Something that every technology person comes across is budget and time overruns. Something like 80+% of technical projects run over time.

Really? Are you surprised? I’m not. No matter how much pre-planning and thought you put into a project, no matter the resources, staffing and waterfall diagrams to back it up, technical projects are at best a guess.

There is no finite timeline on which you can measure how long it will take to implement payment gateway ‘x’. And of course during such an implementation you will uncover problems ‘y’ and ‘z’, which are not in your waterfall diagram.

As technologists we need to communicate to our clients better that timeframes are mere goals – not guarantees.

It has often been mentioned on the forums that the eZ Publish Roadmap needs some love and that a product without a roadmap inspires the confidence of no-one. Luckily this has been updated as recently as June 12th and the new roadmap is looking pretty nice.

From cluster and performance enhancements and eZ Flow updates through to new extensions and updates to eZ Find there is something in there for everyone. Unfortunately Admin Interface redesigns don’t make the cut until the 4.3 release slated for March 30th 2010, but then that is only 9 months away in any case.

If eZ Systems manages to deliver on these promises there is some really nice looking functionality for both partners and customers alike, but as recent history has shown I will remain optimistically cautious and continue delivering the services I need now rather than waiting for something to materialise based on an ever-shifting roadmap.

In my browsing yesterday I came across two little gems for OS X. 

Anti-RSI

This little wonder of an application visually reminds you to take breaks throughout the course of the work day to avoid repetitive strain injury. This is a must for developers or any one who spends long hours each day sitting in front of a monitor. 

Complete with customisable time periods and micro-breaks this small app should assist you in taking breaks and avoiding injury or burnout. 

Download from: http://tech.inhelsinki.nl/antirsi/

Isolator

The small application has a simple purpose, to help you concentrate. When you are working in an application and don’t want to be distracted by all the other clutter and noise on your computer turn on Isolator from the menu bar and watch your desktop and other applications disappear. 

This app is great for removing distractions without having to turn off other applications. There is no longer a need to close your email client, it will just disappear when you turn on Isolator. 

Download from: http://willmore.eu/software/isolator/

Couldn’t agree more with this excellent post over at the ZURB blog. Might have to grab a copy of the book.

Fail Fast or Quit?

New Book from Packt Publishing

I was recently approached by Divya from Packt Publishing to review a new book recently authored by Martin Bauer of DesignIT, a local eZ Publish partner in Australia. The book is entitled, Managing eZ Publish Web Content Management Projects.

I certainly look forward to reviewing this book over the coming weeks and believe, based on the information I have already received, that it should contain a wealth of information we should all be applying to our larger eZ Publish projects.

For those interested you can read more and order the book online at Packt Publishing.