season with something that I really like. It’s a column from Chicago Tribune published on June 1997, titled "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young" - Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)

Happy licensing and thank you for reading

Nikos

[maroulas]

Έξι μέρες τώρα θέλω να γράψω! Bond is Back ! Αν σκεφτεί κανείς ότι αυτό το περίμενα 3 χρόνια (από την τελευταία παραγωγή του Quantum of Solace, 2008 ) .. έξι μέρες δεν είναι και πολύς καιρός… θα πρέπει όμως να περιμένουμε άλλον ένα χρόνο μέχρι την επίσημη πρεμιέρα στις 9 Νοεμβρίου 2012. SKYFALL Official Movie Site SKYFALL IMDB