Free ITIL Foundation Practice Test

So, while preparing to take my ITIL Foundation certification in September, I began to research practice tests so I could determine the areas where I needed improvement. I came across a fantastic resource at Berbee.com

They have a free online practice test that looks fantastic! I won't go into my first pass test results, because I'm still "in training", but it appears to give you great exposure to the terminology and concepts they're looking for in the actual ITIL test environment.

Check it out!

http://www.berbee.com/public/learning/webseminar/WS_ITILExam/player.html

PMP Registry Listing

I just got notice from PMI today congratulating me on obtaining my PMP. This is, without a doubt, one of the most significant accomplishments of my professional life. So I checked and confirmed that I'm now listed in the PMP registry.



This is just too cool!

An eOpen Letter To Microsoft

Dearest Microsoft,

I love you guys. I really do. I've made a living, nay a career delivering, installing, and supporting your software. You guys do great work, but honestly what's up with your eOpen website?

I use the site as part of my license management job on a fairly regular basis, at least 2-3 times a month, and it seems that EVERY time I try to go to the site I have some sort of connection problem.

If I can login without issue, then it takes me seemingly forever to load my license information. I have difficulty using your site no matter what time of day, or whether I'm connecting from home, work, or over another broadband connection.

You guys are the biggest software company in the world. Can you please do something about this?

Sincerely,

Very Frustrated eOpen User

The Amazing Vanishing Gateway

Watch in awe as executives at Gateway Computers make their company and brand disappear! Gateway Computers announced on Friday that they will be moving to a "100% Indirect Sales Model" Umm guys, have you not been paying attention? In business, generally, more distribution channels is better than fewer, especially for a product manufacturer like Gateway.

Gateway was a pioneer in the direct sale of computers back in the late 80's and early 90's. You called their toll-free number, told them what you wanted, gave them your credit card, and they put it together and shipped it to you. A very low-cost/high profit model.

Now, Gateway intends to do away with all of that, going to a distribution model that's just like every other product we buy on a day to day basis. I guess this could indicate the total market saturation of computers in general. I mean there are literally dozens of players in the computer field and they all basically do the same thing: Buy components from other manufacturers (i.e motherboards, memory, video cards, hard drives, wireless cards, etc), put them together in their own, branded, case, mark it up and sell it. There's just not a whole lot of innovation in that process.

Gateway could try to develop a new way of computing. They could develop some great new product that generates a lot of buzz (i.e. The Eee PC). They could try to expand their market share by developing new ways of making computers cheaper in general, or more energy efficient. How about Gateway trying to reestablish it's brand by declaring itself "The greenest computer you'll ever own", and then developing systems that meet that standard. Surely with all of the "Global Warming" buzz, that would get someone's attention.

But no. They decide to keep being a simple computer assembly-line and decrease their market value and exposure by removing distribution channels. Oh well. So, sadly, Gateway may be going the way of the Dodo. Sadly because I used to own a Gateway and it was actually a pretty good computer, at the time. But alas all things must come to an end. Maybe Dell will buy them out...

Passing The PMP - Study Materials

The following pictures contain some of the study materials I used to pass the PMP.



Here are some of the details:

PMBOK Guide, Of course
- Mastering Project Management by James P Lewis (ISBN:0786311886)
- Exam Cram 2, by Michael Solomon (ISBN:1789734621)
- Information Technology Project Management By Kathy Schwalbe (ISBN:1423901452)
- PMP In Depth By Paul Sanghera, Ph.D. (ISBN:1598631772)
- PMPrepCast (http://www.pmprepcast.com)
- Villanova University PMP Prep Course, as well as Essentials of Project Management, Mastering Project Management, and IS/IT Project Management (Earning me Two Master's Certifications as well)
- Oliver F Lehmann Project Management Training - Self Assessment Test (http://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/75-free-questions.htm)
- PMP Study Notes by Rafi Peltekian and Raymond Okimura (PDF File - http://www.robertperrine.biz/students2000/Rafi%20Peltekian%20PMP.pdf)
- A very special Thank you goes out to Ray Pierce, PMP, from my local PMI Chapter for the help with the EV formula memorization technique.
- Gantthead.Com, of course!
- PMI.Org - I'm not listed in the registry yet, but that should happen in the next few days.
- Numerous websites, forums, and discussion groups.

Of course I also have to say thank you to my family (wife and son), for putting up with the long hours of study I put into getting this thing finished. Without you guys, it would have all been for nothing.

So What's Next?

Now that I've passed the PMP, I could rest on my laurels and do nothing, however; I've decided that I'm going to get ready to take the ITIL Foundation test. What is the ITIL Foundation test? ITIL stands for Information Technology Infrastructure Library. It's basically an individual certification that says you understand the basics of ISO 20000 standards and processes.

