Blog Comments

  1. vieome's Avatar
    Great Article given you in I.T thought you might find this link interesting reading
    [url]http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2013/01/personal_shadow.php[/url]
  2. rfnel's Avatar
    Dave, thank you for your feedback. If a change contributes to the growth your business, everyone wins - including your employees - I don't think any sensible employee can have a problem with that. As long as it doesn't get to a point where the process and the structure is so restrictive that it actually starts hampering employees; then it becomes a serious problem.

    Blurock, I have serious objections to getting caught up in ruts. I'm happy as long as I feel that I'm growing. Once I start to feel like I'm stagnating, I become miserable. One of the greatest things about my current environment is the fact that I feel like I've learned more in the past eight months than in the first four years of my career put together. At the end of the day (in my opinion), a great deal of it comes down to the people that you work with, the skills that they possess, and their ability to transfer those skills. The people I work with are constantly (sometimes unknowingly) pushing me and encouraging me to grow. Be it in a small team or a large team, team spirit is important; whether you win or lose, you do it as a team. It sounds like your management style is very "hands-on" - I like that. When a manager (or as you say, a captain) is a genuine part of his team, instead of a high and mighty overlord, good things are bound to happen. I'm fortunate enough to be able to say that all of the bosses that I've worked for were like that.

    Peter, thank you for your kind words. You've pointed out that a structured environment is far more sustainable than the crises-laden environments in smaller firms. My first thought is that it relates to the manner in which risks are handled in different types of companies. In the corporate environment, risk is taken seriously; contingency plans are put in place and everything is double- and triple-checked by numerous people before being singed off. In small companies (specifically in IT), I think a greater focus is placed on delivery, and risk becomes more of an afterthought. Sadly, once Murphy's Law kicks in, it can easily start a downward spiral of crises which is hard to recover from. On the other hand, if a risk becomes a reality in a corporate, it can be addressed more easily, because it had been identified and catered for early on.
  3. PeterCarruthers's Avatar
    I loved this article. Almost everything I have read has focused on the challenges we face as we move from a real job into small business (especially those of us being retrenched and being forced into self-employment).

    It took me back thirty years to working in the development team at Truworths. I had forgotten how predictable each day was. (I "graduated" from there to a small firm for better money, before losing that job as the firm stumbled, by which time the only way I could survive was to start my own business.

    That structured environment is far more sustainable than the somewhat more crisis-laden environment at you average small/medium enterprise.

    Nice insight. Thanks.
  4. Blurock's Avatar
    Glad to know that you are happy in your job. Very true what you are saying, but there are pro's and cons. I suppose it depends on the type of job you do. In your line you need to concentrate and you don't need any interruptions. Just beware of getting too comfortable and getting caught up in the rut.

    I got out of the corporate world 4 years ago and find that I am more productive and more innovative than ever before. The difference is that I am now the boss, no rather the captain of a team, which means that I now play ball with the guys and we all celebrate the results.
  5. Dave A's Avatar
    Interesting hearing this from an employee's perspective.

    I have to say one of my greatest concerns about my growing business is the increasingly regimented structure that comes with the territory and seems entirely unavoidable. Great to hear it isn't seen as all bad news from the employee's point of view.
  6. rfnel's Avatar
    Thanks Dave, I'm glad you liked it!
    Updated 07-Feb-12 at 10:54 PM by rfnel
  7. Dave A's Avatar
    Thanks so much for this well thought out, very informative blog entry. You really cover the main points very well!
  8. rfnel's Avatar
    Mother, you hit the nail on the head. Programmers and regular folk speak different languages, and that makes it difficult to get everyone on the same page. It's very easy for us to go into a lot of technical detail even when answering simple questions.

    I'm sure that no-one intends to make our lives difficult, but seemingly simple changes to core functions in an information system can easily have a wide-spread effect which isn't always obvious to users. If you compare a system to a car engine; a customer can look under the bonnet and say "move that bolt two centimeters to the left". A seemingly simple instruction, especially if you don't realise that moving the bolt could mean that there won't be enough space for the radiator anymore, so you'll either have to invent a smaller radiator or increase the length of the entire car, which means that the electrical wiring will have to be redesigned and the whole car will be heavier, so you'll need to shed some weight elsewhere, which could involve replacing a couple of steel items with plastic, which could mean that you'll have to redo crash tests, etc, etc. Sure I'm exaggerating a bit, but the ripple effect is no joke.

    Where scope-creep also comes into play is when a customer sees an early iteration of the application and they start making suggestions for more features. Once you have an actual working piece of software in front of you, it's much easier to visualize new features (compared to when you have only a specification). This is why I highly recommend that everything be agreed upon beforehand; otherwise a programmer can end up doing a lot of extra work for free.
  9. mother's Avatar
    Thanks Riaan, this is very informative. Especially nice to learn about elance. I think the major obstacle is perhaps the enormous information void between programmers and the "regular" folk. :b

    I've often heard programmers complain about scope-creep, and I don't believe it is the customer's intention for this to happen, but rather the result of the customer not understanding how even the smallest request may change the work that has already been done.
  10. rfnel's Avatar
    Dave, I hope that my posts will meet your expectations!

    Aragon, without knowing your background, it's hard to recommend something specific. There is such a huge variety of business systems, programming languages and other tools that no single book (at least not one that I've read) can cover everything. Even though it doesn't focus on systems specifically, The 10 Day MBA by Steven Silbiger gave me a good overview of business in general, and how everything fits together. During my degree we used (among others) Information Systems Development: Methodologies, Techniques and Tools by David Avison and Guy Fitzgerald; it goes into a lot of detail regarding the whole SDLC (Systems Development Lifecycle), development methodologies, different types of systems and the elements (both internal and external) that play a role in systems. Of course, very few things in the real world are as perfect as textbook examples - each project brings its own challenges. Lastly, don't be afraid of using Google and Wikipedia - there is a wealth of information available on the internet.

    Sparks, it would've been cheating only if I said 'Free Caffeine and Donuts'. I've lived in SA all my life - I just studied through a UK university. I figured that a degree from the UK could prove to be beneficial, especially if I'd like to emigrate at some stage.
  11. Sparks's Avatar
    Hi Riaan, good for you, but no cheating to get views. Next time something about the coffee. I have a 500ml mug of it next to me. I enjoy at least 20L per day excepting weekends when it is more. I used to quench my thirst compliments of Mr Glass but stopped 6 years ago with a daily consumption and the nick-name of "case & a half". In case anyone is wondering, I sleep like a baby, actually better, I do not need the bathroom once I nod off. I look forward to your next blog. What made you move to SA?
  12. Arogon's Avatar
    Hi.
    I've just landed a new job in lines of business information systems. But i don't have a degree, diploma, etc. behind my name. they are training my on the system and some networking as well but it's pretty much like putting a 5000 jig-puzzle together and still needing to find the pieces.
    Could you kindly suggest to me a book for a novice on IT, business systems, etc.
  13. Dave A's Avatar
    Congratulations on making the cut, Riaan. I love the name you've chosen for your blog and look forward to reading your entries, particularly business software related.