To kick start the lecture for the week we watched a very interesting documentary about the inside of the product innovative company IDEO. They produce and design everything from the games consoles we use to the scary dolls that move at Halloween. This documentary observed the team of designers who were given the task to innovate the shopping trolley that are used in shopping centers world wide. They had a time limit of 5 days. They used qualitative research firstly to get a open ended view of the opinion and ideas the people who use the trolleys every day. They interviewed the ‘experts’ in the trolley related sector such as store managers and shoppers. The 4 main elements of the trolley that they concentrated on were safety, space, security and innovative features such as an attached scanner. After 3 days of research and wild ideas they were divided into 4 different teams all focusing on one particular element of the trolley and they then eventually amalgamated the 4 projects into one innovative trolley. it was very interesting to see how the best innovators in the world work and a worthwhile documentary. 
Week 9 – Spaghetti Time
The class commenced with a discussion on the readings for the the week. The readings we Cusumano (2007), Kruchten (2007) and also a discussion involving our compulsory weekly reading of the book ‘The Soul of A new Machine’ (1981).
Kruchten’s reading was very interesting a gave a good insight into the the use of words and how some systems are not the solution to all organisations problems. It is mentioned in the article that agility can be understood as a very positive buzz word to use in the work place as oppose to terms such as the ‘Waterfall’ framework as it can create a different understanding for each individual.
Cusmano(2007) was the second reading we discussed. I found how the actions necessary for Extreme programming (XP) very interesting and also how they were copared to the microsoft iterative development. It was mentioned how the 2 overlap each other up to 80% which is very thought provoking and I am keen to see the research that brought this percentage.
We then discussed the question of the criteria necessary when picking between XP a Scrum or a other framework.
for the final half hour or so of the class it was a much more hands on scenario. We were put into groups and were given the task to make a Cantilever using just spaghetti, tape and tack. We had one member of our group documenting our progress and the approaches we took as a team. At first the task seemed hard but once we started working as a team and brainstorming we eventually nailed the design and our Cantilever was a huge success. Unfortunately i do not have a photo but it looked very similar to this picture 
Iona Case and Interface Design
We discussed the Iona case part 2 and talked about the issues that faced the organisation and what we though the causes of the problems were. Initially we saw that the business model of Iona had changed from a Tech consultancy firm to a Product company. This resulted in a growth of employees and social changes to the office environment. This did not have a positive impact on staff as it is natural for individuals to dislike change and in some cases oppose it in certain ways such as communication breakdown between departments like what happened in Iona. We came up with solutions that would solve these issues with Iona such as dividing groups into smaller teams and introducing informal communication events.
We also did a very interesting interactive activity in pairs using the website Balsamiq.com. By using a the mockup function it provides we were able to design and develop the interface for an application for a mobile device. It was very interesting and I will definitely be going back on the website to develop my design skills.
The system, The managers, and of course Tom West
In this weeks(6) class we discussed the role of the product manager rather than the project manager in relation to last weeks discussion of what a system is.
The exercise was as follows:
As the Product Manager for the transceiver product line at manufacturer A. . .Sketch the system. The outcome was a brainstorming map of all the necesities of all the different tasks and functions associated with the transceiver product.
We learned that the role of product manager does no have to be completed by just one person but can be completed by different departments. As seen in the book @Soul of a new machine’ , Wests staffs opinions of what he did varied as some thought he did nothing in his office all day whereas other saw the genius behind his office wall. The truth was he was developing models and functions to make his staff work to their best ability by putting certain people on certain tasks for his own reason that only he knew. This eventually resulted in the completion of ‘the Eagle’ through the power of his psychological power to plant ideas in his staffs head in the thought that it was their own, this was a very impressive managerial technique. I would recommend the book to anyone.
The Avalanche and the Activity checklist
The activity checklist was a tool that seemed straight forward but when looked at more closely became ever more so complicated. The activity checklist was described as “a guide to specific areas to which researchers or practitioners should be paying attention when trying to understand the context in which a tool will be or is used”. I found it hard to find the relevance of this tool with regards to the avalanche case, this may have been due to the technical jargon that was used and was quite confusing.
