Reflections on Session 9

I was surprised that the class did not address more on thumbdrive security, patch management, data-at-rest (e.g., stolen laptops) and social engineering in their submissions. These threats have been in the news lately.

In past years, the issues surrounded viruses, spyware, worms, and other malware. During the more recent semesters, the common postings were on wireless issues (lack of encryption), server security, laptop and thumbdrive security, social engineering, shoulder surfing, tailgating, identity theft, and dumpster diving. This reflects a broader perspective of security beyond the intrusions from the World Wide Web.

Passwords are a common issue that students bring up. Yes, I am favor in two-factor authentication (what you know such as passwords or a PIN...plus what you have like a token or smart card...or what you are such as biometrics). However, particularly in our rough economic times, it takes money to pay for additional security like tokens or biometrics. But, is it a worthy investment? Well, it depends...it depends on what you are trying to protect, what financial resources you have, and other factors. Of course, if you are protecting the nation's secrets or sensitive financial/personal data, the answer is yes. However for other situations, the answer is not so clear.

Personally, I am disappointed with passwords themselves which are long, complex and impossible to memorize. And they say not to write it down. There MUST be a better system. Here is one answer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0biryfzCW0&feature=player_embedded

BTW, my favorite encryption tool is TrueCrypt (no endorsement implied). It is an easy way to protect your data and the price is right (free)!

I feel so insecure after learning from you some of the threats that are out there! Anyway, speaking of insecurity...

Reflections on Session 8

We are closing in on the end of the semester. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I hope that we proceeding well with the group projects. I noted one or two non-participants and I have encouraged them to join the group effort. Otherwise, I predict that the peer evaluations will not be very positive for them. Pay me now or pay me later!

Session 8 revealed to me a lot about the students. The discussion question on the value of planning showed that students know the importance of planning and how it ensures success. However, long time planning (ten years out) can be difficult because of our dynamic environment. IMHO, it is useless to do detailed long term planning and instead we should focus on the vision for the company.

I have to disagree with most students on the SDLC application for web developers. I hoped that students would think outside the box (see the end of this posting) and suggest alternative approaches such as agile and extreme programming. My experience with SDLC is that it is necessary for large complex projects but it gets to be unwieldy for smaller, short-deadline projects in a dynamic environment.

The answer to the conversion strategies question is "it depends". It depends on many variables - project size, cost considerations, schedule constraints, help desk availability, risk aversion, cultural aspects, level of user expertise, etc. I understand why most students advocated the less risky phased approach but it is not the best in all situations. In the future, avoid "shooting from the hip" and consider all circumstances. One size often does not fit all when it comes to IT!

I hope the students found the SWOT analysis to be useful. Some of them did such a great job that they should become management strategists! However, a few did not understand the concept of opportunities -- for example, identifying a new lucrative market, a source of funding or resources, a change in consumer behavior, etc. Goals need to be primarily based on this opportunity factor with appropriate consideration to the other three parameters (strengths, weakness and threats).

We move on this week to security -- one of my favorite topics. I am looking forward to seeing kewl videos/movies about security-related issues. I better buy some popcorn and enjoy the shows!

It is important to think outside of the box...but there are exceptions!

Reflections on Session 7

I was amazed at the high level of emotion found in the discussion thread re: offshore outsourcing. Some folks said that we need to be patriotic and not send our jobs to foreign countries while others pointed out that we live in a global economy and the mighty dollar rules. There were some good points -- when national security or quality customer service is involved, we need to keep things internal. Of course, the answer to this is "it depends." You need to look at TCO - the total cost of offshoring - for your organization, specifically, the hidden costs that people often overlook. Check out this CIO magazine article for more information on this concept.

Regarding the use of Fedscope, I am glad that most of the students were exposed to a powerful OLAP tool. They are seeing a Cognos (now IBM) product formerly called PowerPlay, but there are other companies such as BusinessObjects, Microsoft, Oracle, who can produce similar cubes and interfaces. These tools are certainly easier to use than pivot tables in spreadsheets. I am always impressed when I see the insightful trends and relationships students identified and the derived strategies based on these findings.

Although lots of students wanted to recruit and hire more staff, some of the strategies focused on social inequities such as the lack of diversity in various dimensions (gender, race, age, etc.) I am glad this class is cognizant of these social issues. Speaking of social issues, too bad the cubes did not contain any "green" information. I'm sure that a student would to address that timely issue.

