DEV Community: Data Maverick

7. Do use cloud

Data Maverick — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 12:49:15 +0000

The Role of Standardization in Enhancing Productivity in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has become the go-to solution for modern businesses seeking a scalable and cost-effective way to manage their IT operations. One of the key benefits of cloud computing is standardization, which has a significant impact on productivity.

Standardization plays a critical role in cloud computing by providing a consistent approach to IT operations. This consistency enables teams to quickly debug issues or implement new features, reducing the time it takes to complete projects and minimizing errors. Moreover, standardization allows businesses to automate repetitive tasks and eliminate inefficiencies, improving productivity and freeing up resources for more strategic initiatives.

In addition to these benefits, standardization in the cloud also promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing. With a standardized approach, businesses can easily share information and best practices across teams, enabling them to leverage each other's expertise and avoid duplication of effort.

However, achieving standardization in the cloud requires careful planning and execution. To fully realize the benefits of standardization, businesses need to adopt a structured approach to IT operations that emphasizes consistency and repeatability. They must also leverage automation and other tools to streamline processes and eliminate manual errors.

In conclusion, standardization is a critical aspect of cloud computing that can enhance productivity and improve efficiency. By adopting a consistent approach to IT operations, businesses can automate repetitive tasks, avoid errors, and free up resources for more strategic initiatives. Moreover, standardization promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing, enabling teams to work together more effectively. To achieve these benefits, businesses must adopt a structured approach to IT operations and leverage automation and other tools to streamline their processes.

6. Do be afraid of unstable systems

Data Maverick — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 06:21:02 +0000

Are your IT systems down again? 🙄

It pains me to tell you this; your problems are much worse. 😨

Let's get to the root cause. No, not the technical root cause. The organizational root cause.

Unstable systems are not the sickness; it is the symptoms.

Two of the main types of work in an IT department are business work and internal IT work.

Business work

Features that directly positively affect the business.

Business work is the reason we have an IT department.

Internal IT work

Investments in developer productivity, security, governance, cost management, coordination between departments, and systems stability.

The organizational root cause

IT neglects internal IT work and only focuses on business work. This neglect is often attributed to a skill gap by the developers. And, yes, that is sometimes the case.

However, in most businesses, it is not the IT department that chooses what the IT department works on; it is often business managers. And business managers will always prioritize tangible business work over long-term intangible IT work.

Whatever the root cause, the ramifications are severe.

Ramifications

Unstable IT systems are a strong predictor of a slow IT department.
A slow IT department is a strong predictor of inadequate cost management.
Inadequate cost management is a strong predictor of insufficient coordination between departments.
Insufficient coordination between departments is a strong predictor of unstable IT systems.

Unstable IT systems are just symptoms of a much deeper sickness.

5. Do understand why a task was done quickly

Data Maverick — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 05:45:01 +0000

Why does a 30 minutes IT task take six days to deliver?

A task comes in Thursday at noon. The work on the task is done 30 minutes later, including a coffee break.

The task is delivered the following Wednesday evening.

Now, why does a 30 minutes task take six days to deliver?

Why does your IT department wait to deliver a task until a few days after it is done?

I’ve seen multiple times that a task is completed in a few hours but first delivered after a week because the development department doesn’t want the business to think that this is a normal speed of delivery.

Background

A well-functioning IT department invests most of its time in infrastructure, productivity improvements, and paying down technical debt.

Those investments result in productivity gains when it comes to business tasks.

Therefore, a seemingly huge task can be accomplished very fast.

It is not because the task was small. But because the IT department has spent a lot of time on productivity improvements.

If the business doesn’t see investments in productivity, the IT department hesitates to deliver a task quickly.

For the IT department, it is a matter of self-preservation.

If they deliver a task sooner, the expectation is that all similar tasks can be done as fast.
If all business tasks are delivered quickly, the implication is that IT may be overstaffed.

4. Don’t limit business people's access to IT

Data Maverick — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 09:11:03 +0000

A highly effective technique to reduce work in an IT department is to allow business people free access to IT personnel.

This seems counterintuitive!

There are extraordinarily compelling reasons to allow business people access to IT personnel.

Reason 1: IT people have a better understanding of what resources a given task requires

I repeatedly experience business people changing their initial requests to something more challenging. The only reason is that they think the modified task is easier for IT.

It is typically easier to give business people precisely what they want instead of what business people think is easy for IT to deliver.

