Foul Tech Sours

With the growing popularity of social media platforms and their use as a key form of communication, I oftentimes find myself scrolling through timelines, updating statuses, and watching cat videos on mediums such as LinkedIn , Facebook , and Twitter . If you tend to do the same, I'm sure you have noticed a spike in quizzes that are supposed to either: a.) tell you something you already know about yourself or, b.) provide you with some result that makes you wonder "who the hell is this thing talking about". While these quizzes are sometimes just for fun and usually completely ridiculous, I recently came across a quiz while browsing LinkedIn called " What Type of PM Are You ". Considering my role as a technical PM, and a newly certified PMP (woot woot!), I was inclined to answer the questions and see my results. After truthfully answering a series of question which, in my opinion, only scratch the surface of what is required to determine the true management styl...

"On an annualized basis, employers will need to fill nearly 2.2 MILLION new project-oriented roles each year through 2027." - PMI, Job Growth and Talent Gap in Project Management 2017 With many seasoned project management practitioners reaching retirement age, there has been a threat of a potential gap in the availability of qualified talent in project management. As the global economy becomes more project-oriented, the demand for project management has continued to grow. Although project management professionals are trained and certified regularly, there are many factors that contribute to the loss of value of project management as an art form. In today's business environment, we want things fast, cheap, and potentially virtual if it will help reduce overhead costs. While many organizations have turned to third party project management consulting as a way to fill this gap internally, a newly emerging method of consulting is coming to change the game: micro-consulting...

In the fall of 2016, I had the pleasure of taking Mr. Leslie "Jim" Sklenar as a professor for my Communications Management course. While there were many key takeaways from this course, the biggest takeaway for me concerned conflict resolution and management. Although this was not the primary purpose of the course, the brief overview of conflict resolution and management led me to a simple yet very relevant thought: It is not only the responsibility of a project manager to manage and control the triple constraint, but a project manager may need to also be a peer mediator. This year, during the fall of 2017 in an elective course titled "Special Topics in Project Management", Mr. Marcus Parker further broadened this perspective for me. A project manager's responsibility regarding conflict management is not limited to just peer mediation, but at times may require the project manager to be a teacher, a mentor, and (dare I say it), a referee. Though initially insult...

In my short time as a professional, I've performed a few actions that I personally consider "checking the box": Graduated high school. Check. Got a government internship. Check. Got a technical undergraduate degree. Check. Obtained a job as a software developer. Check.  Got a job in project management. Check. Got my CAPM. Check. Completed a Master in Project Management. Check (Almost..two weeks left!) Although I have already gotten my foot in the door as a Technical Project Manager, I realize that many of my classmates have not yet penetrated the field. Being among my actual peers (age-wise) has made me realize that we are all completing these "checks in boxes", but don't know what to do next. We (yes, we) often find ourselves performing these accomplishments then asking "How do I...?", "What if I...?", or just straight up "Now what?" especially when it comes to entering the project management fie...

In a text prepared by Andrew Wicks, Edward Freeman, Patricia Werhane, and Kirsten Martin, the authors discuss various approaches to tackling business ethics in a global society. While there is some emphasis on different perspectives that represent extreme views on how to have a discussion about global ethics, the authors provide several concepts that present an intermediate platform to discuss conflicting views. Global goals, formally known as universal values, are just one way in which conflicts about sustainable development can be addressed. Global goals are important because they represent a “set of moral principles on which people can at least agree” (Wicks ,et al., 2009). This set of moral minimums provides overarching goals that address poverty, hunger, education, environmental sustainment, world peace, and global partnerships. Specifically, universally accepted global values bring people of varying cultures, socio-economic classifications, age groups, and professions togethe...

Good communication is known to be a key component of successful project management. Project managers are expected to have a broad set of communication skills: they must be interpersonal, amiable, tactful in their communications, and most importantly, they must be open minded. With open mindedness comes the expectation that project managers are tolerant of individuals of varying ethnicities, religious beliefs, knowledge levels, financial situations, personal characteristics, and temperament. The personality of an individual cannot be changed, however, the way in which a project manager communicates with stakeholder, can change. An experienced project manager will have likely dealt with different personalities over the course of his or her career. Some people are introverts while other are extroverts. Some people say exactly what they’re thinking, while other people may be more soft spoken. Some individuals may always require detailed guidance and direction, while others may be more au...

