Mar 4

My project grows increasingly challenging by the day. The main plot of the effort - modify and deploy a global help desk application - is increasingly diminished by the power of the multiple subplots:

1) Use the new, standardized architecture. This required a significant revamp of the baselined application.

2) Help define the process for how we will work internationally moving forward. This project has not been the model of success on this front. I am still confident in project success, but we will be learning more from our challenges than we will be from our successes on this effort. The silver lining, of course, is that we are learning from it and the next projects will be the better for it.

3) Change the culture of the organization. This phrase keeps coming up, but we haven't quite determined what is meant by it. Hopefully we will shortly as I am sure it will impact our testing and training cycles.

4) Keep it simple. The more simple we make it, the more manual work we are creating by not adding system complexity. This is likely to have the biggest impact on the level of the "gripe factor".

I would say that the biggest issue we've had to this point is misunderstanding the documentation requirements. Our PMO (Project Management Office) group did an excellent job last year defining a standardized process for implementing technology projects. They interviewed the key players in both organization, took direction from our CIO, and held a pilot class with key managers and project managers - myself included - to get input on both the class and the process before deploying globally. Over the last few months, they've been touring the globe providing PMO training to all of our offices. This is exactly the process you would want the PMO to use.

The PMO rolled out what I like to call "little m" methodology instead of "Methodology". The difference being "methodology" defines stages, milestones, and project requirements, but permits flexibility for the project team to add and remove tasks and define deliverable templates based on the needs of the project. "Methodology" tries to define a specific set of rules, and a specific set of templates for every potential project and all parties must strictly adhere to all facets of the "Methodology". I've always preferred "methodology", so I've been very supportive of everything the PMO is trying to accomplish.

As part of the rollout and the training, the PMO provided templates for what document deliverables could look like. They took a best-of-breed approach to project documentation, but, with it being a "methodology" approach, fully expected that each project could and would modify the templates to fit the needs of the project. Here is where it gets interesting. In the training performed in Indonesia, the whole team left with the impression that they must follow the documentation templates explicitly. What's worse, no one knows where the document templates came from., and no one likes them. I know we didn't have them pre-merger, the Indonesia team said they weren't using them, and I swear the PMO had told me they adopted what the Indonesia team had provided. My guess is that one of our former colleagues, who was then manager of development in Indonesia, provided the templates to the PMO shortly before he left to "pursue other opportunities" (code for - got fired).

These documents have done nothing but muddle the issues and keep me jumping through hoops trying to follow the business requirements through to our design documents. Every version of the documents I see only poses more questions, but the developers always have thoughtful and detailed answers, which tells me they know what we are trying to accomplish, but we just aren't documenting it properly...or clearly, depending on your perspective. In any event, I'm cautiously optimistic that we are on track. I'll know for sure when I'm back in Jakarta next week and can really go through the design with everyone. They were still finishing it at the end of last week, so my first real look at it has been while I'm in Timika.

So, part of subplot 2 for me now is to create the first set of NEW templates for how we want to do development projects as a global team to help clear the confusion. When complete, the new templates won't be that different from the existing templates, they'll just have a few additions, a few deletions, and a slight reorganization....much like the system we're working on for this project.

Okay, enough work talk. On to what you really like to read about - INDONESIA. As most of the day was spent at the office (nearly 12 hours), I'll just fill in some details I forgot or omitted in some prior posts:

1) The mine has 4 shifts that run 24/7/365. Why don't we just say 24/365? Isn't the "7" redundant?? I digress. The staff refer to the locals who mine the river (illegally) as "Shift 5".

2) I was thinking the other day that isn't blogging and posting vacation pictures on Flickr just the 21st century equivalent of inviting family and friends over for a slide show? I remember the sitcoms of my youth - especially "The Wonder Years" - making fun of people who would have dinner parties and break out the slide shows. People DREADED that slide-show-guy, and now we can't get enough of Reality TV, reading people's blogs, seeing their pictures, etc. Not making a statement, really, just something interesting to me.

3) One of my colleagues bought something in the store today and they were out of change. So, instead of giving her change, they gave her a vitamin C lozenge. Do you think that would work in the US? "I'm sorry, we're out of singles, but you can select a few of our candy bars instead".

4) For lunch today, we ate at the golf course club house. It took nearly 90 minutes to get our food because the chef was preparing a feast for an Embassy meeting later in the evening. They didn't have anything exotic on the menu, so I just ordered the lamb chops (which haven't done well for my GI). The golf course is beautiful and was designed by Ben Crenshaw (I think that's his name). Over lunch, our Indonesian colleagues told us about a fruit that hung from one of the trees on the course. Apparently, it is very high in antioxidants, so many of the locals use it as medicine. They also have ascribed it great medicinal powers saying it can cure cancer, HIV, and malaria. It can't, but it's always nice to have hope.

Side note: On our way home from work, we had to wait at an intersection while the ambassador entourage passed in front of us. I hope they enjoy their dinner. It, apparently, took a long time to prepare.

Sounds like Thursday we'll get our mine tour, and I'm very excited about it. The mines are why we have jobs, so the more we can understand about how they operate, and how our products help them operate, the better we can contribute to the organization. Plus, it's just absolutely fascinating stuff. There are some events that make you proud to be part of an organization - like when ARPA birthed the internet. There are events that make you proud to be part of a country - like when America landed a man on the moon. Building a mine of this magnitude, in an area so hostile it was inaccessible before we arrived, having to create the entire infrastructure from ports, to roads, to power, and potable water, makes you proud to be part of the human race. It's endeavors like this that truly demonstrate man's preeminent status on our planet and is a testament to our ingenuity. I can't wait to see it.