Dave's random mumblings…

Rock, paper, scissors with the geek addition of lizard and spock.

Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock from ABC\’s \”Big bang theory\”

I’ve noticed when rock, paper, scissors is played among people that know each other it ends in a draw a maybe half the time, here is the perfect extension.

• Scissors cut paper
• Paper covers rock
• Rock crushes lizard
• Lizard poisons Spock
• Spock smashes scissors
• Scissors decapitate lizard
• Lizard eats paper
• Paper disproves Spock
• Spock vaporizes rock
• Rock crushes scissors

This has been popularized on the ABC show Big Bang theory (that I’ve not seen, but I work with guys who love it), but apparently goes back far longer into the annals of geekdom.

Earlier this year NASA held a contest to name a module being added to the International Space Station and included space for a write in vote. Someone on the Colbert Report staff heard of this and Stephen Colbert mobilized the “Colbert Nation” to vote to call the module Colbert.

Scientology (Xenu), Dave Barry (Buddy) and a few environmentalist groups (Amazonis) got onto the vote bandwagon. But not surprisingly Steven Colbert won the popular vote by quite a landslide (over 230,000 votes out of 1.2 million cast).

NASA made it very clear that they reserved the right to call the module what ever they wish and eventually announced on the Colbert Show that the module would be called Tranquility. Obviously they are not immune to public opinion and offered to call the treadmill installed in the module COLBERT, for “Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill”. Stephen of course said yes.

COLBERT is due to be launched this week (after a couple of delays) on STS-128 and will be fully installed next spring when the Tranquility module arrives in orbit.

NASA showed it has a sense of humour, got some attention and maybe attracted a little more support from viewers. In the future I think the space program is going to need all the help and support it can muster, getting good at playing the PR game can only help. The enginerds and space guys are onboard, it’s convincing the public who don’t see a return, beyond some pretty pictures from Hubble, from the billions spent on space that it’s money well spent.

This morning there was another cool “Google doodle” (the drawings that celebrate something on the front page of google.com).

On August 25^th 1609 Galileo Galiliei was the head of mathematics at the University of Padua in Italy showed off a telescope of his own design to the senate of what was then the city-state of Venice. His was not the first telescope, credit should be given to Dutch spectacle makers Lippershey, Metius and Janaaen.

However Galileo did greatly improve on what had come before by increasing the magnification, first to 3X, then 10X and by some accounts shortly afterwards to 30X. He was primarily showing the telescope off for military purposes and soon created a successful sideline selling them to seafarers and merchants.

It was a few months before he pointed it to the sky at night and challenged the followers of earth-centric view of the universe with direct observations of the phases of Venus that supported Copernicus’s sun-centric theory.

Among his many discoveries were moons around Jupiter, defined the Milky way as densely packed stars, measured the height of the mountains on the moon and found that the sun rotated. He was confused by the rings of Saturn, thinking they were planets, a year or two later they disappeared when they were edge onto the Earth, and much to his confusion reappeared a few years later.

He was denounced by the pope and found guilty of heresy in 1633. 359 years later Pope John Paul II admitted they may have made an error.

The telescope was one of the instruments at the center of the Scientific Revolution that changed the way the world, and universe beyond was seen. It challenged the way the universe had been thought of since Classical Greece and Aristotle’s theories about the earth being at the center of the universe.

Galileo’s orbital mechanics proved Copernicus’s theory, this work was combined with Johannes Keplers work in planetary motion by Sir Isaac Newton.

From this Newton produced the laws of motion and universal gravitation. These are the foundations of all the fun stuff theoretical physicists spend billions of euros on trying to smash particles together, or search the heavens for dark matter or any manner of big experiments. And I think that stuff is cool.

Incidentally the Doge of Venice was so impressed he gave Galileo a pay raise and tenure for life with the university.

Big day for Galileo. His is a fascinating story, founder of of modern science, mathematician, heretic and today he get’s a well deserved Google doodle.

The out sourcing model has been comprehensively explored over the last few decades. It started with clothing and low margin consumer items, and with the 787 program it’s been taken to it’s logical conclusion. Where not only the build of major sub sections has been sent to other companies, but the design, the development and most importantly the risk was also shared.

