Josef Nankivell

Skills for the Information Age

Josef Nankivell — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:46:58 +0000

My notes from lecture 3 of ISAD337 – Professional practice and social responsibility.

Skills for the Information Age

ICT Industry – Practice

1960s/70s – Programming in 3GL and Assembly languages, manual control of processes, storage-constrained environments, hierarchical, network-databases.

1980s – 3GL/4GL (non procedural) languages automatiion of processes, growth of storage, networks, relational databses (mathematical set theory), personal computers and user computing methodologies.

1990s – Programming in var languages, dev of services, client/server, internet begins, OO techniques, enterprise-wide apps.

2000s – Programming/scripting, automation of services, browsers, search engines, internet established, systems of ICT (ITIL).

Side-notes

Once invented, does not need to be invented again
Doing anything strategic was difficult
Focus moves from data to information (and to knowledge)
Increasing use of databases
Convergence of Human-Computer technology
ICT becomes the “business enabler”
Information viewed as an organisational asset
Service orientation
ICT personnel seen as “professionals”

Information viewed as an organisational set

An organisation is only as successful as the quality of its decisions
Decisions are required at strategic, tactical and operational levels
Information provides a major input to decisions
ICT is now the main delivery means for information
Information must be treated like any other organisational resource – it must be looked after or it may be lost, damaged or remain unused

The rise (and fall?) of the Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Manager of IT resources and operations
- Governance of the IT function
- Operating the core infrastructure and related services
- Managing the applications portfolio supporting business
- Recruiting and managing IT skills, expertise and people
- Developing and retaining IT project management skills
- Managing the suppliers of IT services and products
- Measuring and managing the company’s IT investments
The CIO as an enabler of business change
Strategic business player and part of the senior management team

Above information from Cranfield University paper (exemplar paper)

Side-notes

Low level & high level activities mixed together.
CIO should not have to do low level activities?

Service Orientation

An IT Service is a set of related components provided by IT systems in support of the business and perceived by the customer/user as a coherent and self-contained entity. Or: something “end-to-end.”

Of what is a service compromised?

Peopleware
- Docs
- Skills
- People
- Procedures
- Guides
Software
- Databases
- Dev environments
- Operating systems
- Applications
- Services tools
Hardware
- LANs
- WANs
- Mainframes
- Work stations
- Servers
- Networks
- Telephones
- Sensors

E.g. Email:

Server hardware
Client hardware
Network infrastructure
Email server software
Email clients
Directory services
System administration
Users

Is our orientation now aimed towards service?

ITIL v.3

Sevice design
Service Transition

Configuration Management

To record all Configuration Items (CIs)
And relationships/dependencies between them
To provide accurate information to support other ITIL core processes
To provide a sound basis for Incident, Problem, Change and Release Management
To account for all IT Assets and verify configuration records, correcting any exceptions

ICT Personnel as Professionals

Development, support, networks, suppliers, problems, technology change, users, management – how can we cope with the world of ICT?
What skills have we got?
What level of skill – Basic/Expert?
How many skills?
How can we evaluate our skills?
What/how do organisations recruit?

Create a skills management strategy

Determine the business case for skills/resource management, professional development, and other strategic, tactical or operational change
Analyse professional development processes and strategy versus a Maturity Model of professional development
=> Skills for the Information Age
“SFIA describes what people do, not necessarily what their jobs are called”

SFIA

Categories and Levels

Strategy and architecture
Business change
Solution development and implementation
Service management
Procurement and management support
Client interface

Skill Level (tag)

7. set strategy/inspire

6. initiate/influence

5. ensure/advise

4. enable

3. apply

2. assist

1. follow

The Relationship Between Risk Management and the Success and Failure of Software Development This report analyses the relationship between risk management and the...
Final Year Project Proposal Bid4It is an online auction marketplace that features items and...
Project Initiation Document A project initiation document is a logical document that brings...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Relationship Between Risk Management and the Success and Failure of Software Development

Josef Nankivell — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:47:49 +0000

Software development projects have a long history of failing due to numerous factors. such as bad design, poor resource allocation, lack of communication, software bugs and risk management; The latter being the focus of this report. Jiang and Klein (1999) find that different types of risks will affect budget, user satisfaction and system performance. Other studies indicate that 15 to 35% of all software development projects are cancelled and the remaining projects suffer from schedule slippage, feature creep, expenditure issues or failure to meet their project goals (Boehm, 1991).

The relationship between risk management and the success and failure of a software development project is very important and has gained an increasing amount of interest over the years.

During a software development project, methodologies are applied in an attempt to manage risk by gathering and evaluating information using a structured process. The assumption that a good risk management methodology will reduce software development risks enough to prevent failure is true to an extent. However, problems may arise if, for whatever reason, the software development project does not adhere to traditional approaches.

Read the rest of my report here.

Project Initiation Document A project initiation document is a logical document that brings...
First Progress Report The project began with the research of a possible approaches...
Skills for the Information Age My notes from lecture 3 of ISAD337 - Professional practice...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

What is Cybercrime?

