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Another short week!
Apr. 23rd, 2022 08:12 amBank Holiday Monday meant that last week was another short one. It turned into one of those weeks that look quiet at the start but somehow fill up as they go along.
Another pebble (or it might be half a mountain, we're not sure yet!) has been chucked into the pond that is our Big Important Project. Basically, the business want to put information into the system that it isn't designed to hold, but made the decision without consulting the project team. Just instructed the relevant person to add the records to the list. And they just did it, without any pushback or passing the information on. They are also not embracing the system with whole-hearted enthusiasm, meaning that they will probably never use it to its full advantage. But that's on them - our job is just to implement the damned thing.
This comes on top of a throw-away comment about changes to the university's regulations - but they won't impact the project. Well, technically, no - they apply to assessment and the new system manages programme structure, so they're at different ends of the student journey. BUT the people who will have to manage the fallout on the MAIN system where the changes will have to be made are the same ones who are helping to integrate the two. So, there'll be a personnel impact. Same person (who has been at the university longer than me!), apparently oblivious to any connections.
*facepalm*
The other Big Important Project (with a side order of anything between Quite Scary to Absolutely Fucking Terrifying) continues to gather momentum. Here, we're looking to build a system that tracks where students are in one of two basic scenarios - doing a work placement or studying abroad for part of their programme (including foreign nationals coming here). On the face of it, managing the two groups looks pretty similar - but as someone pointed out to me this week working and studying are not the same thing. So, we might want one system that holds ALL the data for both groups (and can handle blank fields) OR two completely separate ones. And the governance structure for the project will reflect that. There are pros and cons for having one or two project boards in both scenarios, actually. I shall ask the project manager what they think on Monday.
And next week is another short one! It's the husband's birthday on Friday, so I've taken the day off. And I'm off all the week after because it's the Bank Holiday week. Very much looking forward to a nice, long break :)
Another pebble (or it might be half a mountain, we're not sure yet!) has been chucked into the pond that is our Big Important Project. Basically, the business want to put information into the system that it isn't designed to hold, but made the decision without consulting the project team. Just instructed the relevant person to add the records to the list. And they just did it, without any pushback or passing the information on. They are also not embracing the system with whole-hearted enthusiasm, meaning that they will probably never use it to its full advantage. But that's on them - our job is just to implement the damned thing.
This comes on top of a throw-away comment about changes to the university's regulations - but they won't impact the project. Well, technically, no - they apply to assessment and the new system manages programme structure, so they're at different ends of the student journey. BUT the people who will have to manage the fallout on the MAIN system where the changes will have to be made are the same ones who are helping to integrate the two. So, there'll be a personnel impact. Same person (who has been at the university longer than me!), apparently oblivious to any connections.
*facepalm*
The other Big Important Project (with a side order of anything between Quite Scary to Absolutely Fucking Terrifying) continues to gather momentum. Here, we're looking to build a system that tracks where students are in one of two basic scenarios - doing a work placement or studying abroad for part of their programme (including foreign nationals coming here). On the face of it, managing the two groups looks pretty similar - but as someone pointed out to me this week working and studying are not the same thing. So, we might want one system that holds ALL the data for both groups (and can handle blank fields) OR two completely separate ones. And the governance structure for the project will reflect that. There are pros and cons for having one or two project boards in both scenarios, actually. I shall ask the project manager what they think on Monday.
And next week is another short one! It's the husband's birthday on Friday, so I've taken the day off. And I'm off all the week after because it's the Bank Holiday week. Very much looking forward to a nice, long break :)
