Jinn of Quality and Risk (2003-Jan-10)

Jinn?

According to critics, an eavesdropper, constantly striving to go behind the curtains of heaven in order to steal divine secrets. May grant wishes.

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Projects

Travel, around the world. Sleep, less. Profit, more. Eat, deliciously. Find, a new home.

Bio?

Species: featherless biped, chocolate addict
Roots: born in Sweden — lived also in Switzerland, USA, UK — mixed up genes from Sweden, Norway, India, Germany
Languages: French, English, Swedish, German, Portuguese, Latin, Ada, Perl, Java, assembly languages, Pascal, C/C++, etc.
Roles: entrepreneur, programme manager, methodology lead, quality and risk manager, writer, director of technology, project lead, solutions architect — as well as gardener, factory worker, farmhand, supermarket cleaner, programmer, student, teacher, language lawyer, traveller, soldier, lecturer, software engineer, philosopher, consultant

2003-Jan-10

Bring the weblogs to Harvard!

DaveNet: We're going to bring weblogs to Harvard, and then teach the world what we learn.

Being positive

Juha Haataja: when giving positive feedback we tend to insult the recipient a bit.

Why a given project is successful

Hibernate: what we did in terms of development practice that helped make this project so popular so quickly...

The roots of TV sports

Davos Newbies: ...useful posting summarising the rise and influence of videogames. ... 'When we started Fox Sports in 1994, I went out and got...every videogame I could,' says Fox Sports Networks chairman David Hill. 'What fascinated me was how videogames were so rich and multi-layered, while television was two-dimensional.'

Users will not RTFM

The Washington Post blames low user expectation, due to companies who have written impenetrable manuals for years. Instead users expect their purchase to work out of the box, and easily, and will call the manufacturer's call-centre if it doesn't. However, they are willing to read a brief Get-Started guide or pay for training. [rodcorp]

Six sigma symptoms

Bob Gilbert: Seemingly destined for oblivion several years ago, this approach to reducing defects in corporations has made a stunning resurgence thanks to highly publicized successes, such as the claim by corporate icon General Electric that Six Sigma cut $1.5 billion from its [annual] costs... Six Sigma dates back to 1984, when Mikel Harry was an engineer trying to improve the quality of products [at Motorola]. He found that the average company runs at around what statisticians call three sigma, or 66,800 errors per million, in any process, such as manufacturing. He then set himself a truly audacious goal: He wanted to reduce that error rate to six sigma, or a mere 3.4 per million. To make such a giant leap, he felt he couldn't rely on traditional methods, which he saw as part of the problem, not part of the solution. So he invented his own, called DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control). Critics charge that Six Sigma does not promote innovation and is being used beyond its scope of validity.

Learning from Jack Welch

Michael Maccoby: Here are what I consider Welch's achievements.

Busting bureaucracy
Requiring tough evaluations
Learning and changing
Brainwashing the organisation

The essence of startups with a potential

Phil Windley: As I go around and visit [startup] companies, I usually ask them four questions:

What's your product? [functionality, not technology]
Who's your customer? [experience model, not demographics]
Why do they buy your product? [problem-solving, not markets]
What's your competitive advantage? [uniqueness, not funding]

I would also look into the passions, qualities, and ambitions of the people. Success requires execution, not just a plan.

No one expects the Danish Inquisition

The Economist: The panel's ruling --objectively speaking-- is incompetent and shameful.

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