Photo courtesy of  Proof Positive Cash. Currency. Dinero. Mula. Capital.  Regardless of which term you use, it's all the same thing: MONEY. It's valuable and very highly coveted. To some, it's easy to obtain, for others, it eludes them very easily. With regards to Project Management, money is a very value resource, a necessity in some cases, that is required for a project manager and his or her team to successfully complete an assigned project. It's a commonly known fact that it's rare, if not impossible, to perfectly guesstimate a budget for a project. This is usually the case for long term, large scale projects. The mistakes that project managers make when it comes to the cost estimation of the overall project varies. Sometimes, project manager can be too optimistic. Other times, the project manager may fail to account for certain aspects of a project that may involve cost. And, very frequently, known unknowns come into play and unexpectedly dep...

Micro manager. Unpleasant. Incompetent. Dishonest. Unprofessional. Late. Demanding. Entitled. Unfortunately, most professionals can say that they've had a boss at some point in their career that has displayed one or more of these characteristics. Often times, these people tend to be c-level, or "higher ups", or just managers in general, that likely made it to the position they're in due to taking credit for other people's work. As cliche as it may seem, my recent experiences, both professionally and academically, have got me considering TRULY how different bosses are from leaders. From a professional perspective, I've been thinking about the bosses I've encountered: They are great at delegating work. Whether they actually SHOULD delegate the work is irrelevant to them. As long as it gets done and gets done correctly, protocol, pay grade, and job descriptions don't tend to matter too much. They refuse to communicate down unless it's to their...

Time, Cost, and Scope. Three attributes that can apply to just about any aspect of life. Regardless of the scenario to which one might decide to apply these constraints, there's always a give and take. For the sake of this entry, lets define time, cost, and scope as the following: Time: The duration required to complete the project and all associated sub-projects and deliverables. Cost: The total financial resources required to complete the project. This includes the cost of all resources, and the cost to complete individual work packages. DISCLAIMER: The next definition probably varies from source to source, however, this is my blog, and I will use knowledge that I've acquired over the course of my several years of formal education. Scope: The requirements and objectives that have been identified to determine what the end product is expected to accomplish. Photo Credit:  Cosmocatalano on Wikimedia | 2010 In a perfect world, time, cost, and scope would all be e...

Is the cost of a system worth the price of convenience? This question is something that I've been ruminating on after a brief discussion with one of my close friends. Scenario: My close friend, let's call her Kitty, has been applying for jobs. One particular company, a small to medium sized company (464 stores with 11,800 employees as of 1 October 2015), allows interested applicants to view open positions online. Kitty found several positions in which she was interested and proceeded to apply. Now, you would expect, like many systems, that Kitty would be redirected from the company employment website to some sort of under-thought, poorly customized employee application system powered by Oracle (you know, Taleo? Yup..it's Oracle). In this instance, that was not the case: She provided her email address and was then emailed  a fillable .PDF application which she was expected the send back electronically to the company email address provided. Pause: They want Kitty, the...

The American people "are sick and tired about hearing about your damn emails." Words uttered from a frustrated Dr. Bernie Sanders in the first Democratic presidential debate. Not to undermine the fact that decisions made by Ms. Hillary Clinton regarding those "damn emails" probably weren't in her (or America's) best interest, however, I agree that the FIRST Democratic debate is neither the time nor place. Quite frankly, as a registered voter, her "damn emails" were not of interest to me as I tuned in to the democratic debate. Between Jimmy complaining about not getting enough speaking time (despite the fact that he didn't get the least) in the midst of reminding us about the murders he's committed, and Hilary's seemingly super rehearsed, well practiced responses to the difficult questions asked of her, there were some good political discussions that occurred among the candidates. Bypassing the scripted introductions and discussi...

