This year’s Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain had a panel of industry executives talking about how 5G could impact big data, healthcare and more. 5G is expected to be 100 times faster than 4G LTE, as well as have approximately 1,000 times the data capacity. Mark Zuckerberg said it best when he said “a 5G user could download a two-hour film in one second”. Being able to quickly download large amounts of data will definitely benefit mobile users but also enable the healthcare industry to develop and integrate this technology into more wearables and other devices that will lead to more big data analytics.
More Big data in healthcare will allow healthcare professionals to make better strategic decisions on how to cut costs and deliver care more efficiently. This analysis could also lead companies to find cost savings by analyzing insurance plans to find what amount of insurance reaps the most reward for employee health, thus reducing sick leave and increasing productivity as well. This revolution in technology will usher in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT).
The Internet of Things will be invading every corner of our lives as 5G technology becomes available to the mass market. A report compiled by Will McKitterick, a senior research analyst at Business Insider speculates at trends that will occur as 5G becomes a reality. Key points relate to the challenges that the wireless communications industry will face.
The report finds that customers will continue to become more loyal to their wireless carrier, even as competition increases. Carriers will focus more on discounted data packages to lure in new customers and change from discounting mobile-devices to financing them. Increasing competition between wireless carriers will continue to lengthen the smartphone replacement cycle, challenging mobile software and handset developers. The report also speaks to the fact that mobile subscriber growth is slowing as the market becomes saturated with better, longer-lasting devices which will drive the wireless industry to find new sources of revenue in connected tablets, cars, and IoT devices. As 5G becomes a reality we will begin to see wireless carriers vying for the new spectrum to expand their reach. The age of 5G will also create new legal and ethical challenges which we will surely see making their way through the Judicial system over the next decade.
Source: Business Insider
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Making a Meal Out of Project Management
Project management lessons can be found in different areas of life. Take a waiter or manager at a restaurant, they solve project management challenges every day at every table.
Consistency- Each project (table) should be given appropriate time and effort. With projects, priority should be given to projects with strategic value and deadlines must be considered. In this case both projects (tables) were of equal importance and needed equal treatment.
Communication- The restaurant was upfront about the delays. When projects hit a problem PMs should communicate with stakeholders about delays and actions being taken. The truth lands you in less trouble than lies and cover ups.
Transparency- The restaurant was quick to take responsibility. They followed through with the promise and the meal was on them. The waiter was open about the situation and keeping customers updated.
Planning- In IT projects you need the right staff just like a kitchen. Failure to do this risk completing the project. In project management every skill and part of the process can now be bought in as a service.
Control- At the restaurant the staff was not fully in control of the situation. No control means no assurance of success. Milestones need to be laid out and checked along the way, whether it’s a complex IT project or planning your meat and vegetables to be ready at the same time.
Task Management- Work needs to be delegated to individuals and their progress needs to be managed. It’s important to stay on top of the to-do list as the restaurant was clearly not. Not staying on task can cost money, just like how the restaurant ended up paying for the meal in the end.
Process- When you deliver something you must offer what is needed with what you deliver. If you deliver a steak you give them a steak knife. If you deliver a new IT system, you need to offer training and support.
Negotiation- When the staff offered the free drink and where rejected they weren’t sure what to do next. They didn’t think the free drink would be turned down. Negotiation is often undervalued and overlooked project management skill that the best PMs have in abundance.
Leadership- In a busy kitchen or IT project the difference between leaders and managers is apparent. Project managers who improve their leadership skills find their motivational and communication skills develop organically.
Critical Thinking- This is essential to making good decisions. This is consideration on the pros and cons of different solutions before selecting the best move. Critical thinking is like a muscle and the more you use it the stronger and more effective it becomes. The restaurant weighed the pros and cons of waiving the bill but did not do this for the other customers.
