- Book review: "Troubled IT Projects" by John M. Smith"
- Engineering Compared
- On Cato
1) Book review: "Troubled IT Projects" by John M. Smith
This excellent book aims to show how “troubled” projects can be turned-around and more importantly, prevented in the first place. The sub-title of “prevention and turnaround” is slightly misleading as this book exceeds expectations by being a primer to how run successful projects from the earliest stages – as well as showing how to fix problems later in the lifecycle. Read more...
2) Engineering Compared
Recently, several people have asked me to explain the difference between software engineering and systems engineering. My answer was rather longer than I expected. Read more...
3) On Cato
Recently I read an intriguing story of the orator and statesman, Cato the Elder, who lived around 2200 years ago. At the age of eighty, he decided to start studying Greek. His friends queried the wisdom of embarking on such an extensive course of study at his advanced age. Cato is said to have responded by saying it was the youngest age he had left.
This anecdote has a lot of resonance for us today - I was amused by how many maxims were contained in this story:
- it’s never too late to start something new;
- don’t delay, start today;
- he who hesitates is lost;
- don’t let the grass grow under your feet.
So, no excuses, make that call; start work on that file - or even start learning a new language!
All best wishes for the month ahead.
Kind regards,
Marcus Price
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