Darryl Booth

2008 Year-End Wrap-Up

It’s been an extremely productive, busy, and exciting year.  Below are some of the highlights from the perspective of my desk… What were your highlights from 2008?

My 2008 Highlights

• Completed 12 EnvisionConnect Deployment Projects!
• Booked 21 Iterations of EnvisionConnect
• Delivered over 118 EnvisionConnect Online Training Sessions
• Completed Approximately 1,420 Product Backlog Items
• Delivered 17 New Named Workflows
• Hired Four Talented Folks in Client Services and Three Skilled Team Members in Development
• Implemented Scrum Across All Departments
• Hosted Successful Annual User Training and Conference
• Reviewed/Tuned Technical Support Processes
• Launched EnvisionConnect Resources Wiki (password required)

My 2009 Expectations

• More and More EnvisionConnect Deployment Projects!
• Tuned EnvisionConnect Iteration Schedule
• More EnvisionConnect Killer Features Including Multiple Page Layouts, Tabbed Interfaces, and Awesome Drop-Down Combo Boxes

Have a fantastic holiday season and a great new year!

A Little Boast, A Little Brag

Meghan, Donald, and I were invited to speak to the Northern Cal Users Group yesterday. I got home last night and couldn't sleep.

I tried to find the words to convey the excitement that was buzzing around my head. Below is the company e-mail message that I sent the following morning.

Yesterday Meghan, Donald, and I attended the Northern California Envision User Group meeting in Sacramento. The topic was EnvisionConnect migration.

Guys, there is so much enthusiasm about EnvisionConnect. Meghan did a presentation (using Verizon’s wireless service) that blew everybody away and left them wanting more. Performance was very good.

The latest release on Rackspace (delivered last Friday) was solid.

A new client (in the final contract stage), Tuolumne County, kept audibly gasping and going on about the features that they see in EnvisionConnect but have been missing in SWEEPS. They have high a enthusiasm factor.

Nobody blinked an eye at our plans for migration and were hungry to hear every detail about the SBCEH migration. We covered what went right and what challenged us.

Thanks for making this meeting an easy one… we all drove home on a bit of a high (which might explain why Meghan missed the Shaw Ave off-ramp, but that’s another story).

Next month, public water!

The Pragmatic Data Manager

The word pragmatic made its way into my every day speech after I encountered the book "The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master" (several years ago). Since then, I've probably over-used the word as I've worked with colleagues and clients… all data-managers.

I also noticed that publishers love book titles with the word pragmatic. So, I guess I'm not alone. Go figure.

I got thinking again about pragmatism last week when San Bernardino County Environmental Health staff told us that they have an interest in optimizing their internal processes in favor of leveraging EnvisionConnect to its fullest. In a later conversation with the director, Dan Avera, he reinforced the same message.

This dose of pragmatism advanced their project notably and emboldened, I think, the team to approach the project differently… with a optimistic sense that the goal just became more achievable because both the vendor and the customer could (and would) flex.

The meaning of pragmatism is clear to me. It means honesty over pandering, delivery over promises, and substance over fluff. Thank you SBCEH for your pragmatism.

Now your homework… what is the opposite of pragmatic?