Well, if you're wondering what happened to me - it's Thursday, I've worked 53 hours in 4 days. Fun. Not.
I ultimately caught the role of functional test lead for UAT because....no on planned UAT, no one appointed UAT personnel, and I have the skills and ability to bring order from chaos. (No modesty here, that happens to be one of the things I am good at.)
Now, I won't kid you, it is an uphill battle - I am going to try and roll the UAT out one step ahead of the testers. Prepare block one, roll out block one, and then while the testers are moving through block one, be working frantically on block two. There are about six blocks, all told, of varying degrees of complexity and it is going to consume the next two weeks.
I haven't had much time for anything else. I wake up in the morning, I start working, I work through the day, I come home and have dinner and then go back to work. I have deliberately decided not to work tonight, just to give myself a bit of a rest. I think 53 hours so far this week is enough, and I know I am going to wrack up a few more hours in the run of the next two weeks.
If there is a project management take-away it is this - it is all in the planning. Succeed in the planning and you will succeed in the project. Fail in the planning and you will fail in the project.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
An Inauspicious Start
Well, it has not been an auspicious start to the day. My work laptop struggled through a series of installs and reboots, locking up twice and forcing me to cold start it. That ate up a solid hour of time.
Then, I turned my attention to three urgent data requests that originated from legal. Then, into a status meeting that got totally co-opted for another subject. Followed by direction for the immediate turn around of some test related material.
That pretty much ate up the morning, meaning I got zero time to work on the projects assigned directly too me.
I took a hard hit on a favorite stress trigger of mine. Let's see if I can accurately describe it. The trigger gets hit when I am assigned a project, or a portion of a project, and after going through the discovery phase I start working on it.
Then, I get asked or tasked on something that is "part of the project" that I had never heard of and it is revealed that it was included in the project as a result of a meeting I didn't attend, or a conversation I was not part of, or an email exchange that did not include me.
That instantly slams into my fairness stress trigger. I think that it is unfair to hold a person accountable for an action or a task without first making that person aware that they are on the hook for it.
Fortunately, a walk and a simple high protein lunch have helped to pull that stress level back down from it's peak. It in a few moments I will head back to the office and dive back into the fray. I just keep reminding myself that all projects, good or bad, end.
Later That Evening...
Well, I was able to get some productivity out of the day - granted most of it came during the evening when I was working at home. The afternoon was mostly consumed in a pair of meetings about UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and some follow on conversations. The UAT meeting was scheduled for an hour, but extended well beyond that.
They have appointed a test director, and a good one at that. I definitely don't envy him. He echoed what I have said in that, during the course of a career, this project is a once in a lifetime event, it is so chaotic and so scattered. It actually heartened me to hear someone else say that.
At one point during the afternoon meeting I was pointing out the difficulty of the task (the math simply does not add up). The UAT cycle is pretty much a pure mathematical fantasy. I may have to write an entire post on that, since it is a perfect object lesson on what not to do during UAT.
Then, I turned my attention to three urgent data requests that originated from legal. Then, into a status meeting that got totally co-opted for another subject. Followed by direction for the immediate turn around of some test related material.
That pretty much ate up the morning, meaning I got zero time to work on the projects assigned directly too me.
I took a hard hit on a favorite stress trigger of mine. Let's see if I can accurately describe it. The trigger gets hit when I am assigned a project, or a portion of a project, and after going through the discovery phase I start working on it.
Then, I get asked or tasked on something that is "part of the project" that I had never heard of and it is revealed that it was included in the project as a result of a meeting I didn't attend, or a conversation I was not part of, or an email exchange that did not include me.
That instantly slams into my fairness stress trigger. I think that it is unfair to hold a person accountable for an action or a task without first making that person aware that they are on the hook for it.
Fortunately, a walk and a simple high protein lunch have helped to pull that stress level back down from it's peak. It in a few moments I will head back to the office and dive back into the fray. I just keep reminding myself that all projects, good or bad, end.
Later That Evening...
Well, I was able to get some productivity out of the day - granted most of it came during the evening when I was working at home. The afternoon was mostly consumed in a pair of meetings about UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and some follow on conversations. The UAT meeting was scheduled for an hour, but extended well beyond that.
They have appointed a test director, and a good one at that. I definitely don't envy him. He echoed what I have said in that, during the course of a career, this project is a once in a lifetime event, it is so chaotic and so scattered. It actually heartened me to hear someone else say that.
