Month: January 2019

  • Control Charts and GTD

    I wrote this some while back during my eighth week using Todoist as my task tracking software. Every time I pick up a new one, I start over with what I remember from half-heartedly working through David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology. It just happens that about four weeks into using Todoist, I started reading…

  • Valuing Agility in IT

    Every vendor offering you a cloud product touts their ability to provide agility to your IT organization. But, how do you place a value on agility in order to prioritize IT projects? There are a number of economic tools that come up frequently in describing value of software investments. I favor a simple economic approach:…

  • A Nephew’s Advice for New Fathers

    Be nice to the baby Only gentle tickles Wake up early so Auntie doesn’t know I give the baby candy or ice cream Don’t let the baby go on a boat until old enough. 4 or 5? Don’t let the baby play basketball until 10 or 11 years old. Unless there’s a lower basketball hoop.…

  • Ansible, Simple, and Anti-Fragility

    Once upon a time, Red Hat acquired a company called Ansible. Right before the transaction closed, The Boss called and said, “Erich, I want you to make Ansible part of Red Hat. Don’t @#$% it up.” That’s when my real adventure with automation began. Ok, the tech is nearly as amazing as the people, but…