The IT Skeptic - Comments for "Stand up IT Skeptics"

Thanks for this- it is a

tko — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:27:27 +0000

Thanks for this- it is a missing part of the field. I may not agree w/ you point-by-point, but I like the way you think.

Skep - RE: Change at a human

Tom Rankin — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:35:37 +0000

Skep - RE:
Change at a human pace
TR: completely agree - I found that always seeking out the WIIFM increases the chances of good change.

Respect for the wisdom and knowledge the race has accumulated over millennia
TR: I like the below incremental steps.
DATA + PURPOSE = INFORMATION
INFORMATION + CULTURE = KNOWLEDGE
KNOWLEDGE + EXPERIENCE & REFLECTION = WISDOM.

Integrity in advice and solutions: changes that are genuinely in the best interests of those they are being sold to and imposed upon.
TR: Agree absolutely. One can consult with integrity if they are willing to put the customer's interests before their own (few do).

Curiousity tempered by caution. Critical analysis of anything new.
TR: Simple answer is having a stake in the end outcome. Be there for BizCase review down the track (even get paid that way).

Quality without dogma or perfectionism.
TR: 2 things: SOME sort of measure is important. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder (customer/consumer) - respect that.

define fast

skeptic — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:55:54 +0000

A business model may sometimes vanish quickly but a business seldom does. And the principles of business don't. You still have to create value, generate cash, make a profit, manage risk. Anything else is speculation (usually with someone else's money)... or fraud.

Define "fast". The internet has been with us for 20 years, mobile phones for 10. Amazon is rolling the publishing industry, but it is taking it decades to do it. The internet knocked the travel agents' industry sideways, but the best survive. Our copper-based telco is still a fat ugly giant. CD shops are finally disappearing in some countries. America still wants a paper ~~cheque~~... er "check". Disney and Murdoch still rule.

about time

skeptic — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:44:41 +0000

"classical conservatism applied to information technology". It's not ironic, it's about bloody time.

We in IT blow mega-millions on failed projects while engineers build Dubai without a failure. They might look radical and exciting,but those extreme buildings are not built on some analyst's bright idea. They're built on conservative application of proven science.

I accused our industry of being "an undisciplined rabble of kids who run out the gate to dance shrieking around anything shiny or noisy that comes along the road." No-one has disputed the description.

Classical conservativism

Charles T. Betz — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:57:40 +0000

Rob, no offense but you sound like you're channelling Edmund Burke.

I've always appreciated this bit:

"By this wise prejudice we are taught to look with horror on those children of their country, who are prompt rashly to hack that aged parent in pieces, and put him into the kettle of magicians..."

So not necessarily a bad thing, but still it's a bit ironic to hear classical conservatism applied to information technology.

Charles T. Betz
http://www.erp4it.com

Great idea

aroos — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 10:52:28 +0000

Like the idea. Here are a few comments:

* Rules can sometimes change fast. Latest Fortune magazine has some examples how a business model vanished quickly because of new technology. But it is also true that many rules don't change even if the environment or technology changes.
* Maybe you should remove internet from the hype list. I don't think it was over-hyped
* Theoretical approach can be complicated but not always. I studied mathematics at University and still remember with pleasure the one time when the teacher commented that my solution to an exercise was more elegant than his. Theory can be elegant and simple and very useful if verified with empirical evidence. I agree that some theoretical work is just scientific bull.

Aale
PS Working in my summer office, balmy 26C here.

M&M

Matt Beran — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 23:51:03 +0000

Would the real IT skeptic please stand up? The more experience I have, the more I see the last 5 bullets holding true. I'd like that etched into my MacBook.