ITIL was originally created under the British government and is a subset of the IT Governance Board. At any rate, it's sort of become the defacto standard for understanding how IT Service Management should be structured and implemented.

There are 3 levels of ITIL certification: Foundation, Practitioner, and Manager. Initially, of course, I will go for the Foundation certification. If all goes according to plan, I should have this completed by the end of September or Mid-October.

Man it's good to have PMP done though. It's like a 1000 pound weight has been lifted off of my back.

PMP! PMP! PMP!

It's done! Today I sat for my PMP exam and, after 18 months of preparation (going back to college, reading numerous books and blogs, memorizing dozens of processes and formulas, and spending countless hours studying) I'm now, officially, a PMP!

I cannot even begin to describe the feeling. I'm actually kind of numb. I keep having to look at the test results printout to beieve that's it's finally finished. This is my first professional certification in my 15 year career. The process has been incredible for me. It's helped me get back into the mindset of learning new things. It's also done wonders for my own self-esteem, not that I really lack in that department, but it's nice to have a 3rd party vailidation of your skills, something I previously did not care much about.

At any rate. I am now, offically, Gary Drumm, PMP. Damn that looks good!!! :-D

Two More Days

In just two days I sit for the PMP. I feel pretty good about it. I've crammed my head with as much PMI think as I possibly can. I've worked out what I think is a very good method for my formula brain dump, and I took tomorrow off so I can spend the day going over a few final items (critical path calculation, building network diagrams, calculating backward passes, etc.).

I think I'm just about ready to go. I recently met a guy at my local PMI chapter meeting who gave me a fantastic and yet simple method for rembering the formulas you need to know. I'll share more about that method in a separate post. So wish me luck, say a prayer fos me, and send good PMP thoughts my way. This is a really BIG deal for me.

Latest Office Update - With Pics

OK. So the wife and kid were out of the house for about 12 hours today, leaving me to study for my PMP, which I'm scheduled to take next Saturday. Since I can't really study for 12 hours, I decided to do a little work on my office at one point, just to relieve the bordum.

At any rate, I moved my dekstop to become my primary PC. I did this for a couple of reasons, 1) I wanted to expand my monitors to 3 instead of just two. My original plan was to have 4 monitors, with two of them in portrait instead of landscape, but my crappy video card made sure that wasn't possible.

So I went with 3 monitors and went ahead an hooked a small (10") monitor I've had in the closet for a while. My idea is to use this monitor as a "watch, but it's not important" monitor, meaning I out apps like my Zune software. I just leave it up so I can easily change the music, without having to close or minimize windows.

I also hooked my external DVD/RW, Iomega 500 GB and some cheapy 500GB enclosure I got, as well as my Sony ebook reader, a rather "colorful" USB hub, my iPod docking station, and my new keyboard (A Logitech cordless Wave desktop).

So anyway, here are the pics...

God I Love It When I'm Right!

Last year, I wrote a little blurb about VMWare's issues with Microsoft entering the hyper-visor market (Microsoft-vs-VMWare).

In this week's issue of Information Week, they discuss the recent departure of VMWare CEO Diane Greene. In the article they discuss the issues that VMWare faces with it's extremely high pricing model and the author (Charles Babcock) notes a quote by Gartner analyst Thomas Bittman:

"...with no competition, you can get away with that... now VMWare has seven solid competitors..."

Babcock also goes on to note:

"...it's Microsoft's presence that's sending shivers through the stock price..."

Don't get me wrong. VMWare is an awesome company, with an awesome product. They virtually (no pun intended) create the virtualization market on an enterprise scale. They have made it possible for companies to streamline their network infrastructure and management. That said, however; it's precisely what I stated almost 10 months ago that's causing them to experience the shakeup now.

Another quote from the article states. "...Microsoft offers a far deeper server and infrastructure management solution than VMWare". Duh! Ya think! Microsoft runs in 90% of networks in the market. If they decide to roll your little one-off application into their server core, what can you do? They have a unique ability to squeeze you out of a particular market without directly competing with you. Like I said, if Microsoft decides they want to play in your sandbox, your better off selling them all of your sand and letting them have it. It's just not a good idea to bet against Microsoft.

Wrong? Right? Who knows. I love VMWare's products and services. I use it in my own network environment. Just like said about Asus-vs-Dell in an earlier post this week, now we'll get to see what happens when the big boys come to town. If it were me, I would have courted Microsoft to buy me out...now, where did I put that "how to write the next big software technology platform pamphlet"?

Apple's Risk Management Plan For iPhone Launch Flawed

The recent launch of the iPhone 3G was has been met with technical "oopsies" that could very easily be addressed by better risk management. Now, be prepared, because I'm about to "go all PMP on your buttocks".