At one point during the afternoon meeting I was pointing out the difficulty of the task (the math simply does not add up). The UAT cycle is pretty much a pure mathematical fantasy. I may have to write an entire post on that, since it is a perfect object lesson on what not to do during UAT.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
May All Beings
There is a decision point that I seem to hit every other weekend or so. I try and decide if I am going to do any work on the weekend. If I thought that by working on the weekend I could gain some ground on the week, I would be more tempted to do it. But, the general result is I work extra hours in the weekend, and then I still end up working extra hours during the week, so it is definitely a zero sum game.
This weekend was no different, but, here I am, Sunday night, watching Once Upon A Time and quite happy that I didn't work this weekend - with the full awareness that I am going to be working long days this week. I have one major task that I want to accomplish this week, so I am going to try and stay focused on that, try and keep a disciplined approach to it.
Today was a good day, all in all. The switch in time impacted me this morning when I woke up at about 4:00 AM, so I expect to pay for that by hitting a hard wall before too long. I can already feel the first edges of sleep trying to steal over me, so I suspect it will just be a question of "when do I give in", followed by a bit of tossing and turning, then a swift and smooth journey into the land of sleep.
I feel like I need a day off, but the Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner, so I may hold out until then. I also may take a day between here and there. Perhaps to celebrate one of the milestones at work as it passes. We can list that as one of the failures of our current project management, they do not celebrate the milestones that we reach and pass. This is just another thing in the litany of things that make this program the object lesson in how not to run a project.
I had an easy afternoon, alternating between reading and watching the DVR, then I had dinner with Tony over at Mama Mia's on Hamilton. Excellent pizza and Tiramisu. Earlier in the day we'd gone to Cupertino Square to see RZA's "The Man With The Iron Fist", which was an enjoyable old-style Kung Fu movie. One of the players in the movie was the actress Jamie Chung, who happens to be portraying Mulan on "Once Upon A Time". She is a very beautiful and talented actress.
On that note I am as ready for the end of the day as I can be. I hope you had a good weekend and, as the sign on the wall in my office says: May all beings find happiness and be free from suffering.
This weekend was no different, but, here I am, Sunday night, watching Once Upon A Time and quite happy that I didn't work this weekend - with the full awareness that I am going to be working long days this week. I have one major task that I want to accomplish this week, so I am going to try and stay focused on that, try and keep a disciplined approach to it.
Today was a good day, all in all. The switch in time impacted me this morning when I woke up at about 4:00 AM, so I expect to pay for that by hitting a hard wall before too long. I can already feel the first edges of sleep trying to steal over me, so I suspect it will just be a question of "when do I give in", followed by a bit of tossing and turning, then a swift and smooth journey into the land of sleep.
I feel like I need a day off, but the Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner, so I may hold out until then. I also may take a day between here and there. Perhaps to celebrate one of the milestones at work as it passes. We can list that as one of the failures of our current project management, they do not celebrate the milestones that we reach and pass. This is just another thing in the litany of things that make this program the object lesson in how not to run a project.
I had an easy afternoon, alternating between reading and watching the DVR, then I had dinner with Tony over at Mama Mia's on Hamilton. Excellent pizza and Tiramisu. Earlier in the day we'd gone to Cupertino Square to see RZA's "The Man With The Iron Fist", which was an enjoyable old-style Kung Fu movie. One of the players in the movie was the actress Jamie Chung, who happens to be portraying Mulan on "Once Upon A Time". She is a very beautiful and talented actress.
On that note I am as ready for the end of the day as I can be. I hope you had a good weekend and, as the sign on the wall in my office says: May all beings find happiness and be free from suffering.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
A Natural Emptiness
I did my best to stay "off the grill" today. I need the low key weekend and so far it has been pretty good. I stayed up late last night reading "The Cloud Atlas", slept well and woke refreshed. I watched "Fringe" and "Haven", then met Tony and Ty for breakfast at the Hickory Pit. I did a walk through at Fry's, then home for a while. I met Richard for lunch at Pacific Catch over at the Pruneyard. After that, a few quick errands and then home again.
I will say one thing about the level of work and personal currents running now - they have inspired many vivid but half-remembered dreams as my subconscious stirs around. Today, when I woke up, and then at various times through the day, I thought about the metaphorical boxes that I find myself in as I move through my ordinary days. The power of habit is a powerful thing. Our lives are infused with a hundred habits, from the simple to the complex and then back again. Somewhere in there, underneath that layer of habits, is our true self.
That search for the true self is the quest that can consume our days, if we have the courage to undertake it. Sometimes I think I have that courage, but then other times I don't think that I do. As we go through life, life inspires us and wounds us in equal measure. Each event, each inspiration, each wound, is a thread on the tapestry of our life. Our life is not a single thread, not a wound, not an inspiration, but rather it is the sum total of all of that. Often, we cannot see the full sweep of the tapestry unless we find some way to take a step back, to get a little distance. To do that, we have to go off the grill, we have to fnd a place of stillness from which we can observe, from which we can experience.