Reflections on Session 6 - the Midterm

I am generally very pleased with the results of the midterm. There were many A's in the class and those who got B's were in striking distance of getting an A. Hmmmmmm....I wonder if my midterm was too easy and I may have to make my final exam more difficult?

I did notice that some students did not meet the 1-2 page requirement. This is necessary to ensure that significant thought and analysis went into your answer. I will assess a tough penalty for not meeting this requirement in the final!

I continue to be appalled by the number of grammatical/spelling errors in the submissions. I would think that the word processor would catch these errors and the students would edit them. I hope that this will not occur in future submission... including postings.

I noticed no one got a perfect score in the midterm...I have HIGH expectations from my students (unlike Calvin)! Check out this link.

Reflections on Session 5

I realized that a handful of students found the Session 5 mini-project assignment (to come up with a unique e-business) to be very frustrating. (Now, who egged and tepeed my house?) Although most of you were up for the challenge, some folks did not even attempt an idea or gave up after the first try. I appreciate the tenacity of those who came back after their original idea was rejected. As mentioned before, imagination is more important than knowledge.

Here is a summary of ideas on potential e-businesses from past classes:

Satellite lawn service
Robotic adventures
Online gas station account
GPS with restaurant wait times
Custom build-it-yourself computer kit
Online make-up simulator
Independent local news correspondents
Remote energy control of appliances
Pre-purchase preview
Paid standees
Online parking payments
Custom baby bottles and sippers
Organ donor business
Pranksters, Inc.
Food price comparison site
Fragrance USB device
Custom gum
PickAFight.com
Personal online fashion consultant
Stinky jersey rental business
On-the-go music and try-it-on clothing service
Virtual acupuncture
Virtual Worldwide Vacations
A New You
An Internet music marketing site
Online to-do manager
A real-time auto mechanic assistant
Personalized health care
My Couch Potato
Design My Radio Control car
"See-a-Pet"
Onstar Restaurant Locator
Dr. Everything custom instruction
Audio-visual beach simulation headphones
Miniature puffball pals
An online personal conflict manager
Charity Bridge Play Bidding System
Offer Finder web crawler
An online race management system
Design your own lighting fixtures
An online gas pre-payment system
Junk mail eliminator
Personalized online time management service
3-D modeling tool for an environmentally aware home
Online sports card inventory tracker
Auction site which matches sound equipment with performer
Small-town French restaurant selection guide
Organized weekend camping trips for gamers
College book rental
Family taxi for parents
Grocery price comparison site
Making jealous mates
College transcript clearinghouse
Home improvement contractor online bidding service
e-Closet - hotel storage for travelers
Gifted kids competition
SlingBox feed exchange
Customized beer delivered to your home
Online calorie counter for a broad range of restaurants
Nonalcoholic activity planner
An online hostage negotiator
Team picker based on behavioral survey results
Homepainting recommendation service
Anonymous shopper service
An e-business search service
Personal security-check web service
A one-stop pet resource
Virtual vacations which uses VR helmets
Guild builder for games
An advertiser-customer target marketer
A Mac and PC cross-platform software supplier
A pet food labeling service (has picture of their pet on the can!)
An unbiased fantasy football selector (disregards user's loyalties)
An MP3 music tagging service
Recordings of daughters' comedy routines
Custom cross-stitching service
Virtual DJ services

I wonder if any of my students will become billionaires because of their ideas. Hey, look at a Maryland student named Sergey Brin. He was born in Moscow, Russia, to a Jewish family, the son of a mathematician and economist. In 1979, when Sergey was six, his family emigrated to the United States. Brin attended grade school at Paint Branch Montessori School in Adelphi, Maryland, but he received further education at home; his father Michael Brin, a professor in the department of mathematics at the University of Maryland, nurtured his interest in mathematics and his family helped him retain his Russian language skills. In September 1990, after having attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Sergey enrolled in the University of Maryland, College Park to study Computer Science and Mathematics, where he received his Bachelors of Science in May 1993 with high honors. After graduating from Maryland, Sergey received a graduate fellowship from the National Science Foundation, which allowed him to study for his masters degree in Computer Science at Stanford University.

Brin is the American entrepreneur who co-founded Google with Larry Page. He is currently the President of Technology at Google and has a net worth estimated at $16.6 billion as of March 9, 2007, making him the 26th richest person in the world together with Larry Page and the 9th richest person in the United States. He is also the 4th youngest billionaire in the world.