Risk Management, as defined in PMI's PMBOK Guide (Risk Management Planning - Page 237). Risk Management Planning is process group number 11, under this group you have these 6 key areas:

11.1 - Risk Management Planning (Yeah I know it's a repeat of the main heading, I didn't write this stuff, I'm just trying to memorize it right now)
11.2 - Risk Identification
11.3 - Qualitative Risk Analysis
11.4 - Quantitative Risk Analysis
11.5 - Risk Response Planning
11.6 - Risk Monitoring and Controlling

The basic idea here is that if you work dilligently to identify your potential risks you can plan more appropriately on how to monitor and control those risks. So where did Apple screw up on their Risk Management Plan for the launch of the new iPhone?

They did not adequately identify network outages as a potential risk for their product deployment. Had they identified this as a potential risk, they would have had a more effective plan for mitigating that risk. So how does one actually identify potential risks in a project? What is a real-world application to this whole "Risk Identification" methodology?

Now, PMBOK doesn't really give you a "how-to" so much as it does a "what for". According to the PMBOK, the followin are the Inputs, Tools&Techniques, and Outputs (ITTO's) for the Risk Identification process:

Inputs: (11.2.1)
- Enterprise environmental factors (11.2.1.1)
- Organizational process assets (11.2.1.2)
- Project Scope Statement (11.2.1.3)
- Risk Management Plan (11.2.1.4)
- Project Management Plan (11.2.1.5)

Tools and Techniques (11.2.2)
- Documentation reviews (11.2.2.1)
- Information gathering techniques (11.2.2.2)
- Checklist analysis (11.2.2.3)
- Assumptions analysis (11.2.2.4)
- Diagramming techniques (11.2.2.5)

Outputs (11.2.3)
- Risk register (11.2.3.1)

So what does all of this mean in the real world? I think the key factor here, in PMI terms, that caused the issues with activating the new iPhones was in 11.2.2.3 and 11.2.2.4 respectively. That is there was a breakdown in the checklist analysis and assumption analysis.

The breakdown in the checklist analysis, as I see it, is that the provider's network capacity was checked off as being sufficient yet they must not have done a very thorough job of verifying that checlist item.

The breakdown in the assumpltions analysis is obvious. They assumed that the provider's network would be capable of handling the large number of concurrent activation requests.

Now, why am I picking on Apple and the iPhone? I'm not really. This whole post serves two purposes.

1) I get to use a real-world example and apply pieces of the Project Risk Management knowledge area of the PMBOK guide. This is actually helping me to better understand the knowledge area overall, as I prepare for my PMP.

2) I get to share that practical application with the world (well, at least the 3 of you who are reading this post) and maybe do something to spark a little conversation about project risk management.

So that's my thoughts. What do you think?

Dell Getting Ready to Kill Asus

Oh this is going to be awesome! According to Engadget, Dell is set to release their mini notebook next month for a staggeringly low $299. That puts them square in the mini-laptop market.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have an Asus Eee PC, and I love it, but Dell entering this market means that a major player has reconized that there is a real market potential here. Granted, Asus really created the market, mostly thanks to hackers and college kids, but now that Dell is getting into this market as well, I think we'll see how a "real" computer company puts out a sub-$300 "laptop".

Why Not To Love The iPhone

OK, so with all of the iPhone hype I just can't let it go without some commentary. Plus, if I have the word "iPhone" in my blog post, I'm more likely to get a lot of hits because everyone wants an opinion on the iPhone.

The iPhone is cool. In typical Apple fashion, it's simple, it's sexy, and it's easy to use. No doubt, Apple has some of the best design engineers in the industry. They gave us the iMac, the iBook, the iPod, and now the iPhone 2.0.

So with all this iPhone ferver, why an aricle on why NOT to love it? The main reason I don't love the iPhone... I hate AT&T wireless. I'm on the Verizon network. My brother is on T-Mobile. I know, I know, the fact that I dislike AT&T shouldn't be a reason to dislike the iPhone. But my problem with the iPhone is that it's limited to AT&T (officially - though cracks supposedly exist), so I can't get one for my Verizon phone service.

Which leads me to another reason to dislike the iPhone. Because I can't get an actual iPhone on Verizon, I'm left with all of these other iPhone knockoffs from Samsung, RIM, and LG. Yet another reason I don't "love" the iPhone, the fact that all of knockoffs exist because of the iPhone.

Since when does the iPhone become the defacto standard for how a phone/PMP/camera/etc is supposed look and function? All of these other manufacturers are chasing after the iPhone mystique. Why not create your OWN mystique?