In a recent article by Gregg Keizer, a blogger for Computerworld, there was a discussion about why apple needs a $700 MacBook Air . The idea behind this is that several of Apple's competitors have already taken this step, therefore, to maintain it's profits the company should look to sell cheaper models. Although this would not necessarily be a "dumb move" on the company's part, I do not feel like it would be a necessary one. Every company, especially the top competitors in the technology sector, has their benefits, competitive strategies, and trade-offs. For as long as Macintosh (formerly McIntosh - like the apple) and Microsoft computers have existed, it has been a constant battle about which machines and devices are superior. Both Apple and Microsoft, since their start in the 1970's to 1980's, have been forerunners for the industry for hardware and operating systems, and overall leaders in innovation and technology. Both companies have continued to ex...

This is a topic that excited me and scares me at the same time. Anyone that is familiar with me and my taste already knows that I love to come up with occasions to stay at a hotel. For the last few years I have been celebrating birthdays, new years, anniversaries, Valentine's Days, and whatever other days I can deem appropriate in hotel rooms. My absolute favorite family is the Starwood Hotel family. From Aloft, to the Westin, The W Hotel and Four Points, to Sheraton, I can't say that I have ever had less than exceptional service. I have always been a fan of the ambiance of these boutique hotels: They are clean, the service is awesome, as a preferred guest I feel like I matter, and most of all, Starwood hotels are modern. Starwood hotels are known for innovation. Aside from having an application that allows users to keep up with membership points and book stays are hotels and resorts worldwide, Starwood will soon be releasing and iPhone application that will allow guests to...

In a previous post titled " Gaps In the Fourth Amendment -- Exploited? ", I shared with you an assignment I did for my security class. The assignment briefly discusses electronic privacy and how the Federal Government takes advantage of loop holes within laws that are put in place to protect the privacy of American citizens. NSA's MUSCULAR has been in the news for a while now, and I believe it is a prime example of government exploitation of flaws in privacy laws. In case you do not know what MUSCULAR is, as far as we know it is a project that enables NSA and Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to copy "entire data flows across fiber-optic cables that carry information among the data centers of the Silicon Valley giants" ( http://www.washingtonpost.com ). This means that millions of records from internal networks belonging to large companies such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are sent back to data warehouses at NSA HQ. At the time of ...

Aside from the huge middle finger that the U.S. government has been giving it's citizens, there is other government news surfacing. It has been confirmed that researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) are coming together to develop what is known as a Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS). The suit is intended to "provide superhuman strength with greater ballistic protection" ( http://www.army.mil/ ), and therefore is being called the "Iron Man" suit by the public. The request from the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) was made back in May. Since then, RDECOM has been submitting proposals and looking for industry, government, and academic partners that could help develop such technology.  RDECOM and SOCOM understand that there is not a single industry or organization that can build the suit.  The suit is required to "bring together an exoskeleton wit...

When you begin to think about technology and the people involved, it's hard to imagine what life would be like today without Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Tom Anderson. All leaders in technology and media, they have somehow made a contribution that has shaped the way we live life as we know it. It's hard to image life without these guys, but they all have a life cycle. With the passing of Steve Jobs and Myspace (RIP), it is clear that leaders come, leave their staple, and go, and life goes on. One day Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will die and we will on go on to the next big social media craze. While some things are truly meant to be fads, it's hard to image a world without Microsoft, right? This thought may not be a reality anytime soon, but we do need to start wrapping our minds around the idea that Bill Gates might get the boot sooner than later. A recent report was released on Tuesday from Reuters.com that made it clear that three of twenty top investors wa...

For those that missed out on today's event at Apple HQ, out of boredom (and kindness) I have decided to provide a brief summary of the news announced at the apple event this afternoon. iPhone 5C The iPhone 5C, as mentioned in my previous blog entry , has the same functionality of the iPhone 5. The major difference between the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5 is how it looks physically.  Ideally, the phone is made of plastic, but technically, it is not a run of the mill, cheaply made, fragile, plastic phone.  Available in blue, green, yellow, red, and white, the solid plastic of the iPhone 5C is built around a steel reinforced frame. This phone will be released running iOS 7, which appears to have been designed to match the colors of this particular iPhone. Physically, the iPhone 5C is bold, clean, and sturdy. Although there was not a lot of discussion about battery life for the 5C model, the A6 chip is supposed to be energy efficient. According to Apple's website, the phone is...