Josef Nankivell — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:05:24 +0000

This definition provides the basis from which we will explore a fuller meaning of cybercrime. This report catalogues key events in the history of cybercrime and investigates how it occurred and evolved over the last 40 years. It also provides information about the current situation and how this affects governments and businesses. Finally it speculates on the future of cybercrime, how it may evolve, and how it could be controlled. This full-spectrum analysis provides a more complete answer to the question, “what is cybercrime?”

Read the rest of the report here.

The Relationship Between Risk Management and the Success and Failure of Software Development This report analyses the relationship between risk management and the...
First Progress Report The project began with the research of a possible approaches...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

First Progress Report

Josef Nankivell — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:33:07 +0000

The knowledge gained through the prototype development precipitated the decision to redesign a second version of the site . The focus of the redesign is a separation between data model (i.e. the content) and view (i.e. the user interface). This also allows for the workload to be balanced more appropriately. This will allow easier collaboration with Cornwall & Devon Media Ltd through phases 4-7, and facilitate future software development. Progress so far is good and I expect to be able to meet the majority of project milestones on time.

View the rest of the report here.

The project began with the research of a possible approaches for a web application at Cornwall &

Devon Media. This was useful and allowed fast and detailed learning about the possible

approaches: both with user interface design, and with back-end technologies such as MySQL and

PHP.

The knowledge gained through the prototype development precipitated the decision to redesign a

second version of the site . The focus of the redesign is a separation between data model (i.e. the

content) and view (i.e. the user interface). This also allows for the workload to be balanced more

appropriately. This will allow easier collaboration with Cornwall & Devon Media Ltd through

phases 4-7, and facilitate future software development. Progress so far is good and I expect to be

able to meet the majority of project milestones on t

Final Year Project Proposal Bid4It is an online auction marketplace that features items and...
Project Initiation Document A project initiation document is a logical document that brings...
The Relationship Between Risk Management and the Success and Failure of Software Development This report analyses the relationship between risk management and the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Project Initiation Document

Josef Nankivell — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:34:09 +0000

A project initiation document is a logical document that brings together the key information needed to start the project on a sound basis. It should be conveyed to all stakeholders and agreed and signed off by the business sponsors. In short, this is the, “who, why, what, when and how”, part of the project. It defines all major aspects of a project and forms the basis for its management and the assessment of overall success.

A common part of formal project methodologies such as PRINCE2[1] the document is a major milestone in the Initiating a Project (IP) process. It is the document that goes before the Project Board for sign- off to commence a project.

View my project initiation document here at Google Docs.

First Progress Report The project began with the research of a possible approaches...
Final Year Project Proposal Bid4It is an online auction marketplace that features items and...
The Relationship Between Risk Management and the Success and Failure of Software Development This report analyses the relationship between risk management and the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Ubuntu 9.10 Download is Live

Josef Nankivell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:40:26 +0000

The wait is over! Once again it is that wonderful time of year when we are graced with another glorious build of Ubuntu Linux. Full of the same awesomeness with the promise of being even better than the previous release. Get your hands on the juicy Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala here.

Don’t forget to come back in a few days to read my review of Ubuntu 9.10.

Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 6 – Boot Screen Ubuntu has released alpha 6 of Ubuntu Karmic Kola. What...
Install Dropbox on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala Beta After installing the beta of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala this...
How to Install Abobe AIR on Ubuntu Linux Yesterday, I did a fresh install of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Data Loss – A Time for Change

Josef Nankivell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:23:15 +0000

With smart-phones and WiFi hot-spots everywhere, many companies have replaced desktop computers with laptops. Meaning that email and USB drives are now the norm for transferring corporate data. All of these large data transfers have resulted in employees accidentally and deliberately leaking corporate and personal data; often through losing the device or through social netoworking channels.

Organisations tend to make the mistake of concentrating on the device instead of the data. Often the hardware is managed by one individual and security by somebody else altogether. As you might be able to guess, having such a separation can prove to be very difficult, therefore an alternative method needs to be found.

The alternative is Data Loss Prevention (DLP). DLP provides organisations with knowledge of where their confidential information is being stored, how it is being used and allows them to monitor and restrict the movement of data. Policies can be put in place to block confidential data being copied or saved to local drives and devices. A DLP solution will also inform users about the importance of securing data, reducing the risk data loss in the first place.

No related posts.

Install Dropbox on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala Beta

Josef Nankivell — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:02:49 +0000

First, you need to download the Dropbox 9.04 Source code from the bottom of the download page.

Secondly, you should right-click on the file that you have just downloaded and click “Extract Here“.

Thirdly, navigate to System > Administration > Software Sources and select the “Other Sources” tab. In the box below you need to check “http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu karmic partner“. Click “Close” and then in the dialogue box that appears, select “Reload“.

Wait for the download to complete and then open a Terminal window by going to Applications > Accessories and clicking “Terminal”.

Now enter the following command into the Terminal window:

sudo apt-get install libnautilus-extension-dev libnotify-dev python-docutils

Hit enter and wait for a few seconds, then type Y and hit enter again to agree to download and install the 80mb(ish) files. Once this is complete you have just installed the dependencies we will use to compile our own Dropbox deb. Woah! Calm down! I know I said “compile” but do not fret! I will hold your hand along the way!