Quality Control- Quality is now being prioritized as a core skill. Quality deliverables in a restaurant would be “compliments to the chef” or a nice tip. For IT projects this would be on-time delivery, on or under budget completion, and end user satisfaction.
Retaining a Sense of Humor- Projects can and will go wrong, and meals can get messed up. Humor can diffuse tense situations. You won’t display to your client you find humor in project delays, but sometimes having a laugh can help relieve pressure. This can make the staff more effective afterwards.
This relates to our course because we have been talking about project management. We talked about how to approach and deal with management and this article puts a real life example to what we have learned. I think being apply to apply what you have learned in class to real life examples is important because it makes topics easier to understand and apply it to other situations.
As an MIS major I feel like this will apply to us because everyone will use these skills in their careers. Though this restaurant is not full of project managers, we were still able to find how it connects. Also I know some MIS majors that will be going into project management and knowing something like this will help them improve their skills. This can also make someone a better citizen because these don’t have to be skills only applied to careers, these are skills anyone can use on a daily basis.
Restaurants are not the only ones dealing with project management. Can you think of any examples of project management in everyday life?
Citation:http://www.cio.com/article/3031697/project-management/making-a-meal-out-of-project-management.html
Say a restaurant is short staffed in the front of the house and is also short staffed in the kitchen. It takes 40-minutes to get food. How did the restaurant handle this? They apologized and offered a free drink. Though not all the customers appreciated this. One table waited 40-minute for some soup and the offer of a free drink was met by, “we just bought one.” The result was a disgruntled customer who probably won’t be back and will take to social media to complain. Another table waited 40-minutes for food and were also offered a free drink. They accepted the free drink and then were told there was an error with the system and the restaurant explained it was their own fault, the meal came at no charge. The end result was a happy customer.What can we learn from this experience?
Consistency- Each project (table) should be given appropriate time and effort. With projects, priority should be given to projects with strategic value and deadlines must be considered. In this case both projects (tables) were of equal importance and needed equal treatment.
Communication- The restaurant was upfront about the delays. When projects hit a problem PMs should communicate with stakeholders about delays and actions being taken. The truth lands you in less trouble than lies and cover ups.
Transparency- The restaurant was quick to take responsibility. They followed through with the promise and the meal was on them. The waiter was open about the situation and keeping customers updated.
Planning- In IT projects you need the right staff just like a kitchen. Failure to do this risk completing the project. In project management every skill and part of the process can now be bought in as a service.
Control- At the restaurant the staff was not fully in control of the situation. No control means no assurance of success. Milestones need to be laid out and checked along the way, whether it’s a complex IT project or planning your meat and vegetables to be ready at the same time.
Task Management- Work needs to be delegated to individuals and their progress needs to be managed. It’s important to stay on top of the to-do list as the restaurant was clearly not. Not staying on task can cost money, just like how the restaurant ended up paying for the meal in the end.
Process- When you deliver something you must offer what is needed with what you deliver. If you deliver a steak you give them a steak knife. If you deliver a new IT system, you need to offer training and support.
Negotiation- When the staff offered the free drink and where rejected they weren’t sure what to do next. They didn’t think the free drink would be turned down. Negotiation is often undervalued and overlooked project management skill that the best PMs have in abundance.
Leadership- In a busy kitchen or IT project the difference between leaders and managers is apparent. Project managers who improve their leadership skills find their motivational and communication skills develop organically.
Critical Thinking- This is essential to making good decisions. This is consideration on the pros and cons of different solutions before selecting the best move. Critical thinking is like a muscle and the more you use it the stronger and more effective it becomes. The restaurant weighed the pros and cons of waiving the bill but did not do this for the other customers.
Quality Control- Quality is now being prioritized as a core skill. Quality deliverables in a restaurant would be “compliments to the chef” or a nice tip. For IT projects this would be on-time delivery, on or under budget completion, and end user satisfaction.