It's a little after nine o'clock PM here right now, I am sitting on my chair in my living room, everything turned off except a single light and my laptop. I close my eyes and I can hear the sounds of traffic in the distance, through the open patio doors, the quiet rush of the freeway a mile or so away. The clock on the kitchen wall ticks loudly in the stillness. The sound of my fingers on the keys is a distinctive rattle and click. There is a distance conversation from the courtyard, but distance enough that I hear the murmur of voices but cannot make out the words. It's a beautiful moment all in all. Simple and still. There is an emptiness within me, but it seems as if it is the emptiness that should be there. A natural emptiness.
I will say one thing about the level of work and personal currents running now - they have inspired many vivid but half-remembered dreams as my subconscious stirs around. Today, when I woke up, and then at various times through the day, I thought about the metaphorical boxes that I find myself in as I move through my ordinary days. The power of habit is a powerful thing. Our lives are infused with a hundred habits, from the simple to the complex and then back again. Somewhere in there, underneath that layer of habits, is our true self.
That search for the true self is the quest that can consume our days, if we have the courage to undertake it. Sometimes I think I have that courage, but then other times I don't think that I do. As we go through life, life inspires us and wounds us in equal measure. Each event, each inspiration, each wound, is a thread on the tapestry of our life. Our life is not a single thread, not a wound, not an inspiration, but rather it is the sum total of all of that. Often, we cannot see the full sweep of the tapestry unless we find some way to take a step back, to get a little distance. To do that, we have to go off the grill, we have to fnd a place of stillness from which we can observe, from which we can experience.
It's a little after nine o'clock PM here right now, I am sitting on my chair in my living room, everything turned off except a single light and my laptop. I close my eyes and I can hear the sounds of traffic in the distance, through the open patio doors, the quiet rush of the freeway a mile or so away. The clock on the kitchen wall ticks loudly in the stillness. The sound of my fingers on the keys is a distinctive rattle and click. There is a distance conversation from the courtyard, but distance enough that I hear the murmur of voices but cannot make out the words. It's a beautiful moment all in all. Simple and still. There is an emptiness within me, but it seems as if it is the emptiness that should be there. A natural emptiness.
Friday, November 2, 2012
A Need For A Magnificent Obsession
One of the things I've learned about life is that life is
always an unexpected journey. We never know the direction we're going to end up
traveling in. It is guaranteed to be a surprise. Sometimes it turns out to be a
lucky surprise and sometimes it doesn't. I think the ability to embrace
whichever turn of fortune rushes towards you is a gift. I think that as long as
you look at it that way you will make the best of the circumstances whenever
they happened to be. Lately my life seems to be comprised of twists and turns.
Not only my life but the life of the people around me. Maybe it's just a
heightened sensitivity on my part or maybe we have entered into a season of
twists and turns. I kind of like that idea. After all, life is the ultimate
force of nature.
As I mentioned earlier it was a crazy, busy, week at work. I
worked way too many hours in way too short a period of time. Today, which was
my day off, was rewarding. First I slept in a bit, then I met Tony for
breakfast over at Goodies II. After that I ran a couple of errands, including a
rather fruitless search for a special type of VGA cable. Then I met my friend
Marjorie, from Southern California, for lunch over at Hobbies. I only get to
see her every couple of years when our paths cross either here in Northern
California or down south. So was very nice.
From there, I stopped at computer central, and then Best
Buy, all in a fruitless search for that VGA cable. There is a design flaw in my
Sony laptop. It has to monitor ports, a VGA port, and an HDMI port.
Unfortunately, they are side-by-side, and separated only by about a quarter of
an inch. Take a look at your VGA cable and notice just how wide the connector
is. Do you notice the little screws that secure it to the VGA port? Do you
notice the little flange at the edge of the connector? Well, that little flange
is enough to prevent you from plugging in two monitors. Now, I've seen VGA
cables without that flange. I think they're one point I actually had one. It
might still be around here somewhere. But, from this moment in time, it looks
again going to have to do surgery on a VGA cable so I can hook up both monitors
to the Sony VAIO. Well, I guess it's nothing my Dremel tool can't fix.
I don't really have any special plans for the weekend, other
than the routine stuff, I think I'm going to try to take it easy through the
weekend. I need some quiet time. I need some time to listen to the silence. I
need some time to be alone with my thoughts. It always kind of amazes me how
difficult it is in the modern age. We run, constantly, and we never stop. Even
when we think we’re stopped, we’re not, we’re running. It's like we are the
servants of the mad master and we don't even know it. Well I'm going to try and
shake that master for a bit this weekend.
