PMO Forum-Portfolio Mgt

Portfolio Project Ranking
Even big companies do “nice to have” projects instead of strategic projects
At initiation you've spent less money and resources so this phase is most important. If you can kill a non-essential project here, you’ve saved the most (or avoided spending the most).
Cute reference to the Alice in Wonderland Cheshire cat scene where he asks her where she’s going and she says she doesn’t care and he says well then it doesn’t make any difference what direction you go. That’s an excellent reason for planning!

Mo Kanaan was the speaker and he was engaging and VERY passionate about his subject. It was particularly noticeable because his focus was mathematical and we could have all been snoring through the presentation as he presented the matrixes.

There was an interesting question and I’m not sure that Kanaan really had a good answer to it. I’m sure he’s not really naïve, but people can be evil and manipulative. Q what about people gaming the system? A Assume there's consensus
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Fall Bike Ride Home

It's finally turning to fall here in Central California. It's been hot for the past few days and today was cooler. On the ride home the wind was swirling around, coming from the south and then from the west. When I turned onto my street, the wind was at my back and I rode with a yellow leaf stampede to home. Git along little doggies!

Brother Andy and the 18-34 demographic

Andy is down in LA working at LTN TV (Local Television Network) and they've just launched their site. I was disconcerted to note that my poll answer was the least favorite. And by the way, what's an "ab?" If it's what I think it is, I haven't seen mine since I WAS 34.

Congratulations Andy!

Pumpkins aweigh!

This looks like too much fun!

Bark in the Park-Cheyenne

This is Cheyenne, a 1 and 1/2 year old staffie available for adoption at the Sacramento SPCA. She's a sweet, loveable lap dog who did enjoy her day at the mobile adoption in El Dorado Hills. She definitely wanted to be in the center of everything! I took her for a little walk in a quiet area nearby and she kept looking off to the music. She walks very well on the leash too, even when she wants to go somewhere she doesn't pull at all.

This was a fun mobile with lots and lots of dogs to see. I didn't manage to get a picture of the "pink poodle" or the shepherd in a grass skirt. We raised some good money here which was also very nice. One VERY generous donor gave us $100. That will buy some good kibble, especially with the Katrina (and Rita) dogs.

Plus, I just love saying "bark in the park, bark in the park, bark in the park!"

I hiked the PCT yesterday!

Well, I hiked about 4 miles of it anyway, from Highway 80 near the Boreal Ski area to Donner Summit. I was (once again) trying to hike the route I did last winter on snowshoes so I could get a sense of the topography without 10' of snow.

It was late in the day when I started, so when the PCT diverged from my route, I stayed on it. The PCT will be impassable once snow hits (at least for me) as a lot of it goes across steepish faces. Once buried in snow, the PCT looks like an avalanche waiting to happen. I haven't found that snowshoes are very good at traversing steep slopes, although again, it could just be me.

It was a great fall hike. I saw almost no one on the trail. It was crisp and clear and cool. I could see Donner Lake from many places and the granite cliffs are always looming. The leaves had turned on the underlying brush (most of the trees are evergreen) so the forest was carpeted in yellow and red.

I will have to go back before it snows and do "my" trail again.

Bike to work

The NY times has an article about it, seems that more people are trying it to combat high gas prices. I've been biking, or walking, or taking the bus, or taking the cable car, or even driving for some time. It helps to live within 4 miles of work, although I know one guy who has an 11 mile one way trip. Another friend was roller blading until she changed jobs and her work is now too far away (and not very easy to get to without a car).

There are challenges: safety (all of us have been damaged), getting the right gear together at the right time (damn I forgot my damn nylons is not a good feeling at the work end), and staying dry during rainy season (nothing like wet, dank, clothes at the end of the workday to really fill you with joy--forget the shower, put in a dryer!) are the main ones. The beauty of it is, you don't need to do it everyday, if it's cold or hot or you're late, you can drive instead. Also, the buses have bike racks and that can cut some time if you're in a hurry too.

Oh, I forgot to mention route planning. That's important too. I want quiet, residential streets with either 4 way stops (I can run them when there's no cars) or stops for the other way and not mine and lights at major intersections. My roller blading friend also wanted less leaves and sticks and potholes.

Some good Sacramento biking sites:
http://www.sacbike.org/sacbiking/ (the best really)
http://citybicycleworks.com/site/intro.cfm (great, great, great service)

Clark Kelso Strategic planning notes

Strategic plan draft
Best of CA on 12-15
Mission and Goals the same

55 Action items

Web services best practices State of WA ATOM is a model. Applications Template and Outfitting Model

DOJ working on how to share common info with other stakeholders. Is ADP one of them?

