My Birthday

My birthday was on the weekend (29th July) and I had a great day. I got a really cool present from Greg of a Kaledescope , which is something I have wanted for a long time. It is really nice and I especially like that I can change the glass wheels for different effects. Also got a great card with photos of Victor helping celebrate my birthday.

We then took Victor to his first baby session at Gymbaroo. He had an absolute ball there, so much so that he got over excited and had to have a nap before the session was even over and I learnt that I don't even know all the right words to the Hokey Pokey....so much to learn.

After that my parents looked after Victor and Greg and I went out for our first evening alone together since he arrived. It was nice to have a bit of adult time, but I did still spend most of it wondering what Victor was up to. I think it will take a while longer for me to get used to other people baby sitting him.

Also my footy team Essendon even finally won a game !
It will be hard to top this years birthday next year but seen as I will be turning 30 I think a big birthday party may be in order :)

Book Review - Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art

Just finished reading Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art by Steve McConnell.
I've found it to be a really interesting read and I have learnt quit a bit from it. In the past I have read a few books on project management and estimation and in general I have found them pretty hard to get through. Often they get bogged down in what the book calls the science of software estimation. That is mathematical methods of estimating and complex estimation models where you vary a bunch of factors. I'm sure they are useful for people who's main job is to estimate or people estimating huge projects, but for the size of the projects I generally work on they are just not appropriate and/or worth the effort.
Instead this book talks about the art of software estimation which is focused on providing easy to use, hands on techniques that are appropriate to different styles of projects. This book is a much better resource for someone such as myself that often has to provide estimates in short time frames.
The book provides advice that ca be used in the real world where you still have to work out an estimate even though you might not have historical data for the sort of project your working on i.e. it provides real world advice not just best practise.
It is also really well organized into small chapters with practical tips highlighted along the way which means if you don't have a lot of time it's easy to read in short sessions, or to just read the portion that applies to what your currently doing.
I'd definitely recommend reading it if you are (or aspire to be) a lead developer or technical project manager. In fact I think I will definately give it a re-read in six months or so again to see what else I can learn from it as well as to see how my estimation skills have improved.

MOSS 2007

I'm been out and about a bit talking to clients about MOSS 2007 . I've previously done a lot of work on SharePoint 2003 and a few CMS implementations, so I was very interested to see how MOSS which essentially combines the two stacks up.
So far the feedback on the product has been great from the clients I have showed it to, compared to the old versions there is just so much more "in the box", not to mention the great new look and feel.
I've built some great solutions on SharePoint 2003 but I've also hit quite a few roadblocks where the toolset just didn't quite match the customer solution. This version certainly seems to be a lot more flexible, in fact almost too flexible.With the enterprise features (infopath server, excel services and business data catalog) as well as the standard ones like workflow it really makes it fit a wide range of solutions which for a client could make it pretty difficult to work out which bits should be implemented as well as how to actually do it.
There are just so many options of what to include, not to mention a lot to learn to be able to do it all well (check out the elearning for a great overview or attend this months MOSSIG meeting for more info). I've been looking at the beta versions for months now and I'm still finding new features in there, or realizing features work slightly different than I had previously realized.
I definitely think implementing in an iterative approach (and of course getting a bit of advice from an expert like us at SDM) is going to be a good way to go with this product !
I'm really looking forward to getting into some deeper development with the product over the next few months, looks like I will be doing a heap of work on it, including the implementation I'm currently working on.
I really enjoy the challenge of wrangling with the difficulties of a beta product to get a great solution up and running...This product should definitely make the next 12 months interesting !

Tech•Ed 06 - "I'll be there"

During the week the final details of my flights and accommodation for Tech•Ed was organised so I'm now officially attending :)
I'm really looking forward to this years event, there are so many good sessions that working out the ones I will attend will be a real challenge.

Victor and Greg are flying up there as well with me which is great. Victor will be 3 months old by then so the trip should prove interesting !

No rest for the Wicked !

This is week 2 of me starting back at work full time and I'm very busy. It's certainly been a bit of a juggling act working full time during the day and looking after Victor in the evening and night. Lucky for me years working in IT has well prepared me for the perils of lack of sleep.

The first few days were pretty tough leaving to come to work, but now it is not so hard as
my husband Greg is doing an awesome job looking after the little guy during the day so I don't have to worry (plus he is still managing to run his singing teaching business at night so we are both buzy!). Sure I miss him during the day, but I also know it is important for me to be at work, plus because I start early and finish early I still get to spend quite a lot of quality time with Victor.

I have no idea how people manage to look after a baby by themselves full time. Looking after Victor is taking up most of both of our time, but it is hugely rewarding. He is now 8 weeks old and it's amazing the amount he has changed in that time. I'm really looking forward to seeing him grow further over time !