I just finished Craig Larman’s book on Agile Development and began reading Managing the Unexpected by Karl Weick and am noting similarities in the way he describes High Reliability Organizations (HRO) and agile methods. One of the challenges we have in software development is to find a workable management style for the development teams. My experience is that, with rare exceptions, BP and IT managers still think of software development as 2167a waterfall, and they are really not that interested in becoming part of the development team. When they do become part of the team, they tend to overreact on the side of organizational inclusiveness, and you end up with more SMEs than you need, and then only for the initial phases of the development effort. (And of course, like any bureaucracy, fail to heed the observation that “availability is not a skill.”)
CSC’s Solution Architect Development Program
I applied for CSC’s Solution Architect Development Program a few weeks ago – one of five at this site in Cambridge of which I was the only one to make it past the first round. I did my phone interview while I was on vacation at the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda , BVI. I got the notice of my interview when my office called me the day before, and it was a bit tricky making all this happen as I had not taken my laptop with me and had to fill out yet another form before the interview. I asked Muhannad to send the form to my public email on MSN. Fortunately my daughter had brought her laptop, and I was able to persuade her to let me use it in the evening to download the form. The only decent wifi spot was in the bar area where a reggae band was playing, making concentration impossible, but I was able to download the form and work on it in the quieter hotel reception area. I did the interview the next day by cell phone sitting on the upper deck of the reception area, overlooking the bay, mimosa on hand. The folks who interviewed me asked good penetrating questions, to which I felt I gave only mediocre responses, but the point is, that this could probably not have all come together like it did a few years ago. With cell phones, we expect to be directly reachable all the time, and we expect to have computers with common software installed and good Internet access. With the emphasis on reduced emission, and now this latest scourge, the swine flu, we have got to make virtual teams work. I’ve been reading Craig Larman’s book on Agile and Iterative Development and while appreciating all that he has to say on agile development, it remains an assumption by most authors that team members can be collocated. As humans, we rely to a huge degree on non-verbal communication and the sense of camaraderie that working in the same place fosters, but we need to make virtual teaming work.
April 24, 2006
I see it’s been a month since I last posted and now I think it’s time to bring this blog to a conclusion. I am currently working part time from home, going into the office about once a week for meetings and so on. My energy level is still down somewhat and there’s continuing problems with walking due to neuropathy, but this is apparently the new normal for me, and I need to get used to it and get back to work full time.
Tomorrow is Miranda’s 12th birthday, and it’s a good time to reflect on how lucky I am to be alive to see it. People die from Burkitt’s Lymphoma: just log on to www.burkitts.org1 and read the sobering memorial written there. I am touched by the many good wishes and prayers that have been offered up for me, and also for the many entries that my family, friends, and neighbors have made in the guestbook. It is a great blessing that medicine has advanced so far as to be able to cure cancer for a lot of folks, such as myself, and I trust that medicine will continue to advance, driven by mankind’s itch to understand how this world works. I realize that there remain many mysteries that we will never know the answer to, but I suspect that the cure for cancer is not one of them.
I have learned some new things, and relearned some things that I had forgotten, on this unplanned journey of disease. I did not take this journey alone but dragged my wife and daughter along with me. We never knew how it would turn out; never dared to give voice to our hopes, lest we tempt fate. I am happy that, for us, the journey appears to have reached a favorable location, but I have a renewed sensitivity and empathy for others that suffer from disease and the many other evils in this world. We’re all just passing though this world, and when I remember how quickly one’s fortunes can change, it helps me to sit back a bit and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
- This site is no longer active ↩︎
Lymphoma Remission
March 23, 2006
Life is slowly getting back into a routine. The weather here in Stow has been in the 40’s most days, warm enough for walks in the town forest with Diggory but still nothing happening in the garden. One of the ways I stay occupied is by planning and cooking the evening meal: yesterday it was roast pork loin, garlic mashed potatoes, and beets. I can’t deny that staying home without the pressures of schedule and budget has its enjoyable aspects, it gives me time to do things that I didn’t have the time or energy to do before, such as reading: I’m up to page 6038 in the Patrick O’Brian omnibus set (chapter 4 of “The Hundred Days”). I also find myself watching things on TV that I never watched before, such as CSI, Law & Order, and Boston Legal; I get to stay up late to watch “The Daily Show,” and of course I’m following “American Idol,” rooting, though not actually voting, for Chris Daughtry. One of the problems with American TV is that it’s awfully hard to stay awake. I often find that I initially get involved in a crime show, manage to stay awake for the first few segments of the show, but then fall asleep during the soporific commercials, and miss the ending.
I was back in Boston yesterday for further tests, upper and lower endoscopies, which revealed nothing of importance, though they did take tissue samples as a matter of course. That should be it for hospital visits until I go back in June for my quarterly monitoring. Visiting the hospital brought back memories. Yesterday we entered the hospital via the rear entrance, and I recognized buildings that I had previously only seen through the window of my hospital room. I could imagine a patient looking through his or her window and watching us, just as I watched people on the outside when I was on the inside. It all seems so long ago.
It’s time to start putting life back together. This last Sunday we visited Maureen’s family up in New Hampshire – a visit that was long overdue. I have a renewed appreciation of the importance of keeping family ties alive, and it was a good visit. The family was in good spirits and it was really good to see them all after such a prolonged absence. Even Diggory enjoyed himself, playing with a good natured Airedale terrier belonging to one of the neighbors.
For the future, I am negotiating to see if I can start to work part time, mostly from home. I feel fitter than I did a few weeks ago though there’s still a ways to go. I remain unsteady on my permanently numbed feet and have not yet tried driving. One sign that the chemo is finally leaving my body is the emergence of a few dark hairs on my face – otherwise I remain quite bald. The chemo caused me to lose hair from all over my body, even my eyebrows and eyelashes. The doctors tell me that it will take months for the effects of the chemo to be reversed, but I greet every sign of retreat with pleasure.