Why Cloud Projects Are Different has been updated. Download the white paper. #cloud #cloudprojects
Applying Cloud Governance Principles is a an oversight framework for #CloudComputing based on five basic #GovernancePrinciples and #Agile and #Lean. Has more than 60 audit checklists for daily use in #CloudOperations & the #CloudLifeCycle.
Hybrid project management methods merging waterfall and agile on larger projects are becoming common, as people struggle with resistance to wholesale change.
This is not very effective.
There are two main issues:
Time to launch is the most important KPI because it incorporates all cost factors. (We used to use time to market for the same reason.)
Research has shown that the cost of time is greater than the cost of effort, so project methods with concurrent activities are best because they minimise time.
Note that CI/CD pipelines do not use branching. (They can but they shouldn’t.)
Research is also finding that an over-reliance on Agile can impose a 20% non-productive burden. Critical Chain method (not critical path) can be better. Six Sigma Lean/Kanban is perhaps best.
Late start date reduces cost and time to launch
A counter-intuitive method is shown in the attached graphic from a presentation I did last year. This was developed by Toyota. Instead of using early start date as you would in critical path method, it uses the late start date. This pushes all activities up against the project deadline, with no slack time or buffers between activities. Everything is on the critical path.
This goes against everything project managers are taught. PMs try to keep things off the critical path.
However, Toyota puts a buffer at the end of the project; thus guaranteeing finish on schedule.
The big advantage is that the method defines requirements as late as possible, so they reflect the latest needs, and the project uses the most recent technology, so it is efficient. It also reduces change orders.
It is also massively parallel (concurrent) so it reduces time to launch, thus providing faster feedback and releasing people for other projects. Because it’s parallel it uses multi-discipline project teams, which are usually more innovative and goal driven.
A lot of this has been known in continuous improvement process for decades, but it hasn’t trickled into project management. Concurrent development, for example, emerged in japan in the 1990s. Waterfall, developed in the 1950s for the USA military, has really acculturated people to linear step-1 step-2 thinking.
Categorize data based on business value to choose the #RightCloudType and cloud deployment model and then assign an appropriate #Security Control Profile. Only then can you choose the right Cloud Service Model.
A leading cause of data breaches in the #cloud is insider risk or internal negligence due to poor training in #SecurityAwareness. Proper security awareness practices reduce the risk of #cyberattacks or data leaks more than just the use of modern cloud security software & best security practices.
#CloudProjects are different from on premises or a hosted model because there are no actual hardware assets to manage. A lot of assumptions about the way things work are no longer true. Everything is virtual, using someone else’s compute, storage and networking. Download the whitepaper or access the course.
@computerworld @infoworld #cloudcomputing @TheRegister #cloud #IT #projectmanagement #cloudgovernance
The difference between IT on premises and in the cloud is like organizing a BBQ. It’s the difference between a family BBQ in your back yard and organizing one in a public park in a different city and legal jurisdiction. For one thing, there’s a fence in the back yard to keep children and pets from straying. Download the whitepaper or access the course.
#Cloud #funding model
Organizations face a financial challenge in funding cloud projects: how do we get from a funding model that uses capital expenditures (CapX) to one that uses operational expenses (OpX). IT projects were always long-term capital investments, usually based on a 10-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) financial analysis; whereas cloud services are recurring subscriptions taxed as an operational expense. The cloud service life cycle is more like three years than 10.
Capital investments are for purchasing assets. For tax purposes, they are depreciated over a period of years. However, cloud subscriptions are taxed in the year incurred as an operational expense paid out of the annual budget. Operational expenses can be fixed, like rent, or variable. Cloud services are a variable expense based on usage. How do you manage this?
The Cloud Funding Model answers these questions.
Use the coupon code FM1223 for one month free on any course bundle.
Choosing the right cloud type and cloud deployment model starts with categorization of data based on business value and the assignment of an appropriate Security Control Profile. Only then can you choose the right Cloud Service Model for deployment.
See this course content here.
Use the coupon code FM1223 for one month free access to any course bundle
Companies and governments are gaining new powers to follow people across the internet and around the world, and even to peer into their genomes. The benefits of such advances have been apparent for years; the costs — in anonymity, even autonomy — are now becoming clearer. The boundaries of #privacy are in dispute, and its future is in doubt. Citizens, politicians and business leaders are asking if societies are making the wisest tradeoffs.
The New York Times is embarking on this months’ long project to explore the technology and where it’s taking us, and to convene debate about how it can best help realize human potential.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/opinion/internet-privacy-project.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage