2100 Solutions – NEW Ruby on Rails website NOW in production on Heroku

After a few embarassing announcements, and failed launches, I have successfully re-crafted my websitefor 2100 Solutions Consulting, LLC.   This branding of my services includes, Program Management, BPM Strategy, Quality Assurance, Testing, Performance Preparation and Strategy, Automated Testing and Product Development.

Here is a URL for the Ruby on Rails website I just launched using the Heroku enviornment this weekend.  http://2100solutions.com

Heroku was by far the easiest host to implement.

Now a stable 24/7 presence with links to my external blogs and pursuits.

I have other RoR websites completed, but not yet launched on Heroku.   All published websites will be managed through GitHub.  My account at GitHub is WAFulbright, if you’d like to see or follow or contribute to my code!  Let’s do talk before you contribute!   Thanks!

Bill Fulbright

 

TEN REASONS WHY PEOPLE LOSE THEIR JOBS

So many of these people who lost their jobs are the victims of a poor economy or a struggling company or both. They are capable and hardworking, and their unemployment is not due to their lack of effort or desire.

Some people, however, lose their jobs due to factors they could control. I recently polled a number of leaders and asked them to tell me the top reason or reasons people lost jobs in their organizations. I asked them not to include those whose jobs were eliminated due to economic or financial reasons of the company. I was able to group their responses into ten categories. Although my poll is not scientifically validated, I think it is nevertheless instructive. Below are ten responses, listed in order of frequency, and realizing that there is some overlap in the categories.

1. Failure to keep current in their field. “Rapid change” has almost become cliché. One leader said he had to dismiss some people who were acting like it was still 2007. In other words, if you haven’t kept current or updated your skill set in the past five years, you are incredibly behind your coworkers. Other leaders said they expect their employees to reinvent themselves regularly.
2. Poor relational skills. Those deficiencies include an inability to work well with others, poor self-awareness, and a self-centered attitude. I note the latter issue separately below because it was mentioned frequently. One leader told me that he let go of two of his smartest employees because their attitudes were toxic to the organization.
3. Moral failure. I expected this response to be near the top and it was. Some of the most promising workers have been fired for actions that could only be described as stupid.
4. Failure to carry out assignments. Some of the leaders expressed amazement at the number of people who failed to carry out an assignment and offered no explanation why they failed to do so. “One former leader on my team,” a CEO told me, “ignored my assignment for months without explanation. I guess he thought that the task would just go away.”
5. Failure to take initiative. Some of those who responded to me were leaders in mid-size to large organizations. Their direct reports were brought into the organization with the expectation that they would be highly motivated workers. But when they failed to take initiative, their value to the organization diminished. “I need people who can come up with ideas and strategies on their own,” one leader said. “I don’t need to be giving them assignments with specific instructions every time.”
6. Negative talk. Some people lost their jobs because they were the sources or carriers of rumors. Some were incessant complainers. And even others were simply negative people. Their dispositions and conversations made the workplace unpleasant and discouraging for others.
7. Laziness. “Most lazy workers do not realize that everyone in the organization knows they are lazy,” a midlevel leader told me. “You can’t hide poor work hours and poor work ethic from others. I have to deal with lazy people in my division before that attitude permeates the entire division.”
8. Attitude of entitlement. We did go through an era in America’s employment history where adequate work and sufficient tenure guaranteed some employees a lifetime job, benefits, and retirement. That era exists no more. Those who still have an attitude of entitlement may soon find themselves on the sidelines of employment.
9. Failure to demonstrate productivity. Workers in organizations should regularly ask if they are being treated fairly for the work they do. If not, they should pursue other options. Workers can likewise be certain that now, more than ever, they are being evaluated in the same manner. Are they productive? Do they truly “earn their keep?”
10. Self-centered attitude. More and more workers are evaluated by their attitude as well as their direct work. Are they team players? Or do they always and obviously act in their own self-interest? Do they demonstrate humility? Or do they demonstrate hubris?

The workplace is changing. In many ways, all of us are more free agents than career workers. We have to demonstrate our worth each day. Those who do so will have many options before them. But those who don’t may find themselves in the ranks of the unemployed.

What do you think of this list? What would you add, delete, or rank differently?

Vendor Management Service Transformation: Entry 1 – Re-Factoring, Businss Architecture

Entry 1    3.22.2015

I recently was invited to join a project for a Vendor Management Service (VMS) in Mid-March 2015. The project is to provide in Phase 1 a re-factoring of our Client’s code by replacing the hardcoded middleware with services, and adding new client facing features, along with a new UI. All needing new documentation, of which there is now verylittle.

Our client provides a turnkey service for managing IT vendors who need to outsource their HR, Recruiting, Accounting, and Financial Services for this aspect of their business.

My role is to document the present legacy Business Processes, the new Processes, the new Services and the newly re-factored APIs, processes and added features by providing the Requirements, Use Cases, Workflows and Processes.

The leadership on this project is not only setting the pace, but shining a bright light into the future vision for this client, and for the VMS industry. It is a privilege to work with them.

 

Presently, I am awash in the project ramp-up and assimilation of the many layers, features and infrastructure required to successfully launch a program as complex as this.