New GIS officer

Include privacy considerations as a matter of course.

ORP, DRP are important

Is this a good idea? Require everyone to take a class on laptop security before they get to use one. Yes, it is a good idea.

IT Succession Planning

By June 2006 have a PM center of excellence (there were others but I'm a PM)

More editing needed and it will be implemented late in 2005.

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Private sector Q&A

Q: Does IT still provide competitive advantage?
No, it's a commodity. We just expect it to work. Why is it so expensive? (fits with Susan's efforts). May be yes with recruitment. Younger workers will want access everywhere. Yes, reduces complexity.

Q: Other than savings and simplicity what is the benefit of CSSI?
Closer relationship without competitive fears. Go from refresh mentality to change mngmnt mentality.

Q: Pitfalls of CSSI and how to avoid them?
It's not a panacea.
Hardware is only 30 percent of the cost. More training (wow, sounds like he's hinting we're not qualified)

Q: Hype of service oriented architecture SOA?
old wine new bottle
reusable code. Interoperability. Layers workflows and ID common entities. There are new tools. Web xml.

Q: Can SOA help with legacy code?
Yes. It depends. Why? Augment the existing working system, wrap it with SOA.

Q: Where can key efficiencies occur in asset management?
Bar code. Save staff time. Equip tracked as it's logged on the network automagically.

Q: Open source?
Open office. JAVA. Star office. They work.

Audience questions
Q: What is the state going to do about open source?
Explore the options. Some departments are already experimenting.

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Q&A

Will we have to switch hardware too soon when the contracts expire?
3-5 years

Why can we buy any type of UNIX server but only one type of PC server?
PC servers are more of a commodity.

Is Verizon ready for thousands of state employees signing on?
Yes. It's ok to stick with the existing contract. You can keep your existing phone number.

Are the efforts coordinated?
Yes. Although it's somewhat informal.

Who were the beneficiaries of the data center rate reduction?
Mainly HHSDC customers.

CSSI has saved 20 percent for one department. What about leasing?
Existing programs, also there will be some leasing contracts.

CSSI pricing available for state employees?
No. It's not legal. Companies can just offer discounts. (Hmmm, is this legal?)

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21st Century J Harrigan SCO

Improve state's HR systems. YES!

SAP is the software.

May cost around $100 million

They're planning to implement Phase 1 in early FY07-08

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CSSI T Butler

Almost 100 million saved?

No additional quotes. No maximum dollar limit although there are other limiting factors (FSR, DOF)

Can subscribe to get updated information.

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Roundtable discussion

Bob Austin: DTS Consolidation, NOT just a bigger data center, Necessary because they are competitive not because it's mandated to use them.

There have been 10 million in rate reductions. Round of applause generated by C Kelso. (Does this mean BOE can have PSM2 back?)

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Intro C Kelso: megatrends

Preserve contingency resources

Megatrends: Baby boom retirement, old people will outnumber young people, world population will grow, immigrants big, west and south will grow, new economy, globalization, convenience, security, privacy, environmental issues, link to sacbee banking article, political polarization, confused governance

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Intro remarks C Kelso

Need to improve state web pages
FTB got a nod for something
DOJ got a nod for their site
Usability! Thank you!!!

DTS: Bob Austin (my old boss) got a nod.

SOSOIT is strong.

Doing IT right is proper risk management. He thinks state does better than average in IT project success.

He's finally gone to slide 2.

Dexterity: rapidly and expertly manage change. Adapt or die. He's prophesying the demise of FEMA.

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Intro remarks Clark Kelso

He's doing an interactive survey and I wish I'd gotten here earlier to get a box.

Survey SAYS...(skipping boring questions)
People are caustiously optimistic. They are most concerned with budget constraints and retiring workforce.

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Linn's lunch

Here's the gang chatting away at Linn's going away lunch. You can't see three of us at my end of the table. Linn and I did nothing for retention and recruitment at our old work because we are both very happy with our changes. Several people had just done some promotional interviews (and one attempting to be a traitor) so we should hear some word soon.

A word on the technical issue of posting this. I took the picture and emailed from my Treo. However, the first several times I tried to email it, it just didn't go through. There was no error message, just didn't go through. Anyway, I resent the picture from the start and bingo, it was sweet as pie.

Let's hope to hear some comments about the results of interviews.

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