Right, now that you are over the initial scare of compiling we shall continue by navigating to where you have just downloaded the file via the Terminal. Presumably, you downloaded the file to a Downloads folder within your home folder. Therefore, we need to type the following in the Terminal to navigate to the correct location:

cd Downloads/nautilus-dropbox-0.6.1/

This means change directory (cd) to the folder to “/nautilus-dropbox-0.6.1/” inside of Downloads. If you extracted “nautilus-dropbox-0.6.1″ onto the Desktop you would write the command cd /Desktop/nautilus-dropbox-0.6.1/

Once inside the correct folder we will begin to compile the source code. Enter the following commands one at a time in the Terminal:

./configure

make

sudo make install

The terminal will ask for your password so that it can perform these tasks as root. Enter your password and hit enter.

Note: Don’t worry, you aren’t supposed to see any characters as you type your password in a Terminal

Well done! You had compiled and installed the Dropbox installer. Now just log out and then log back in again, navigate to “Applications > Internet > Dropbox” and click OK to download and install the Dropbox daemon. Then just enter your details & happy Dropboxing!

If you have any problems with this, please feel free to leave a comment below!

How to Install Abobe AIR on Ubuntu Linux Yesterday, I did a fresh install of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic...
Ubuntu 9.10 Download is Live The wait is over! Once again it is that wonderful...
Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 6 – Boot Screen Ubuntu has released alpha 6 of Ubuntu Karmic Kola. What...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Final Year Project Proposal

Josef Nankivell — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:01:12 +0000

The objective of the final product is to replace the existing Bid4It online marketplace.

Upon preliminary inspection of the requirements, the site will consist of the following general sections. Firstly, the main website where products and services can be browsed, searched and bid upon. Secondly, a customer administration section, where the customer can keep track of their current bids and account information. Thirdly, an administration section, where staff can add, edit and remove items as well as control many other aspects of how the marketplace operates.

Motivation

Based on initial discussions with Cornwall and Devon Media Ltd, the understanding is that they wish to obtain more control over the administration and development of the Bid4It online marketplace, while reducing repeating outsourcing costs to third parties.

To achieve this they require an online marketplace package that they can host on their existing server infrastructure that can be developed and edited without the involvement of a third-party corporation. My role is to produce the online marketplace website package for Cornwall & Devon Media Ltd that will provide them with the control and reduced repeating expenditure that they require.

Cornwall & Devon Media currently have a large online presence, with staff members proficient in administrating numerous websites. However, they do not currently employ any in-house developers. Because of this, the site will be mostly managed by staff with little web development knowledge. Therefore, it is a requirement by Cornwall & Devon Media Ltd that the site is coded using technologies that have a strong supporting resources and communities.

Main Deliverable – Summary

To produce an online marketplace website package where users can place auction-style bids on items and services from local, trusted businesses and allow Cornwall & Devon Media Ltd staff to fully manage the site’s structure and content. The product will replace the existing version of Bid4It, with the aim of giving Cornwall & Devon Media Ltd full control over the online marketplace, while reducing recurring expenditure to third parties.

Method of Approach

So that the project is delivered on time and to the highest quality, I will employ the PRINC2 project management methodology. PRINC2 is a generic and flexible system that will provide structure and organisation allowing me complete control of the project.

In order to maximize productivity and code quality I am considering employing the use of the “Subversion” Version Control System with the “Trac” interface installed on top. This should hopefully provide me with the advantages of decreased build time, code revisions and directory versioning.

Validation of Product

The final product will be demonstrated to the executive staff of Cornwall & Devon Media Ltd. The features of the final product will be compared to a set of requirements, previously agreed upon by Cornwall & Devon Media Ltd and myself.

Management Issues & Resource Availability

The project will be coded using free and open-source software, including Eclipse, Ubuntu Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP. Web servers running with PHP and MySQL database installed are present at Cornwall & Devon Media and will be used to host the finished product.

Assessment of Skills

Currently proficient with PHP, HTML, CSS and MySQL. Good understanding of user-interaction design, databases, Linux environments, information security and W3C standards. Skills required that need to be improved include, UML and project management.

First Progress Report The project began with the research of a possible approaches...
Project Initiation Document A project initiation document is a logical document that brings...
The Relationship Between Risk Management and the Success and Failure of Software Development This report analyses the relationship between risk management and the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Push Gmail Comes to iPhone and Windows Mobile

Josef Nankivell — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:27:13 +0000

I nearly tumbled from where I am perched as a friend turned to me and announced, “Push Gmail for iPhone and Windows Mobile”. He sent me the link to the blog post which I quickly read and immediately fumbled for my iPhone.

As I already have Google pushing contacts and calenders to me, I just navigated to the Mail section of my iPhone to find my Google Sync settings and one quick flick of the “Mail” switch later I started to received emails via Push!

If you haven’t set up Google Sync with your device yet, you can find out how here.

No related posts.