We have two teams: one is onsite with FTE EEs of the customer, and a fly-in contingent of our leadership. The other is an offsite team in Atlanta, that is providing an AGILE based component for delivery of the new code which provides the new Service APIs and integration; as well as Leadership, Business Architecure, Process Articulation & Documentation. The client will observe the present SDLC based approach for now.

We have defined the primary users and their roles, the features – both new and old – associated with their roles. The functionality of these features some of which, for now, will remain as legacy, while others are new. There are around 400 of these. Some are Epic, requiring some of the features to support the workflows.

For the new and replacement pieces (in AGILE) we have defined the primary “Day in the Life” from the “need to the ass in the seat” E2E process to establish a critical Happy Path. Variations and UCM will be modeled based upon this primary structure.

The software and coding will be the same, albeit updated. The specific usage of the system will vary based upon the needs and systems of client-users of this system.

The SDLC pieces for things like the DATA, and QA will be driven from the client sites.

I will be updating this log at various points along the way…. so STAY TUNED!!

Bill Fulbright

Want To Start a Testing / Delivery Practice?

So many of us do.  However, looking at starting something like this from scratch, is truly starting a new business and requires much thought, planning and many “hats”.  Here are some points I have used to assist others in grasping the needed vision, depth of effort, types of talent, and sustainability of the effort that will be required.

Visit my Linked In group at:  QA 2100 Testing: Financial Services

Roles and Resources
It requires full time attention to each of these Roles and Resources:
1.  Experienced and Qualified Prospecting and Sales force
2.  Pre-Sales Preparation, RFP/RFI Replies, as well as Attendance at Presentation (Orals) – for each opportunity.
3.  Attained Status as Preferred Vendor, or Vendor
a.  Requires relationship with Client Companies
b.  Requires meeting their criteria for becoming a vendor
1.  Capacity to perform
2.  Liability Insurance
3.  Fiduciary Responsibility
4.  Legal Compliance
4. Developers for the domains you wish to pursue, with the appropriate skill sets, and experience
5. Business Analysts and Business Architects for the domains you wish to pursue, with the appropriate skill sets, and experience
6.  QA Leaders, Managers, and Testers with domain experience
7.  Project / Engagement / Delivery Managers to connect with the Client and the Teams
8.  Financial Resources to sustain the ramp-up of business, infrastructure, and delivery of services
9.  Financial Resources to sustain Market Research, Marketing Strategies
10.Partnership Alliances – to give you value added leverage when positioning for new business
11.Budget that will include all the above, balanced with enough sales to justify the effort, or a plan for ROI over 5 years for investors.
12.Business plan and road-map that demonstrates all the above, and it’s veracity.
13.Staff on the ground – available, ready to work on-site, near-shore, no visa issues, or proven offshore teams that have a solid delivery history.

I am writing this not to discourage those interested in pursuing such a goal, rather to create curiosity and and interest in taking on the challenge.   These concepts and work efforts are real elements that have to be in place before it can be a successful venture…. even for an established company wanting to build a new practice.

Business Plans:
In other words, this effort requires at least:
Experts to Initiate, Drive and Deliver
Business Concept(s) meeting Market needs; Business Need/Justifications
Planning: Initial Steps to Initiate, Milestones at 3 mo., 6 mo., 1 yr, 18 mos., 2 yrs., etc. till 5 years
Identified Services and Products
Multi-Phase Financing: Start-Up Money, Mid-Term Money, Long-Term Money, Planned ROI’s for each phase
Market Research for Service / Product Viability,
Strategy for Launching the Business,
Scope of Ramp-up,
Planned New Business Market(s)
Planned Costs
Ability to Staff and Deliver
Motivation, Determination, Desire, Mission and Purpose
Commitment to see it through

None of these comes pre-packaged, or comes easily.  It all requires vision, leadership, experience, clarity, strategy, good communication, follow through.

I am certainly not giving away the store here, but sharing some thought work I have used to help prepare business not only in the IT world, but as part of my 12 yrs of Management Consulting before my last 19 years in the IT business!  These principles hold true in any enterprise!  I have written many accurate and successful business plans for new or international or established companies seeking investment money to fund a start-up.

As a thought leader and architect of Quality Assurance, and Business Process, I have learned through experience these tenets, which will not be learned so much at school, but by living it and delivering it – with successful outcomes.  That does not mean there weren’t failures, or massive challenges along the way – that is where the real learning takes place.

Lack of Integrity and Moral Grounding causes breach in security for Morgan-Stanley and others

Morgan Stanley fires employee who leaked sensitive client data

By now, this is old news. by 2 days. And this is not the first or the last time…

BUT, the issue is: how to contain actions of rogue employees, who for one reason or another choose to leak data to create either fraud, embezzlement, or just outright malicious damage.

-or-

Change the hiring and training of those with deep security access.

Here is another case of actions taken by people who lack integrity or the moral certitude (to prevent them from such) that cause the rest of us to suffer either through monetary loss, or tighter security – both are reactionary, after the fact, and hard to recover…

Solutions? Creating higher level, invisible, security barriers around known system security? Improving morale? Creating behavioral awareness that is alert to potential disgruntled behavior? Or creating a higher standard of integrity for those with deep security access? Better background screening?

Return to integrity anyone?