The IT Skeptic - systems

DevOps represents the emergence of systems thinking in IT

skeptic — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 10:54:18 +0000

Welcome to the new world of IT: systems thinking.

Victims of the system

skeptic — Sat, 23 Jul 2016 05:21:11 +0000

Most people who seem to be blocking progress are in fact well intentioned and trying to do the right thing but they are victims of the system in which they work.

System People Practices Partners Things

skeptic — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 23:39:21 +0000

The old mantra "People Process Technology" is a good one for taking a balanced view of all considerations in any initiative. Let's improve it a little.

I wrote before about how I prefer the wording "People, Practices, Things" or even "Community, Activity, Environment".

The New IT Age

skeptic — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 04:00:46 +0000

We have a bit of a "New IT Age" - or is that "New Age IT"? - going on. I don't mean that like Charles Araujo's Quantum Age of IT, as a major transformation of how we do IT. I mean it in the same way as "New Age" thinking: i.e. a total abdication of rational or critical thought. Peace, love, dope, and brown rice ... and bad science. We haven't seen crystal IT or aromatherapy IT or holistic pyramid IT, but some days I feel as if it is just a matter of time. Tweet this.

On exponential systems

skeptic — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:58:23 +0000

It is hard to extrapolate what is going to happen from any set of data. One thing is for sure: in the real world, any simple model that shows a continuing increase will run into a real physical limit. And if it is an exponentially increasing curve that we are forecasting, that limit is going to come sooner rather than later.

Great paper on failure of complex systems

skeptic — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:12:17 +0000

It is not often you read something that completely changes the way you look at IT. This paper How Complex Systems Fail rocked me. Reading this made me completely rethink ITSM, especially Root Cause Analysis, Major Incident Reviews, and Change Management.