Made to Stick

I just finished a great book, dare I use the cliche, a must read. These guys have gone through a lot of the information and advertising over the last 40 years or so to examine why some messages stick with us and why some don't.

They essentially break it down to a checklist of elements that, if you use them effectively, will make your message more likely to stick with people. Obviously, you don't want to use them for a notice that your building will have a fire alarm test today at 2:00 pm, but there are certain messages that will benefit from using one or more of these sticky devices.

• Simplicity
• Unexpectedness
• Concreteness
• Credibility
• Emotions
• Stories

I recommend reading the Excerpts page to see if you want to read this book.

Awestruck

Every time I work to design and develop a system or application I always hear this phrase in one way or another, "It won't work like that on an Indian Reservation."

I have never been able to respond to that comment. I have to take their word for it, that the person who is telling me that it won't work is right. That is, until now. I have had the unique opportunity to visit a reservation, and I will not soon forget it.

Some colleagues and I were invited onto the Ute Mountain Ute tribal land to explore some of their pueblos and life. This was a fascinating experience for me. Remember, I'm mostly a city person, so just the sight of a mountain can get my blood going. But what I saw on this tour was nothing short of amazing. The day started off great with something I had never seen before, a rainbow that was just in the sky, it was like the sun had an extra halo around it. I've never seen anything like that ever before and I doubt I ever will again.

Our guide was a man named Wolf. He led us down a series of ladders to see a bunch of Pueblos known as the Treehouse, the Lion's Head and the Eagle's Nest. This is a picture of him talking to us at the Treehouse.





Everything about these ancient people was amazing. How they lived, their construction practices, things they ate, I just found it to be interesting and being able to listen to Wolf's stories and then see it for myself was inspiring. I wish I had a week or more to more thoroughly explore the area and experience their way of life. I remember thinking the first second I stepped outside of the airport in Durango, that this is like a different planet. The air smelled different, the people were different. It was like nothing I had ever known.

I know that most people will never get to see these pueblos or the shards of pottery that were laying out for everyone to see, but you should try. I am so grateful to the tribe for their hospitality and kindness in sharing this with us. To know the people, you have to better understand where they come from. For just a day I got to see the world to Wolf's eyes. His world is much more rugged and difficult than mine, but he has so much more wonder and natural beauty as well.

Will this make me a better Program Manager? I don't know, but I met some interesting people and their perspectives are now a part of my consciousness, so maybe...

Updated - AFFIRM - The Federal Cloud

I was pleased to attend the AFFIRM luncheon yesterday on Cloud Computing. This was the first Association For Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM) event I have attended. Interesting speakers all the way around and they have all had some success with cloud computing.

The one thing I expected to hear but didn't was some discussion concerning the relationship of Enterprise Architecture and Cloud Computing. My theory is that the cloud provides an opportunity to operationalize EA for applications and data centers. My justification for this is that you can write very specific rules about what technology is to be used in the cloud and what is not permitted. For example if an agency targets Oracle 10 as the database for the enterprise, you can write into the SLAs that the provider cannot use SQL Server, Informix, Sybase or any other database. As such there is a new, more meaningful way to implement a target architecture than was previously possible. Essentially you have your cloud and you know that 100% of what is in the cloud is compliant with the target. Everything not in the cloud is suspect and deserves more oversight to report compliance.

I also didn't hear any discussion about the Certification and Accreditation which is somewhat surprising. C&A should be about 50% easier than it is without a cloud-type of system. For example all controls that are physical, sanitation and platform related should be established for the cloud. Then each application would be responsible for the application-level controls like roles and least privilege.

Overall, I think the AFFIRM group provides a reasonable opportunity to dive into some depth on a given topic. The one is somewhat squishy still, but I liked the format. The one thing I didn't like was the overly hard sell by a couple people. Don't push so hard, entice me.

Addendum - FCW posted a link to this meeting, you can read all about it in their article, Adapting to the Cloud.

PMO Roles

A few weeks ago I attended the CMIT event at the University of Virgina. I've written about two of the presenters that day, here and here. But today I want to touch on the presentation from Sanjiv Augestine. I actually have no issues with his presentation, my thoughts are more inquisitive than anything else.

Project Management Offices can, essentially, perform 3 distinct roles as I see it. And on this, I must confess that I think I see it like the PMI see's it. But I'm going on my own knowledge here, so if I get the wording different from them, don't hold it against me. A PMO can:

• Develop standard processes and perform as the unit that evangelizes them to the rest of the organization. This would include training and mentoring execution-level Project Managers.
• Perform as a control authority in oversight of Project Management execution. In this area the PMO is the gatekeeper ensuring that the standards identified in the previous bullet are adhered to. In this area the PMO is the authority for the Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) process, and manages Integrated Baseline Reviews and Post Implementation Reviews.
• The PMO can also serve as execution-level Project Management, running projects.

In Sanjiv's presentation I think he has assigned the first two roles to a PMO, but I don't think he assigned the execution-level PM role to the PMO. This is neither a good or bad thing. PMOs need to identify the functions that they will perform and then do a good job with them.

I can only comment ony my own experience, but I think it is important to mention that if a PMO only has the first two functions assigned to it then I believe it is easy for them to lose touch with the execution-level work and develop processes, standards and control gates that are too rigorous and costly. By requiring the PMO to manage projects means that they will work to be more pragmatic in the standards they develop as well as the control gates they erect. Just my two cents.

What other functions should a PMO perform?

Bye Bye Graphic Artists

I am not a Photoshop expert, but I would like to think that I was fairly proficient with it in my day. Then I read this morning about PhotoSketch. This looks like the coolest software I have seen in a year. To use it you draw and label stick figures for your desired composition and the software intuitively scans millions of images on the Internet to assemble portions that meet your need. As I watched the video I have to tell you, I was stunned. This is amazing.

This is also probably going to put stress on graphic artists. If the software can do it with fantastic results, you will need to find a way of doing something that is better or different. Watch the video below see if you agree.

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from Tao Chen on Vimeo.

In Response to the FTC, My Endorsements

The Federal Trade Commission released new rules yesterday concerning testimonials and product reviews when the reviewer has been compensated in some way. So, just to make sure I'm on the up and up, I think that I should come clean and let you all know that when I published that review of a Maserati Gran Turismo, in fact Maserati allowed me to keep the car. While I'm on the subject of full disclosure, the review I wrote of the cute little inn in Var, France... Yes, they comped my bill for the sweethart review.

I almost forgot, all that stuff about the University of Virginia, not only did they waive the tuition, but they gave me the degree for just showing up. Anyway, I just thought I owed it to my fans to come clean and let you know that I have been compensated for some of the product reviews I have written. And before I forget, Suntrust Bank, yeah, they tore up the mortgage and threw it in the trash after my review of their services.

So now the slate is clean, well, mostly, that stuff in Vegas is gonna stay in Vegas right? And I can continue to review the products and services that everyone uses every day with a clean conscience.

Invisotext:
Yeah right, I wish I had a Maserati, or went on vacation to the south of France, didn't have about $30,000 in loans to pay back or a mortgage. This post was a farce, take it in the spirit it was delivered.