TechGirl back after the summer

We're already in the middle of June and the summer has really made an appearance here in Sweden. Blue sky, warm breeze, and I'm stuck at work for another three weeks. I'm working on a task which needs to be finished before I go on vacation. So I'll digg in and just get it done. Otherwise I will try to solve it in my head whilst I should be lying on a beach working on my tan :)

As the keen reader might have seen, the updates on the blog have been somewhat scarce. This is not due to lack of inspiration but on the fact that I am doing a lot of "behind-the-scenes" work. All these things will be implemented after the summer, such as:

* Moving the blog to WordPress, which in turns mean that I need to master it first and make the necessary technical preparations.
* The move also brings with it the creation of a new theme and design, hence my CSS skills needs to be brushed up.
* The design-phase also involves my Twitter-account since I am somewhat allergic to the default alternatives.
* The presentation of a fun and exciting, secret project which I hope will take this blog to the next level.
* And not the least, reading up on other blogs and getting the necessary inspiration for finding topics to blog about for years to come :)

On top of this I am working full time, writing on my thesis, planning for my upcoming PMP studies, having a social life and waiting eagerly for the 15th of July when I go on vacation. So check back in August when TechGirl will start again! Have a nice summer!

Our summerhouse in southern Sweden, my favourite place in the world.

Where you will be able to find me....

Political history is written in Sweden

Sunday June 7th will probably be remembered as the day when the young population of Sweden clearly demonstrated that it is possible to make a political difference. Sunday June 7th was the day for the election to the Swedish representation in the EU parliament. The widely debated Pirate Party scored a whooping 7.1% in their first election ever which some claim may be a heads up for the election for the Swedish government in 2010.

What I feel is most interesting about this is the fact that the party has done what other parties have failed in the past: to mobilize the young generation who has a lacking interest in the politics which governs our lives. Say what you will about one-question political parties, their ability (or lack thereof) to actually be able to lead the country if they make it into the swedish government. They have awakened the realization that if you believe in something, and actually vote, you can make a difference. That my friends I believe is the most important lesson of all.

Swedish Pirate Party headed to European Parliament [eng]

The Swedish Pirate Party - official webpage [eng]

Working from home

Sometimes it's really handy to work in the IT-business. Like today, when a cold has kidnapped my voice and given me a cough and runny nose. I don't have time to be sick. There's tons of stuff at work that needs to be done. So what do I do? I curl up into my bed, armed with hot tea and my laptop. Telephone-conferences, e-mail and instant messaging served as my tools for the day. Perhaps this strategy would not be effective in the long run, but on occasion it serves its purpose, like today:

1) I did not have to take out a sick-day
2) I also did not spread my germs to my friendly colleauges at work :)
3) I got the chance to go through that "to do"-list which normally has a tendency to get ignored in favour of more accute work.

Now, as my working-day is officially over I will continue recooperating from the couch watching re-runs of the "West Wing".

Integration

If you work in the IT-industry "Integration" is one of those buzzwords you just can't avoid running into. Intregration can however be found in nature as well. Look at this tree just outside my office which takes this aspect to a whole different level :) And yes, it is one tree with two different flowers. It's somekind of gardener-trick. Pretty cool ey?

Certified Scrum Master

Earlier this week I attended a Scrum Master course in order to become a so called "Certified Scrum Master". During 2 days in a workshop like manner we got the opportunity to discuss software development from different points of view and also do some hands-on exercises.


In reality, the principles of Scrum are very easy. You have the Product Owner, who's responsibility is to create and manage the Product Backlog. The Product Backlog is a prioritized list of all functions which are wanted in the product. This is a living document and changes as work progresses.

Next we have the The Scrum Master who's responsible for guiding and protecting the team, i.e a technical project leader of some sort (although it's not correct to use this term).

The Scrum team consists of +/- 7 people preferably with different skills such as programmer, tester etc.

The Scrum framework itself centers around a Sprint. A Sprint is a repetitive cycle, ~30 days, in which the team does its work. It starts with Sprint Planning in which the team chooses and estimates the amount of work which is to be done in the Sprint. During the Sprint the Scrum Master holds Daily Scrum meetings with the team and asks 3 simple questions:

1) What have you done since yesterday?
2) What will you do today?
3) What is hindering you?

During the Sprint no one is allowed to disturb the team and come with additional work requests.

The Sprint ends with a Sprint Review in which the product increment is demoed and discussed. This is followed by a Sprint Retrospective which functions as a lessons-learned session.

This all sounds very simple. Is Scrum some magical "fix-it-all" method then? Well no. However, Scrum adheres from the only certain thing about software engineering: That we do not know what the product will look like in the end. So if the "target" is moving then it is appropriate to adjust your work accordingly along the way. This is a very different approach from the more traditional Waterfall model in which development is looked at as iterative, but straight-forward phases such as planning, design, coding, testing and integration.

The more realistic view on how software development works in reality is the main reason why I believe Scrum may be a good choice. Continual adaptation to the current circumstances as well as the opportunity to vent all potential problems. This is the aim of the Daily Scrums. Any problems and hinders needs to be brought to the Scrum Master for him/her to fix.

Although I now have a new title to use on my CV and more knowledge about Scrum it will take actual experience before I can say much more about it. Scrum may not be appropriate in all organizations and projects, but I intend to give it a try in my current work and see where it will take me. I'm looking forward to it!

Web 2.0 in 5 minutes

Since I've entered the world of blogging and social media I have begun to read more about its impact on the way we live our lives online. This video shows in an easy and fun way what it's all about.



Web 2.0 in 5 minutes by Michael Wesch

Evaluation framework for Open Source CMS

The above title is the subject of the master thesis which I am writing currently. In little more than a month I will need to present a complete paper for judging. Since I am working fulltime during weekdays it leaves evenings and weekends for this fun activity. Tired? Yes. Interesting? Yes. It was when I came in contact with Drupal last year which I began to see the potential of CMS's. Now I am also looking at Joomla and Wordpress and trying to learn as much as I can. By drawing on the experiences of others and the theories of CMS and usability I hope to come up with a framework which can be used when choosing between different Open Source Web-based CMS's.

Studying requires a lot of books