June 08, 2015

Using Blocker Clustering, Defect Clustering, and Prioritization for Process Improvement
Although teams and tools often track defects differently from blockers, defects can be clustered like blockers to investigate their root causes and to solve them in an economically sensible way. Defects not only impede work in progress, they also block the team from starting other work by tying up the developers and testers who are correcting the problems. The root causes of defects can be analyzed at the same time as blockers, allowing prioritization to consider both sources of impediments ... The first rule is to avoid fixes that aren’t cost effective. For example, some work might be waiting for a clean test environment, but if this is a rarity then buying, building, and managing a complex environment may not be a cost-effective solution.


Adding a Second Ethernet Port to an Intel NUC via Mini PCIe
Just buy a half-length Mini PCIe Ethernet adapter like this Syba Realtek device on Amazon for just $16 and slap it in there. It works perfectly and there are drivers available for most operating systems, including VMware ESX! The issue is that the Syba card is too tall to also install a mSATA SSD in the NUC and the bulky triple cable it uses doesn’t fit nicely along with a SATA HDD in the little NUC body. The first problem is solved through the use of solder. I de-soldered the 10-pin Ethernet and 4-pin LED headers on the tiny NIC with my handy de-soldering iron and then pulled the pins out with pliers. I then soldered the Syba cable directly to the board, cutting off the connectors and tinning each little lead. I was careful to solder the wire low and slanted towards the back to allow the cable space in the cramped NUC and cut off the excess afterwards.


2015 Roundup Of Analytics, Big Data & Business Intelligence Forecasts And Market Estimates
85% believe that big data will dramatically change the way they do business. 79% agree that ‘companies that do not embrace Big Data will lose their competitive position and may even face extinction.’ 83% have pursued big data projects in order to seize a competitive edge. The top three areas where big data will make an impact in their operations include: impacting customer relationships (37%); redefining product development (26%); and changing the way operations is organized (15%).The following graphic compares the top six areas where big data is projected to have the greatest impact in organizations over the next five years. Source: Accenture, Big Success with Big Data: Executive Summary (free, no opt in).


Linda Powell, on Data Governance for Finance Industry
The Chief Data Officer role oversees the CFPB's governance, acquisition, documentation, storage, analysis, and distribution of data. There are several advantages to having the life cycle of data centrally managed. The first is the increased ability to ensure strong internal controls and adherence to best practices. There are also economies of scale related to data management. Therefore, having data management centralized creates efficiencies and helps to ensure consistency across the Bureau. An advantage for this role at a new agency is that we don’t have legacy systems or processes that we need to accommodate. ... An ontology is a dictionary where the definition is derived in part by relationships. I like to use the analogy that an ontology is like a forest of family trees.


A.I. is too hard for programmers
Computers programmers define data structures to represent general requirements. This follows from Alan Turing’s 1936 design emulating human computers. By keeping track of calculations on paper, human intelligence can make infinitely complex calculations using carefully designed data structures. In brains, the opposite is true. We learn from experience (specific) and generalize from there. In a future post, I will have a lot more to say about how brains store patterns and learn them, but for now, let’s focus on why this difference is the significant roadblock inhibiting our 1956 A.I. objectives


C# 6.0 Gets More Concise with Expression Bodied Properties, Dictionary initializer
C# 6.0 is slated for official release with Visual Studio 2015 later this year. As of now the first release candidate version is available at https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/visual-studio-2015-downloads-vs.aspx. The sixth iteration of C# brings many small improvements to the language syntax that when combined will make your code more concise and easier to read. Today I'll be covering a handful of these improvements such as expression bodied properties and functions, using static directive, string interpolation, and the new dictionary initializer syntax. First let's take a look at expression bodied properties and functions. An expression bodied property is declared as a lambda expression.


Gartner's 19 In-memory Databases for Big Data Analytics
Amid the big data boom, the in-memory database market will enjoy a 43 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) – leaping from $2.21 billion in 2013 to $13.23 billion in 2018, predicts Markets and Markets, a global research firm. What’s driving that demand? Simply put, in-memory databases allow real-time analytics and situation awareness on "live" transaction data – rather than after-the-fact analysis on "stale data,” notes a recent Gartner market guide. Here are 19 in-memory database options mentioned in that Gartner market guide.


Enterprises opting for converged infrastructure as stepping stone to hybrid cloud
Practically, however, IT leaders are right now less inclined to wait for the promised benefits of hybrid cloud. They want many of the major attributes of what the cloud models offer – common management, fewer entities to procure IT from, simplicity and speed of deployment, flexibility, automation and increased integration across apps, storage, and networking. They want those, but they're not willing to wait for a pan-enterprise hybrid cloud solution that would involve a commitment to a top-down cloud dictate.  Instead, we’re seeing an organic, bottom-up adoption of modern IT infrastructure in the form of islands of hyper-converged infrastructure appliances (HCIA).


Analytics, Machine Learning, and the Internet of Things
Intelligent, connected devices require organizations to reexamine how and where they create value in the marketplace and how that value will be enhanced or diminished as the competitive environment and information ecosystem evolves. Analytics will help validate some decisions (for example, getting real-time usage data regarding changes to features or added services and functions); however, business models might be so vastly transformed by new entrants and value-chain structures that analytics based on the company’s traditional business models will no longer be relevant. Products or services might be based on data stream exhaust from legacy products rather than revenue from the products themselves. New business models might extend far beyond the product and into upstream suppliers or downstream consumers.


New Ping Identity Platform Includes Apple Watch Authentication
This is all driven by two-factor authentication, which can come in a variety of guises including the traditional text-based approach. You sign on using your PC or laptop, then get a text with your second sign on. You enter the second ID and you’re good to go. Ping has also come up with a new way using the Apple Watch. You sign on to Ping, then your watch buzzes. You activate it and tap the sign on card on your Watch. It’s a clever way of using the Watch in a useful way to simplify security. ... Ping is trying to redefine itself to offer a more comprehensive policy-based approach to security with authentication at its core. While it is not necessarily breaking new ground (except perhaps that Apple Watch piece), it has put together a broad approach to authentication.



Quote for the day:

"Leaders must see the dream in their mind before they will accomplish the dream with their team.” -- Orrin Woodward

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