The avalanche case was easier to understand and we were set a task as to come to a conclusion as to what saved Paul.
We understood that it was speed, experience, teamwork and luck that saved Paul. I felt the purpose of the avalanche case study was for us as students to understand that managing a system is not always about following a plan and more about dealing with the situations at hand and the external environments.
Srum in the workplace!!
For our class today one of the readings was an overview of the methodology behind a scrum in the workplace and how Microsoft teams implemented it into their daily activities. I enjoyed hearing individuals viewpoints on the scrum from our class. Allen ensured we understood the importance of the scrum in business through examples of companies who enforce it such as Microsoft.
Planning poker was also a large part of our class, it was used to demonstrate effective pathways to come to joint decisions among teams and ensuring that the most efficient decision is the outcome from this process of estimation. Planning poker eliminates the possibility of agreeing with another group member just for the sake of it and it is a really good way to communicate in teams.
Yet again this was another practical and hands on class and thoroughly enjoyable.
Another fun and knowledge packed class!
Throughout week three’s lecture we discussed a variety of things from upcoming events such as the Accenture talks to the reading that we will discuss during week four’s lecture.
The three readings that were assigned for homework for this week was Silver Bullet (Brook), Designing (Racoon) and Estimating.
We looked and home-sourcing blogs and cinematic views of working in software & high tech industry. Allen our lecturer also explained to us the importance of digital storytelling in today’s world and how it is more interactive than that of presentations using power-point for example.
We discussed and looked at the Grandiose model and different life cycle models such as the waterfall and spiral model. We learned from Royce(1970) that analysis and coding are key to understand if you want to get to the heart of the business.
Royces 5 steps:
1.Program Design
2.Document the design
3.Do it twice secondary
4.Plan, Control and monitor testing
5.Involving customer
Software Development Lifecycle & LEGO Building
Throughout our second lecture they style of teaching from our lecturer had changed to a more hands on approach of teaching. we discussed the software development life cycle and the importance of it when managing projects. we discussed the importance of running and effective project and how to go about it. Like all projects the project manager must assess quality, cost, time and scope.
Know armed with this knowledge we attacked our Lego mind storm kits in groups, and although the cost and scope didn’t really matter in our situation it was really only the time and quality of our manufacturing process that was being evaluated. Our group managed to work well together and we developed a routine for the building process. I took control and assigned each member of our group a role which was a part in the manufacturing process. whether it was looking for pieces or putting them together, we all worked as a team and got the robot completed just in the nick of time. It was a great achievement and a very interesting lecture to put our academic based knowledge to a real project.
The Soul Of A New Machine
I purchased the book and also got a pdf copy online. The prologue is very interesting and although I have only ready through the first 30 pages or so, it seems like it is a nice read and I look froward to expanding my knowledge in the world of information systems and software from this book.
NATO Engineering Software Conference 1968
Our group looked at the keynote speech by A.J Perlis (page 78). Perlis outlined his belief about the importance of the synergy between the advancement of software and the growing use of quality standards reinforcing the increase in developments. He announces his views on the concept of the ‘virtual machine’, his views seem vague but yet intriguing for a man who lived in the era before virtual technology had really lifted off. Although we saw from the timeline of computing history in the lecture that the first handheld calculator was invented in 1964 Perlis’s thoughts were far more advanced and bigger than that of a calculator. He mentioned the transformation of machines states and the use of a background machine that these other machine states feed off such like that of an advanced computer software system. Like George Orwell’s book of 1984 that included the ‘Big Brother’ phenomenon Percil was a man who thought beyond his time and no one can truely state if Percil was really on the right track to the virtualizing of machines. I look forward to hearing more about the interesting personal figures I will encounter in my next lectures.
Kgmcgoverns MSD Blog 