Reason 2: IT people need to learn to say no and have a proper approach to escalating to upper management

Some tasks are just insanely difficult and resource intensive:

Two-way syncing of systems.
Managing a new software vendor.
Integrating a new business model before it is fully developed.

In those circumstances, it is best if business people go directly to IT, so IT can explain why a given task would be disruptive and then, together, form a plan to achieve the same business objective without destroying IT productivity.

And if that isn't possible, business people and IT should be able together to escalate a priority to upper management.

Reason 3: Give a much broader window when scoping a project

A harmful situation can transpire when a new project is being scoped:

Business people will ask for excessively many features. Often features that will never be used. Often features that the business knows that there is very little chance of actually being used.

People do this for one reason. They know if they don't ask for it now in the project scoping, they will never be able to get it in the future. So they over ask.

I've seen project ballooning with a factor of between 10 and 100* only due to business people's fear that they cannot change the scope later.

*yes, I do mean a 100-hour task can explode to a 1000-hour task to even a 10000-hour mammoth project, only due to requirements that are not strictly needed by the business.

If business people know they can always come back with more requests, they won't need to over-ask at the beginning of a project.

3. Do use screencasts

Data Maverick — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 04:36:57 +0000

When creating a bug report or feature request, using a screencast is a powerful tool that can save time and improve communication.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider using a screencast when submitting bug reports or feature requests:

Speed: Often, it's much faster to shoot a 2-minute video than to explain what you need in text. This is especially true when dealing with complex issues or user interfaces.
Precision: With a screencast, you can show exactly what you want, highlighting specific elements or actions on the screen. This eliminates any confusion or ambiguity that can arise from written descriptions.
Context: A screencast also allows you to show how you got to the error, providing valuable context for developers trying to reproduce and fix the issue. This can be particularly helpful when dealing with issues that are hard to reproduce.

Conclusion:

Screencasts can be a valuable tool when reporting bugs or requesting features. They allow you to communicate effectively and efficiently, helping developers understand and address the issue more quickly. If you are unfamiliar with screencasting software, free and paid options such as Quicktime, Snagit, and my favorite, Loom, is available.

Part of the series: 52 dos and don’ts on how to get things done by the IT department

I've created a list of 52 dos and don’ts that can make your work with IT much more productive and enjoyable!

These dos and don’ts are not about managing an IT department, but about how you can get things done by the IT department.

A new dos and don’ts every week in 2023

2. Do have a good law department

Data Maverick — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 08:15:06 +0000

An unresponsive or non-existing law department can be one of the biggest blockers for IT.

IT and data are highly linked with the law. Law involves data privacy, procurement, contracts, and ownership.

Uncertainty about the law is a blocker of new initiatives and means that organizations get stuck and are not able to move forward.

Common questions that a law department should be able to answer relatively quickly are:

Are we allowed to use the cloud?
Are we allowed to use this vendor?
What data can we store?
Should we have a DPA with this vendor?
Can we start this new project?

Part of the series: 52 dos and don’ts on how to get things done by the IT department

I've created a list of 52 dos and don’ts that can make your work with IT much more productive and enjoyable!

These dos and don’ts are not about managing an IT department, but about how you can get things done by the IT department.

A new dos and don’ts every week in 2023

Original:

https://datamaverick.co/blog/52-dos-and-donts-on-how-to-get-things-done-by-the-it-department/2-do-have-good-law-department

1. Do take a screenshot of your entire screen

Data Maverick — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 19:02:58 +0000

52 dos and don’ts on how to get things done by the IT department

From more than 10 years of experience working in and with IT, I've created a list of 52 dos and don’ts that can make your work with IT much more productive and enjoyable 🥰
These dos and don’ts are not about managing an IT department, but about how you can get things done by the IT department.
A new dos and don’ts every week in 2023 🎉🥳

Week 1. Do take a screenshot of your entire screen

When you are creating a bug report, do take a screenshot of your entire screen.

I know it from myself, when I want to show an error, I take a screenshot of the error, and not the whole screen.

However, the whole screen offers so many pieces of information that will help the developer fix your issue.

Important information that are given when taking a screenshot of the entire screen:

Settings in the program you are in
The operation system
Your browser
Time and date
Other programs you might have open at the same time

Originally posted on: https://datamaverick.co/blog/52-dos-and-donts-on-how-to-get-things-done-by-the-it-department/1-do-take-a-screenshot-of-your-entire-screen