Project X Discussions

CoffeeCAST #40 - Capacity Planning

Welcome to the 40th CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X Ltd.  Graham and I grabbed a quiet spot in the office with some fresh Starbucks (coffee for me and tea for him) to talk about Capacity planning.

Graham kicks off by discussing Mission statements which funnily enough gave us our segway into the topics of today.

• Capacity planning
  • planning versus monitoring
  • OLAP (online analytics processing)
  • OLTP (online transaction processing)
  • SOA (service oriented architecture)
• The model of on demand metrics
  • the old MIP model (no not this MIP)
  • IBM and on demand management

Download 40_coffeecast_40_capacity_planning.mp3

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The audiocast is available on iTunes (as a Podcast) or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.

CoffeeCAST #39 - People, Process and Technology

Welcome to the 39th CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X Ltd.  Last week was a bit crazy being on the road, so I took advantage of a blustery day to grab a couple of minutes to share some thoughts around, people, process and technology

Download 39_coffeecast_39_people_process_and_technology.mp3

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The audiocast is available on iTunes (as a Podcast) or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.

CoffeeCAST #38 - Readiness and Master Data Management

Welcome to the 38th CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X Ltd.  We are on the road this week, having jumped to Ottawa and Montreal on a three city tour.  It is cold and sunny and having some fun.

Today I would like to Charles to the CoffeeCAST.  We are sitting here late at the lounge of the Sheraton in Montreal enjoying a non-Coffee and I decided to ask him to join in on a conversation that follows up some of the things we have been talking about.  Today we talk about:

• Readiness
  • FIDO - F*** It Drive On
  • The Dog and the Sharp Nail
• Master Data Management (MDM)
  Where we spend a bit of time on discussing it's place and so forth

Download coffeecast_38_readiness_and_master_data_management.mp3

Charles, thanks for taking some time today. 

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The audiocast is available on iTunes (as a Podcast) or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.

CoffeeCAST #37 - Ipedo and the Virtualization of Data

Welcome to the 37th CoffeeCAST (and the first of 2007) with Stephen Hayward of Project X Ltd.  It is great to be back.  I have been off living the delivery dream stepping over to the dark side (delivery) for a couple of months.  But I am back and with a vengence.

Today I would like to welcome back Tim Matthews, Co-Founder and VP Marketing at Ipedo.  Tim was a guest back in Feb. 2006 on a great CoffeeCAST where he introduced us to the ideas behind Enterprise Information Integration (EII).  Today I welcome back Tim in a discussion around:

• Virtualizaion - creation of abstraction layers
  • Platform
  • Resource
• Virtualization of Databases - making them appear virtual
  • Database
  • XML
  • X-Query (Oracle)
• Temperature of Data - (Dan Lindsted Post)
  • Hot
  • Lukewarm
  • Cold
• State of Affairs and Interest - where are the trends - Banks and Insurance leading
  
  • Geography
  • Common Views
  • Regulatory issues
  • Web Services

Download 01_ipedo_and_virtualization_cc_37.mp3

Tim thanks again for your time and it was a pleasure talking with you.  Good luck on your own experimentation on podcasting and Video blogging.  Check out his blog

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The audiocast is available on iTunes (as a Podcast) or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.

CoffeeCAST #35 - Projects the Challenge

Welcome to the 35th CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X. I have put together a smaller show after some reflection on some projects I have been involved with over the pas little while.  I hope you will join in with your thoughts and give me your perspective .

Today I will discuss:

• Project Communication - Good / Bad
• Team Work
  • Objective Setting and Matching
  • Boundary and Constraint
  • Anxiety
  • Hidden Factors
  • CAP - Capability, Attitude and Presence (Graham's saying)
• Thinking - how we think impacts the project
• Implementation Capability and Capacity

Download cc_35_projects_the_challenge.mp3

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The audiocast is available on iTunes (as a Podcast) or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.

CoffeeCAST #34 - Magic In the Air

Welcome to the 34th CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X.  Boo Scary, it is Halloween and along comes with it a bit of Magic in the air.  Today I grabbed Graham as he has been pretty jazzed since finally getting to see the Gartner Magic Quadrant and I wanted to talk a bit about the Magical experience I had on some trainaing.

