Run. Fun?

Still?

Yeah. Kinda.

So I had goals ...

I wanted to finish the 5.5k in less than 45 minutes. And?

I finished in 42m25s. which I'm happy with. And I also think I could have done better, but we were pretty logjammed at the start.

I want to finish the next 4k in under 28 minutes. And? It's this weekend. Not too confident as I've been (and still am) a bit sick. But we'll see ...

I want to finish the last 4k in under 26 minutes. And? I think I'm going to miss it - looks like I'll be out of the country - in Singapore ...

Women in IT

I'm a woman.

I work in IT and I've never felt my gender was a barrier to my success in the industry. However, I am a project manager, and although women are still the minority, the gap is not so vast as in other roles - particularly that of the software developer.

I've read a couple of great blog entries on this lately - particularly this one on devchix, which refers to a couple of others.

I firmly believe that this is not a chicken and egg thing.

I honestly feel that without first increasing the sheer number of women working in IT - especially in male dominated roles - the lack of respect and poor behaviour that results from the imbalance will not change.

So how to get more women into IT?

I think that the first step is to break the perception of developers as pale, solitary, socially inept young men. I currently work with some fantastically well-rounded guys & girls, who also happen to be great software developers.

And it's not just a ThoughtWorks thing. I've found these people at clients, as well as past employers.

What am I doing about it?

I'm talking to both my old high school, as well as my university, about getting involved in their marketing activities. I'm part of a group at ThoughtWorks which is looking at other ways in which we can look at addressing the imbalance.

And I'm telling anyone who will listen.

Fun runs

An oxymoron? I always thought so.

But i've found (so far) that they are actually, fun. Not the training. Not the getting up early on a sunday, but the actual race. Fun. Weird.

Last sunday I ran my ... I dunno, maybe my fifth race in three years?

I was hungover. I hadn't really trained. And I'm quite unfit at the moment.

And?

I ran one of my best times (remember this is best for me, and I'm pretty crap at running).

I finished 4kms in 29m56s (see good for me, bad for most).

I have three more races this year - a 5.5k and two 4k's.

Goals?

I want to finish the 5.5k in less than 45 minutes.

I want to finish the next 4k in under 28 minutes.

I want to finish the last 4k in under 26 minutes.

Will i?

Who knows.

web 2.0 - making IT cool?

I've always loved the web for its possibilities - it's what got me excited about working in IT (that, and the amazing experience i had as a grad at Sapient and am now enjoying again at ThoughtWorks) and I still love it.

From a work point of view, it was (and still is) the opportunity to work with people from a great range of disciplines, not just developers, testers and analysts, but illustrators, graphic designers, experience modellers, content writers, copy-editors ... and the list goes on.

Back then we made useful, usable and desirable sites, that people like me loved, that excited (and terrified) companies, but that my family and most of my friends wouldn't have known about, let alone used. Yes, we were excited, but ... most people? Not so much.

Last weekend i was with a bunch of high school friends and for the first time they were interested in hearing the answer to 'how is work going?'. Even back in the heady bubble days, friends would glaze over seconds after asking. Instead, questions were asked, interest was shown and a not inconsiderable period was spent berating me for not being on Facebook (accompanied with a bemused "but you work in IT ...").

So, all this new interest, this new excitement? I think it's on the path to the socio-economic leveller that I'd hoped for, but now I have a new (additional) dream - I'm now hoping that this might make IT a desirable career destination again. Hopefully one that other women might be interested in.

My Kiva addiction

Seriously. I am addicted. This is such a great idea - and executed so well!

I now have 11 loans out there.

This morning I recieved a payment notice from one of my loans. I got all excited and went and made another loan. This seems to happen every time I get feedback - when a payment is made, when a loan is disbursed ... the feedback cycle is so motivating!

I am curious though, if this motivation will be as strong when my loans begin to be fully paid back and I can choose to reinvest. Will I only reinvest funds I've loaned already, or will I continue to make new loans?

PM accountability

i just read Holding Managers Accountable at Chris Johnston's blog. He asks "how many projects would be more successful if the managers knew their jobs were on the line if the project failed?" and feels that "the blame is always pushed down to the lowest person–the developer–and the managers try to figure out a way to make themselves look good through the developer’s failure."

Personally, I think it's about the kind of manager you are. And yes, I'm a project manager.

I believe my job is to enable my team to be successful. So if the team fails, then I didn't do my job. I know a lot of other PMs who feel the same way. By the way, I feel that team member performance (non/sub-performance) is just another risk that could challenge the ability of a team to be successful, and needs to be treated as such.

Conversely, I've also come across a number of people playing the PM role, who do not believe this. They are the ones that are concerned on making themselves look good in the event of failure. I don't really consider them project managers. I'm not entirely sure what they are ...

Maybe it's just a kind of lazyness, but I believe the easiest way for me to look good as a manager, is for my team to do an amazing job. It certainly seems much easier than trying to make up a reason for failure later on.

My Kiva loans have been disbursed!

It's quite exciting really ... check out my portfolio!

Why we work

Attended a meeting today to discuss some of the attrition we're experiencing at the moment. Though, to be accurate, it was really about some specific attrition in which some of our people have taken roles at a one of our clients.

It made me think about why we work. Or, more specifically, why I do.

Then I had to narrow it down further. Why do I want to work where I work?

It's pretty simple actually - I wanted to work with great people, and they seem like great people.

Unfortunately I'm currently on my own at a client site, so it's not unlike solo contract consulting anyway. Which is what I wanted to get out of.

Oh well. I have hope for the future.

Skewed view of the world ...

Okay, so the virginia campus killings were an awful thing. It's very sad. but why does it have media priority over everything else. For example, the fact that car bombs killed almost 200 people today in Baghdad.

I know why it has priority, I just don't agree with why.

Microfinance

Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor, giving them opportunities to become economically independent, improve their standard of living, and alleviate poverty for themselves and their communities. No, it's not the solution to world poverty, but it is one (very effective) strategy in combatting an enormous issue.

Not everyone can afford to donate funds to charity. Through Kiva.org, you can make a low risk loan (their current payback rate is 100%) rather than a simple donation (though they also accept donations with enormous gratitude). I'm a lender - maybe you should consider it too ...