About four years ago I was in a strange place. At the time I
characterized it as seeking a magnificent obsession. That is about as close as
I can come to explaining it. I think I'm slipping back into that time and
space. I think that's part of the journey of life that, periodically, it takes
us back over familiar territory. It takes us back to those places where we
still have a lesson to learn. I am not sure what that lesson is, I didn't know
then, and I don't know now. All I know is that inside me there is a need for a
magnificent obsession.
Oh, and speaking of Magnificent Obsession - I happened to turn on the TV tonight and stumbled upon Casino Royale, the old one, with Woody Allen, Peter Sellers, David Niven - and the very beautiful Ursula Andress. This is a picture of her from the first movie I ever saw her in "She" as "She Who Must Be Obeyed".
Thursday, November 1, 2012
What A Week
What a week.
I worked 51 hours in 4 days. On the plus side, I checked two items off the work list. But, in terms of what else I have done this week, work was pretty much it. Life continues to move at its own pace and I am hoping that I will get a window this weekend to write a bit and record a few of the things that unfolded, but for tonight, I am going to watch a pair of sitcoms and then settle in to read myself to sleep. I am entering my three day weekend and though I will be doing some work, I am going to try and not do a lot. Tomorrow I've got breakfast and lunch plans but nothing after that.
I worked 51 hours in 4 days. On the plus side, I checked two items off the work list. But, in terms of what else I have done this week, work was pretty much it. Life continues to move at its own pace and I am hoping that I will get a window this weekend to write a bit and record a few of the things that unfolded, but for tonight, I am going to watch a pair of sitcoms and then settle in to read myself to sleep. I am entering my three day weekend and though I will be doing some work, I am going to try and not do a lot. Tomorrow I've got breakfast and lunch plans but nothing after that.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
A Disciplined Focus on the Basics
It looks like I have, temporarily, fallen on a different rhythm, a more work driven rhythm. I got home last night and basically went into vegetable mode, due to the hours I’d worked. I went to sleep early, about 8:00 PM. As a result of that decision, I woke up about 2:00 AM, spent thirty minutes or so reading, and then managed to go back to sleep until about 5:30 AM. When I woke at 5:30 AM I was rested and ready to move smoothly into the day.
I had an interesting dreams - it was a work related stress dream, where I was struggling with various aspects of the project that I’m working on. My biggest worry bead is this: We’re currently “working without a net” on various portions of the project, were working without anyone checking our work, we’re working without an process of peer review and without many of the necessary project controls. As a result, I have a persistent fear, not so much that I am making a mistake, but that I am missing something entirely - and I simply don’t know I am missing it. The same holds true of mistakes - I am well aware that I could be making some terrible mistake and simply be totally unaware of it.
That was the anxiety trigger that tossed and turned my dreams last night, but in the dream was the possible solution. That is one of the things I love about the way the subconscious works, the way it is continually seeking an answer, and then when it finds something it thinks will work present it to use in the form of images.
In the dream I was preparing to go on a raid of some sort. It was somewhere in the dark hours of the night, I was in a room lit by a lantern, and I had all my equipment laid out on the floor, meticulously counting each piece, ordering everything, making sure all of the basics were accounted for prior to the raid. I woke up with the realization that was the approach I needed - a simple and disciplined focus on the basics.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Monday In A Mood
Well, I have started Monday in a mood. I don’t know if I didn’t get enough sleep last night or if I am overwhelmed by the work facing me or a combination of both. I woke up shortly after six and proceeded straight into a clunky morning. (The opposite of a smooth morning.) First, I am tired, as if I didn’t sleep well last night. Then, it was a morning of small irritations, from trouble putting my contact lens in to spilling coffee on myself, it was just a morning that went slightly off track and stayed there. I tried to slow the morning down and break the patterns of the day (which is what I am trying right here as well), but that has not been particularly successful. Because I was running a little late through the morning I ended up in heavier than normal traffic on Lawrence Expressway, in part due to the hour and in part due to a heavy fog that was slowly lifting. I made it into the office and mood is just kind of staying with me.
One of the thing I know, when I find myself slipping into a mood like this, is I need to change my pattern, I need to change the direction of the day. I have found that one of the best ways to do that is to try and focus down on things that can give me a sense of accomplishment. If I can string a few of those together, then I can salvage the day, otherwise the day is pretty much a waste of time. So, I find myself locked in battle with my mood.
So, to try and alter the course of the day, I am going to try and pick some low hanging fruit, harvest them, eat them, and then try and tackle some more difficult things a little later in the day. I feel in a writing mood, so I may take the opportunity to draft some longer emails, or perhaps to do some documentation based writing and reset the day by focusing on something that I enjoy.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
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