Retaining a Sense of Humor- Projects can and will go wrong, and meals can get messed up. Humor can diffuse tense situations. You won’t display to your client you find humor in project delays, but sometimes having a laugh can help relieve pressure. This can make the staff more effective afterwards.
This relates to our course because we have been talking about project management. We talked about how to approach and deal with management and this article puts a real life example to what we have learned. I think being apply to apply what you have learned in class to real life examples is important because it makes topics easier to understand and apply it to other situations.
As an MIS major I feel like this will apply to us because everyone will use these skills in their careers. Though this restaurant is not full of project managers, we were still able to find how it connects. Also I know some MIS majors that will be going into project management and knowing something like this will help them improve their skills. This can also make someone a better citizen because these don’t have to be skills only applied to careers, these are skills anyone can use on a daily basis.
Restaurants are not the only ones dealing with project management. Can you think of any examples of project management in everyday life?
Citation:http://www.cio.com/article/3031697/project-management/making-a-meal-out-of-project-management.html
TopCoder: Overview of Competitions
Before you begin to post your comments about the TopCoder case, you might find this 6-min video an interesting overview of the kinds of competitions clients request. You'd be surprised at the variety - and might even be interested in a challenge or two.
Agile Software Development Catches On in the Mainstream
This Wall Street Journal article explained the continuous adoption of Agile methodologies in the mainstream and told success stories of certain companies that just recently replaced their traditional methods with Agile methods. It spoke about how Insura Humana, one of the largest health insurers in the U.S., recently transitioned to Agile so that they can be more rapid and responsive to feedback from customers and handle the increasing amount of data available in the healthcare ecosystem.
Using Agile and Devops, they can update or completely build their mobile applications in a much shorter time period. Humana has many large clients and in an array of different industries and Humana believes that if they can decrease the amount of time it takes deploy software, it will make them more competitive. The Devop methodologies of having business and IT closely collaborate with constant feedback loops in order to deploy software that is more aligned with the business requirements is just making its way into the mainstream.
Agile first started in the tech industry, but is now making its way into other industries and is already making a large impact and will continue to positively affect companies who make the transformation. Another example that the article used was Chico’s and their adoption of Agile methodologies. They switched in response to the need of being able to build mobile applications very quickly because of their industry lag in allowing customers to access information on their tables or smartphones. Chico’s CEO told the CIO journal “the magic words: faster and less expensive.” And followed up by explaining that his team was able to build software that allows the employees within their many retail stores to easily access a given customer’s history of purchases. This software also included new features such as new sorting capabilities, searching, and other useful tools for employees, which can be accessed from a tablet or smartphone.
This article is relevant to our course because it shows the true transition from traditional to more adaptive models and its' expansion into the mainstream as a more common method that is not just used by high-tech companies. We have learned much about Agile methods and this article revealed just how much more efficient and effective agile methodologies are in comparison to traditional models, and gave some first hand examples of the success companies have found with this group of methodologies. In the past, learning agile methodologies in college may have only been useful if you were planning on working at a high tech company after graduation or in the near future. This article shows that the material we are currently learning in this course is useful no matter what industry you are in and we can apply this knowledge to wherever we decide to work in. Another significant aspect of this article is that us students should be focusing more on agile methodologies instead of traditional methods because it is becoming apparent that it is the better choice.
As a future MIS professional I find this article significant because it shows the importance of agile methodology and the positive consequences that can happen if you enter the workplace with a strong knowledge of the principles within adaptive system development. Even better, if you have experience using agile methodologies in a course project or internship before you enter the workplace. I also learned that if I am capable in multiple different types of agile development I will be building knowledge on which ones work best with certain requirements while others are still debating if they should use traditional or not.
Citation: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/04/29/agile-software-development-catches-on-in-the-mainstream/
Using Agile and Devops, they can update or completely build their mobile applications in a much shorter time period. Humana has many large clients and in an array of different industries and Humana believes that if they can decrease the amount of time it takes deploy software, it will make them more competitive. The Devop methodologies of having business and IT closely collaborate with constant feedback loops in order to deploy software that is more aligned with the business requirements is just making its way into the mainstream.