The 787 has had some very public supply chain and partner issues, however (and I admit I’m probably too close to it to be impartial) it’s a fundamentally good product that has over 800 airplanes sold and very few cancelations. If it was not a game changer the customers would not have stayed.

Looking at other companies working in aero we see some using a very different strategy. That of designing and building parts in house.

An article about SpaceX made interesting reading, I was aware of the company from industry publications and a friend works for Surrey Satellite Technology which is partially owned by them.

SpaceX was started in 2002 when Elon Musk was looking for his next venture with $1.5 billion from the sale of Paypal to Ebay burning a hole in his pocket. He founded what’s now SpaceX, a small company that recently won a contract to supply the International Space Station with it’s Falcon rocket.

It took just 6 years to go from start-up to flying hardware into low earth orbit. In risk adverse aero terms this is fast, in the bureaucratic, government dominated space business it’s unheard of. This is what private companies do so well, they make the exotic affordable. I know it’s relative, but $8M for a SpaceX launch verses maybe $15M per launch for existing launchers will go a long way to making low earth orbit more accessible.

Building rockets is not easy and doing it from a clean sheet of paper with lots of knowledge, but no hardware is even harder.

SpaceX set out to make cut the price of access and did it in a number of ways.

• Eliminated the massive overhead found in “legacy” aero
• Employed engineers not afraid to get their hands dirty developing hardware
• Put emphasis on the product and not the process
• Own the engineering and production

Each one of these is the opposite of mainstream space that has lived on government contracts and cost-plus contracts. There was nothing new about this, a number of successful small aero companies use the same philosophy, what’s different is how this was leveraged throughout the value stream in the final product.

SpaceX designed and built their own liquid-fuel rocket engines, the first ever that was not built under government contract, and the first new liquid fuel engine in the US for 40 years.

All the rocket parts are designed by SpaceX and almost all are built in-house. This allows them to quickly rectify problems and rework assemblies to incorporate changes. Add engineers that understand the hardware and the build process, and production becomes very agile.

It took two months to identify a launch failure problem, design the change, build the parts and have the modified launcher on the pads ready for launch. This is incredibly fast and was achieved because of product knowledge.

Owning the entire value stream, from concept to tested hardware out the door is a huge advantage when it comes to fixing problems. No endless rounds of meetings, politics, testing and waiting months for engineering before build can be revised.

Over the last couple of years SpaceX has won a NASA contract to deliver 20 tons of cargo to ISS and demonstrate the potential to deliver crew members. For companies that see a future in delivering hardware, Space-X and the Falcon Launcher shows there is another way to build hardware.

In the last piece I talked how I’ve set up my charter and the importance I place on a well defined scope. This scope document will be part of every stage of the project and is central to successful change management.

Some level of scope change has been part of every project major I’ve been part of. Recognizing and managing of this scope change or scope creep is vital to a successful project. Any changes in deliverable can negatively impact quality, cost or team workload.

First, let us define the terms.

Scope change – scope changes that come through, and are controlled by the change management process.

Scope creep – unauthorized changes that come through e-mail, verbal or written instructions that have been given. Typically the magnitude and impact of what’s being asked for is not understood by the requesting group. It usually comes in some variation if “I like what you’ve done, but if you could just…” sort of request.

A rather visible project I was managing on an aircraft interior had a seeming minor request from the airline to the furniture vendor to add a couple of snaps to anchor a curtain. This request was via an e-mail from someone in the airline procurement group to the vendor design engineer. The furniture was through stress analysis and late in a very compressed design stage, but it did not seen as a big deal so he added them and did not think much of it.

No one noticed the addition until we were in the receiving inspection of the part (that was already far past the scheduled on-dock date and threatening to hold up delivery of the aircraft) and could not find the stress engineering signoff for the snaps.

I started digging, talked to the design engineer and he forwarded me the email. We did not have the time to redo the stress calculations and make delivery so the airline got a number of very visible “do not use” placards added to their interior (which caused more drawing revisions) and the airline was not impressed with their vendor.

This is an illustration of the importance of communicating the most minor changes once the Scope document is signed off. Not going through the established change process caused the customer to be presented with an interior they did not like and a vendor they were unhappy with.