So today we grab some time and hope to continue a conversation that Graham started last week and to begin some discussions.  Today we cover:

• Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Warehouse Database Management Systems, 2006.  You can get the full report here.  We talk about IBM DB2, Oracle, Netezza and Teradata (alphabetical)
• Then we Talk about the High-Impact Consulting course I took over at Robert H Schaffer and Associates.
  • Rapid Results Approach
  • Workout Approach

Download cc_34_magic.mp3

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The audiocast is available on iTunes (as a Podcast) or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.

CoffeeCAST #33 - Process, People and Projects

Welcome to the 33rd CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X.  OK, so I have been busy and have not had a chance to record a CoffeeCAST.  So I got up early this morning, brewed a pot of coffee (Starbucks of course) and recorded some thoughts that I hoped would be of interest.

Today I wanted to talk about some things that have been top of mind as we have gone through a large growth phase with new projects, people and discussions.  I will touch on the following

• Process
  • Value
  • Where it Kills
• People (also refer to some posts)
  
  • Coaching
  • Learning (Theory vs Practical)
  • Certification (not certifiable)
  • Encouragement, Motivation, Enthusiasm
• Projects

This would have been more fun with Jim or Graham, but maybe next week.

Download cc_33_projects_people_process.mp3

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The audiocast is available on iTunes (as a Podcast) or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.

CoffeeCAST - CC#32 - Talking Data Warehousing and Integration

Welcome to the 32nd CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X.  Well welcome back.  Today I have captured Graham for another fun discussion on Data Warehousing and Integration.  So I am just finishing a great Starbucks Grande Bold and hope you have found a good coffee yourself for this CoffeeCAST and sit back while Grham and I chat about:

• Discussion on Cars - Environmentally friendly started by MIP's Smartcar (see my pic/post)
• Datawarehouse
  • New Trends - Out from build to Support and Enhance
  • Marts vs Warehouses (logical/physical)
  • Master Data Management
    • Customer Master File (CMF)
    • Customer Information File (CIF)
• Data Integration
  • In the Warehouse vs ETL
  • DataStage and Informatica
  • Teradata
  • ELT (Sunopsis)
  • Moving Data

So as always it was great to grab a chance to talk with Graham.

Download cc_32_warehouses_and_integration.mp3

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The audiocast is available on iTunes (as a Podcast) or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.

CoffeeCAST #31 - Talking with Ellen Rubin of Netezza

Welcome to the 31st CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X.  Today I have Ellen Rubin, VP Marketing of Netezza joining me.  I would like to thank Brian over at Schwartz PR for helping set this up.

So here I am enjoying a cup of Starbucks brewed at home as we are doing this over the phone.  Today we had a chance to chat about:

• Introduction to Netezza
• Discontinuity in the marketplace between demand and data and disruptive innovation
• Value to customers
  • ad-hoc, what-if, simplify, drive cost out
  • eXtreme performance and ease of use
• The Conference (started yesterday)
  
  • Keynotes by Clayton Christensen (co-author of The Innovator's Solution a must read) and Edward Zander (Chairman and CEO of Motorola)
  • Some great topics and announcements
  • Discussion of 5000 series and it's value in the smaller scaled enterprise (disrupting the Oracle, Teradata, DB2 and now the SQL Server markets)
• And last but not least we compare Netezza to Apple as innovators and disruptors somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

So thank you Ellen who was a last minute stand-in for the new President and COO Jim Baum.  I really enjoyed the chat and appreciated the time.  I am hoping to be at the conference today, so may have some serious amounts of customer interviews and the like...

Download cc_31_talking_with_ellen_rubin_of_netezza.mp3

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The Podcast is available on iTunes or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.

CoffeeCAST #30 - Conferences, Appliances and SODAs

Welcome to the 30th CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X.  Today though we are having a gloomy weather day, I thought we could talk about some items that have been circling around me.

So here I am enjoying a cup of Starbucks by myself, so I am really counting on you to join in the conversation through comments or email.  Today's topics includ:

• Conferences - BEA, Netezza, SAP, Teradata - The month of Enterprise Apps conferences
• Appliances
  • The golf analogy - Tiger Woods
  • Follow-up from today's post
  • The talk about technology and total cost of ownership
• SODA - Might as well go for a SODA - The Kim Mitchell song wraps up our conversation where we talk a little about Service Oriented Data Architecture.

Download cc_30_conferences_appliances_and_sodas.mp3

So grab your soda or coffee of choice and join in the conversation.

Listen in and we hope you enjoy and more importantly, hope you join in the conversation.  So drop a comment in the blog or send me an email and share your thoughts on the topic.

The Podcast is available on iTunes or here for download.  Have a great day and join the conversation.