Agile first started in the tech industry, but is now making its way into other industries and is already making a large impact and will continue to positively affect companies who make the transformation. Another example that the article used was Chico’s and their adoption of Agile methodologies. They switched in response to the need of being able to build mobile applications very quickly because of their industry lag in allowing customers to access information on their tables or smartphones. Chico’s CEO told the CIO journal “the magic words: faster and less expensive.” And followed up by explaining that his team was able to build software that allows the employees within their many retail stores to easily access a given customer’s history of purchases. This software also included new features such as new sorting capabilities, searching, and other useful tools for employees, which can be accessed from a tablet or smartphone.
This article is relevant to our course because it shows the true transition from traditional to more adaptive models and its' expansion into the mainstream as a more common method that is not just used by high-tech companies. We have learned much about Agile methods and this article revealed just how much more efficient and effective agile methodologies are in comparison to traditional models, and gave some first hand examples of the success companies have found with this group of methodologies. In the past, learning agile methodologies in college may have only been useful if you were planning on working at a high tech company after graduation or in the near future. This article shows that the material we are currently learning in this course is useful no matter what industry you are in and we can apply this knowledge to wherever we decide to work in. Another significant aspect of this article is that us students should be focusing more on agile methodologies instead of traditional methods because it is becoming apparent that it is the better choice.
As a future MIS professional I find this article significant because it shows the importance of agile methodology and the positive consequences that can happen if you enter the workplace with a strong knowledge of the principles within adaptive system development. Even better, if you have experience using agile methodologies in a course project or internship before you enter the workplace. I also learned that if I am capable in multiple different types of agile development I will be building knowledge on which ones work best with certain requirements while others are still debating if they should use traditional or not.
Citation: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/04/29/agile-software-development-catches-on-in-the-mainstream/
Monday, February 22, 2016
Tech Musing #2: Some Comments from Tech Musing #1
For Tech Musing #2, you will post your articles on this blog (not a comment to this post), or on VoiceThread. No submissions on Blackboard.
Before Tech Musing #2 gets underway, you should read the comments I posted on your blogs and on Blackboard for Tech Musing #1. Yes, I re-read those, too. Sometimes your grade changed; sometimes it didn't. Here are some lessons to keep in mind:
Stop googling and read the blogs and links provided here, or find it on other links. Teach us something. Be entertaining. Stop worrying about the perfect rubric. Follow these steps and you'll be just fine. Comment here if you have other questions about this post.
Before Tech Musing #2 gets underway, you should read the comments I posted on your blogs and on Blackboard for Tech Musing #1. Yes, I re-read those, too. Sometimes your grade changed; sometimes it didn't. Here are some lessons to keep in mind:
- Provide a link. Points deducted for not having a link that is readable from the beginning to the end of the article (without having to join a website to read the full article).
- Make sure the article is current! This wasn't explicit in the description, but I'm making it explicit now.
- Provide a sufficient summary of the article. I read them, too. If the article has detail, provide that in the summary.
- Make sure your implications actually fit the article you just read. For example, don't assume that everything has project management implications, if the article doesn't mention it.
- Read what others have posted, so you don't use the same blog post. Points go to the first blog. Also, comment on what others have posted. You get credit for commenting, too.
- Some of you followed up on my comments, but not many. I am willing to be convinced about your points, if you want to offer them, or answer my questions.