Every project is driven by a requirement of some sort, the hard part is translating that business requirement into an end product that fully meets that business need.

My back ground is manufacturing, manufacturing tends to be a series of iterative steps that lead you to a product that fulfills the requirement. I try carry the same iterative approach to my project chartering.

Sitting in a meeting listeing to the sponsor tell you, in detail, what they want the project to achieve is easy. I have found time and time again that what the project team hears and starts working towards is not what the sponsor meant.

When the project only delivers part of what they customer wants (and thought they were paying for) there is typically plenty of blame to go around.

By the time the team, sponsor and whoever else is involved has discussed, reviewed, feedback and finally gained clarity as to exactly what the deliverable is and written the charter we have defined the following:-

Business requirements. All detailed requirements should be based on clear business needs. This comes from and executive sponsor, manager or someone with a very clear understanding of the project and the value it will provide to the customers

Scope. In my opinion the most critical part of the charter. It’s not only what will be included in the proposed solution, but also what will not be part of the project. It establishes exactly what the scope and limitations of the deliverable is so the various stakeholders (and the team) have an agreed upon standard against which they can evaluate the final product. Once agreed upon this is the baseline which the change management process starts with.

Context. Any business issues related to the project need to be clarified. Assumptions, priorities and ground rules need to be clearly stated.

Vision. A long-term vision for the new system and the need it will fulfil both when the project is complete, and into the future further along the product lifecycle.

One of the common issues this stage identifies is that the two groups (sponsor and project team) are not speaking the same language. Typically not everyone has a deep technical understanding or intimate knowledge of the process. If the scope contains too much technical language then the business requirements that we are trying to fulfill may become dilute or lost. This is why the business requirements should be part of the top level project document.

This step is all about reducing risk to the project and the project team. Taking a very thorough approach during the charter stage of the project, the PM greatly reduces the risk to the project, the project manager and the stakeholders.

By clearly documenting the project’s vision and scope in writing, and fully clarifying all requirements we create a proposal that will meet the business need, contain costs, and reduce the risk of failure.

I know it’s only week two and a little early to book the open top bus for the championship celebration, but it’s been a while since Coventry fans have had anything to cheer about. Look who is top of the table and the only team to have won both games!

It’s nice to be sitting on top looking down at West Brom.

I sat down with a friend for coffee this morning and spent a collective 20 minutes complaining about the frustrations, pressure, workload and all the little issues that make life difficult being a small part of something as huge as a new aircraft program.

Despite all the issues, delays, problems and so on, we both admitted to enjoying the experience, getting a lot out of it professionally and one day will be able to call this a career highlight. I’m part of a team that understands it’s role in the big picture, knows the deliverable, who we support and our plan.

It’s not fun in a race car/Disneyworld/beach in Cancun way. I’m enjoying the ride, get to spend time on the production floor and work with some great people.

I know am at my most productive when I’m having fun and feel fulfilled; I like being a project manager and I know the things that keep me engaged and interested.

Being creative – I’ve been in my current role for a few months and still see a lot of problems as a sustaining/production issues, the rest of the group has been here longer and are still in the “design/develop” mode even though we are in low level production.

Autonomy – I get to have considerable autonomy and freedom to do the job the way I see best. I have managers that trust me to get on with it and know that I will call out when I need help or guidance. They are fully aware that I’m not afraid to ask the stupid questions.

Getting my hands dirty – I come from a mechanical background and can go to the shop floor, speak “mechanic” and understand their unique problems as I’ve been there.

Innovation – projects that do not have a clear path to the product are far more fun. The more out-of-the-box thinking required the more engaged the project team is.

Learning – My group gets to touch almost every system on the aircraft and every time I get a project I get to see something cool, geeky and new to me.

There are plenty of projects, big and small, that are fun and challenging. However there are plenty others that are as dull as a monotone. I get a good mix of projects, both in size and complexity, but the really challenging projects involving with some new technology that make a difference keep it interesting and fresh. I like what I do and where I am in my career, and I feel fortunate to be able to say that.

It’s official, I’m middle aged, I had a colonoscopy…

I’m not afraid to admit it, I don’t like visiting the doctors and I’m a medical wuss. With my spotty medical history you’d have thought that I’d be used to it by now.

