“I write not because I know but because I want to know.” Julio Serrano- Guatemalan Writer Julio Serrano is a Guatemalan writer I met in a course about poetry. These words lingered in my mind for quite some time. After a while, I understood what it meant to me, and the reflection surprised me. I […]
Author: saoderivera
People over Process, Process over Tools
I recently read a recommendation about a tool about Data Governance and how this tool would solve every data governance problem in an organization. Then, I went back in time, and I remembered how the CEO of a software company told me that a client that we had in common would have plenty of cash […]
Genba: See for Yourself a Better Way to Define Software Requirements.
“Gemba” is a Japanese word that means “go see by yourself” and is used in Kaizen. According to Investopedia, Kaizen is a Japanese business philosophy regarding the processes that continuously improve operations and involve all employees. Kaizen is used to implement Lean Manufacturing and was highly popularized in Japan by Toyota and its continuous improvement model. Gemba is […]
OnLine Training, A Few Tips
When I arrived in the US, I could not work in the country because I had a non-immigrant visa for NAFTA workers’ spouses. But I couldn’t just stay at home, so I helped with some training in my home country and other activities online. When you are not used to it, teleworking can be challenging, […]
What I learned about Data Governance working in Central America
Recently I took a data warehousing class, and one of the themes was Data Governance, which is vital to design an information system. Until then, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the term; I have worked with data all my professional life, so it comes naturally for me to organize, classify, process and […]
Instruments to Generate Conversation and Obtain a Working Software Product
One of the first systems that I designed was about distributing chicken to different markets in the city of Guatemala. Markets in Latin American countries are the primary source of food for families, and they have a unique dynamic. They start to operate around 5:00 am. Most of the products are delivered at this time, […]
Planning Top-Down, Executing Bottom-Up, The Agile Approach
Someone once asked me, “How do you handle a missed deadline?” We have to own the problem and inform using the appropriate channels on time, not days before the deadline. However, this outcome is preventable by using Scrum or any Agile method. I started working with agile methods some time ago when I was desperate to […]
Reduction of Communication Bias in Project Management
I have worked as a project manager for several years, and communication has always been the main issue. Being a project manager can be challenging since the project manager is responsible for the results without owning the resources used to implement them. Most of the team members may belong to different departments with different bosses. […]