Stop googling and read the blogs and links provided here, or find it on other links. Teach us something. Be entertaining. Stop worrying about the perfect rubric. Follow these steps and you'll be just fine. Comment here if you have other questions about this post.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Zappos' Radical PM Experiment
Just a few days ago, 50 Zappos employees quit their job. What caused 18% of Zappos employees to decide they couldn't handle the heat? CEO Tony Hsieh explained his innovative project management style that gave employees the choice of a severance package or participation in his "Holacracy". Hsieh made this offer to his employees last March, and since, over 18% of his workforce has chosen to resign. The CEO's new PM style consisted of no managers, no titles-- the standard hierarchy virtually eliminated. Many internal and external changes took place at Zappos that called for a refresh in project management strategy. Rather than having the standard hierarchy, Hsieh thought that a total renovation would be a great move for the growing company.
Hsieh first heard about Holacracy at the 2012 Conscious Capitalism CEO summit. Hsieh decided that this was the best method because it encourages long term self management and self organization. This system prevents the bureaucracy that was beginning to play a more and more in the company. The CEO wanted to avoid losing the start up edge that was so valuable to the company while still empowering each employee to work with an entrepreneurs spirit. Because this environment is not suitable for everyone, a generous severance package was offered to employees. The new approach allows for employees to be more independent and self motivated through tech projects. The CEO hopes that this will encourage creativity and innovation while still sticking to the company's values and goals that made them so successful from the start.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-hsieh-explains-how-zappos-rebounded-from-employee-exodus-2016-1
Hsieh first heard about Holacracy at the 2012 Conscious Capitalism CEO summit. Hsieh decided that this was the best method because it encourages long term self management and self organization. This system prevents the bureaucracy that was beginning to play a more and more in the company. The CEO wanted to avoid losing the start up edge that was so valuable to the company while still empowering each employee to work with an entrepreneurs spirit. Because this environment is not suitable for everyone, a generous severance package was offered to employees. The new approach allows for employees to be more independent and self motivated through tech projects. The CEO hopes that this will encourage creativity and innovation while still sticking to the company's values and goals that made them so successful from the start.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-hsieh-explains-how-zappos-rebounded-from-employee-exodus-2016-1
Microsoft's Windows-and-devices group again records lower revenue
But declines in the 'More Personal Computing' division were less than the previous quarter, with Windows revenue down 8%
Microsoft yesterday again reported a decline in revenue for the group responsible for Windows, the Surface line of 2-in-1s and notebooks, and smartphones, in 2015's fourth quarter. Microsoft sold just 4.5 million Lumia smartphones, or 57% fewer, than in the same quarter the year before, and revenue from phones overall plummeted by $1.2 billion, a decline of 53%.With those sales numbers -- Apple, in contrast, sold 5.7 million iPhones each week during its December quarter -- Microsoft's business is on the edge of, if not ending, then on an abyss of apathy.
From the article, we can see the project of Lumia smartphone is failed. it caused revenue from phones overall plummeted by $1.2 billion, a decline of 53%. The reason that may cause the failure is unclear business needs and project objects and inadequate user involvement. Lumia did not clear the need of customers and market so it is hard to compete with Apple. To make project successful, the project manager should fully understand the business need and users request.
After reading the article, I understood that it is necessary to satisfy users request and company's business need to make project successful. When managing a project, we should communicate with users and make system user friendly.
Citation:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3028072/windows-pcs/microsofts-windows-and-devices-group-again-records-lower-revenue.html
Microsoft yesterday again reported a decline in revenue for the group responsible for Windows, the Surface line of 2-in-1s and notebooks, and smartphones, in 2015's fourth quarter. Microsoft sold just 4.5 million Lumia smartphones, or 57% fewer, than in the same quarter the year before, and revenue from phones overall plummeted by $1.2 billion, a decline of 53%.With those sales numbers -- Apple, in contrast, sold 5.7 million iPhones each week during its December quarter -- Microsoft's business is on the edge of, if not ending, then on an abyss of apathy.
After reading the article, I understood that it is necessary to satisfy users request and company's business need to make project successful. When managing a project, we should communicate with users and make system user friendly.
Citation:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3028072/windows-pcs/microsofts-windows-and-devices-group-again-records-lower-revenue.html
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