I get nervous and sweaty during the most minor of medical procedures (picking up the phone to make the appointment), beyond that it ranges from vague panic and a racing pulse through to curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor and refusing to get into the car.

Lets just say while I appreciate the medical professionals I’ve dealt with in the past as individuals, it’s just every time I visit I seem to end up with needles poking into me and some form of new humiliation involving backless gowns, fainting, crying and flashing the nurse.

It all starts a couple of weeks beforehand when I made the appointment to visit Geoff, I was slightly alarmed by the easy way in which he talks about shoving 15 yards of hose pipe into my bum. Also, seeing as I’m there, lets have a look inside my throat and stomach… First thought is I hope they don’t use the same hose, and if they do throat first please…

Second thought is “THEY ARE GOING TO SHOVE 15 YARDS OF HOSE UP MY BUTT!!!”

I guess I must have nodded or made some affirmative gesture at some point as next thing I know his young assistant is talking to me about the best date to have her boss shove things up my bum, the humiliation had started and somewhere Geoff was sniggering.

Lets be clear, it’s something all guys try to put off, we have our reasons. Don’t have the time, school play, grass needs cutting or DON”T WANT 15 YARDS OF HOSE SHOVED UP OUT BUTT!!!.

A couple of days before hand I went to collect a jug of some stuff called TriLyte that is going to clean me out and has the warning “may cause loose or watery stools”. Awesome, this is going to be an afternoon to remember.

The huge jug comes with some flavor packets which “offer the patient a choice of great-tasting varieties”, the pharmacist warns me that these are not kool-aid packages and not to mix with water and give to the kids as they are super sweet to counter the taste of TriLyte. It sounded like he was talking from experience.

After some debate I choose cherry (over lemon/lime, orange, pineapple and citrus berry) hoping that it had the strongest flavour.

Two days before and it’s time for my last meal for the next 48 hours, I figure I’d better make it a good one. Off we all go to Red Robin for bottomless fries, maybe my ultimate comfort food.

I’m on a liquid diet the day before and every time I open the fridge the jog of TryLite is sitting there taunting me. The instructions are to drink a glass every 20 minutes for 2 hours starting in the early afternoon, then if there are still solids coming out to keep drinking until there is nothing left.

For the next 4 hours I was pretty much camped out in the bathroom. You really don’t want me to be too graphic here, but imagine the Space Shuttle taking off. To draw one last parallel before I get off the subject, once they ignite the solid rockets they can’t switch them off, it was like that.

I passed the fries, the sandwich I had for lunch the previous day and it kept coming, I swear there were things expelled that I’d eaten months ago.

The morning had arrived, no fluids allowed and I’m feeling crappy. I was there an hour before the appointment and no time was wasted in starting the humiliation (“Here he comes, get the special gown out the freezer…”) by giving me the backless gown that was missing a couple of ties and was a little too short. This was followed by sitting me in a lounger that tilted back to the “show everything” angle.

I try to relax with a book but it was not happening, and then of course comes the needles… I hate needles more than Indiana Jones hates snakes.

After all the nurses have had their turn to laugh at me I’m walked into the darkened room where Geoff and a couple of nurses are waiting for me suppressing giggles. I nervously glance around looking for the hose; I think they keep it hidden so they don’t freak the patients out (thank you Geoff). We make a little small talk and I mention for the 34th time that I want extra drugs.

Geoff confirms they will not be using the same probe for both inspections and that yes it’s sterile.

There was a recent incident where a hospital was just washing to hose between exams, not sterilizing it. Over 2500 people had to be tested for all sorts of fun things that can me caught by sharing colonoscopy equipment.

I don’t recall anything of the next 45 minutes until I came round laying on my right looking at a TV screen showing my insides. Geoff noticed I was moving and said we were almost done.

I got some pictures to take home and show people (“Hey, guess what this is?”). They snipped a couple of polyps off for analysis and while not totally positive I feel much better about it.

The M’s put third baseman Adrian Beltre on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a severely contused right testicle.

Apparently he does not wear a cup. He took a hard grounder from Alexei Ramirez straight to the happy sack in the 7th.

He may require season ending surgery, however Beltre is a total manly-man and the finished the 14 inning game.