Category: Opinion
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Reviewed: reMarkable
Despite being very much a citizen of the digital world, I am a long-time lover of hand-written notes. I read and annotate reports, and prefer doing so with pen in hand. As such, I suppose it was inevitable that I would find and try out the reMarkable. Their ad blurb says: reMarkable – the only…
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Documentation – What kind of platform?
I believe very strongly in the power of documentation, for a number of reasons. Knowledge should be kept in an ordered manner, and writing documentation is a good way of not only ordering the knowledge, but double-checking it. In addition, by placing the documentation somewhere accessible, you can share it. What platform you choose depends on…
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Keys to ITIL implementation
ITIL is an excellent framework for running IT operations. It offers tools and process management to help you improve on what you’ve got. Unlike what many consultants would have you believe, however, it is not a panacea. You cannot simply implement all of ITIL and call it a day. If you were to try, you…
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A tale of three recruiters
As so many others, I keep abreast of openings in my field, and apply when I see something relevant and interesting with an employer I might want to work for. These are my experiences with three such applications and the recruiters managing them (all of which, I might add, were external to the company recruiting…
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On saying “I don’t know”
A couple of weeks ago, the excellent @IanColdwater posted the following: This is a great post for two reasons. First, because we all need to hear it sometimes. Second – and perhaps more importantly – because admitting you do not know is – or rather should be – a core tenet of any job that…
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State of the Blog 2019
I am, for the fourth year running, writing a retrospective article for the summer. These are meant to be the summer counterpart to my end-of-year roundup series, which means that some information will be duplicated across the two series of posts. Blogging in 2019 is much the same for me as it has been before; I keep…
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Who is the typical OU student?
As you may or may not know, I graduated from the Open University with a B.Sc. last year, and attended a frankly pretty amazing graduation ceremony in March. In a conversation just after that, someone asked me “So, who is the typical OU student?” When I simply answered “Yes”, they were a bit confused, and…
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Understanding our metrics
Last week, I defined the three KPIs I believe are what you need to understand how well your support department is operating. Defining them, however, is just part of the job; if you don’t understand what they are telling you, you might as well not bother measuring at all. Let’s look at each in turn:…
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Key metrics for support departments
Metrics – often referred to as “Key Performance Indicators” or simply “KPIs” – are a necessity, regardless of your field. If nothing else, it’s nigh impossible to say anything meaningful about performance without them, and improving the performance is turned from something quite achievable. to a Sisyphean task. What’s measured improves Peter Drucker It is…
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Three dimensions of business
I hold that any successful business venture must operate on three levels; the operational, the tactical, and the strategic. These dimensions must also be kept in mind when making plans. There is nothing revolutionary in the underlying ideas, but I think it is worthwhile to define the terms, to bring about a (more or less)…
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Hiring for attitude
I have previously written about my frustration with always requiring experience when hiring. Now, I’m not saying that requiring experience doesn’t have its place – it certainly does. What I am saying is that listing it as a requirement should be justified by the needs for what the successful candidate will be expected to deliver,…