So, while I don't particularly dislike or hate the iPhone, I do find it irritating that it's only officially available on one network, other manufacturers are copying it, I dislike the fact that it's causing other manufacturers to stop innovating, and lastly, I'm tired of reading 25 iPhone articles a day on the tech blogs... and now you've read another one too. Sory 'bout that... ;)

Random Thoughts and New Ideas

Some people who read this blog may also be aware of my videos on YouTube. Many of the videos are actually paintball videos, but I've also done a couple of techie vids as well. I've decided to change up my YouTube presence a little bit.

My main account, http://www.youtube.com/gldrumm, will be used as a sort of general dump channel for all of my videos (paintball, tech, vlog, etc.) I've already created a channel for the paintball team (http://www.youtube.com/fuzzyduckpaintball) and I'm going to create another channel specifically for the techie stuff.

My idea is to create a regular program that reviews technology and gadgets, shows how to do some legal hacks, unboxing new toys, and other general "geek porn" type of information.

Not that there's not already a great deal of "shows" like this already, in fact I watch many of them. I haven't quite worked out what will differentiate my show from all of the others, other than it will be amazingly handsome face on the screen, but I'll come up with some hook eventually.

I will likely also create a website for the show with it's own blog, forum, show notes, links to the YT/Meta Cafe/Veoh vids, etc. At any rate, I'll keep everyone posted on this new idea, so check back with me.

Why Is My Home Office So Messy Anyway?

Believe it or not, I've had a couple of people who read this blog (yeah, I know. I was surprised too) ask me why my home office is so messy anyway. So here's a brief explanation.

I live about 45 miles from my place of employment. I drive about an hour to an hour and a half to get to and from work every day, where I'm the VP of Network Operations. Now, I don't know if you have any idea how busy a VP of Network Operations is on a regular basis, but I'm generally at the office about 50 hours a week, or so. Add 10 hours of driving and that's about 60 hours a week related to work.

OK. So on to reason (excuse) #2. School/Study/Education. I spent much of last year and the first part of this year finishing up a Master's Certification in Applied Project Management and IT Project Management (respectively). Since I finished the IT Master's Cert, I began working on preparing the PMP exam (which I'm taking in a couple of weeks from today). So, there goes another 12-15 hours a week.

Like most of you, I need sleep. I generally sleep about 6 hours a night, or about 42hours a week, much to the dismay of my doctor, who thinks I need to add about 10-12 hours to that (Who has that kind of time!?).

So, there are 168 hours in a week. I've already used up about 117 of them. True, that leaves a seemingly gigantic 51 hours, but when you consider that a lot of that time is likely the 2-3 hours a night I spend with my family during the work week (that's 15 hours), and the massive amount of other things happening on the weekends (birthdays, family, church, lawn work, honey-do lists, Daddy this and Daddy that, etc.) you can see how there's very little time for something like performing a massive office clean up.

Truth is, I'm not lazy, I'm freakin' tired! By the time the weekend rolls around I just want to veg out in front of the TV, or go swimming in the pool out back. I don't want to work on my damn office! OK, so I've ranted, thrown my little tantrum, and made my excuses... to the entire world. Now it's time to get it done. :)

CAT 5 Spider

So I was a little bored the other day and decided to make a CAT 5 Spider companion. I honor of Tom Hanks' "Castaway", I decided to call him "Wilson". So I think he's now going to be the official mascot of my blog, that is until I get bored again.









Interestingly, my son and I made 3 of these goofy things the other day and he had a ball. I also took the opportunity to teach how to make CAT 5 cables, which he almost did perfectly later that evening (only off by a couple of wires), not bad for a 5-6 year old. ;)

PMP - Pass-vs-Learn

I came across this great article on Gantthead. The author makes a very good point. PM's should spend more time actually learning how to manage projects, rather than simply learning how to pass the test.

However, just like with drugs, the alure of the money one can make with those three little initials behind their name is so appealing that it's difficult to keep honest and actually learn the material. In my opinion, it's about a passion for what you do.

For me, I love technology. I love building data centers, I love completing projects (*my home office not included ;-)*), and I love helping companies apply standards and practices to their network infrastructure that will help them perform more effciently and, ultimately, make more money. But I don't do it *just* for the money.

Therein lies the real issue, it's not that people take the PMP, so much, because they love Project Management, typically. It's the fact that more and more people are entering Project Management as a "profession", but they do so without the passion. If you don't love what you do, you're going to be mediocre at best, and downright destructive at worst.

We don't need fewer PMP's. We need fewer people who are just looking at Project Management and PMP's for the money they can make. We need more PMP's who will help expand project management as a "real" profession, like a doctor, lawyer, or accountant. We need more PMP's who actually want to get better at project management. Good stuff Gantthead!

Drobo Unboxing Party

So we recently acquired a Drobo Robotic Storage device at work and I thought id would be fun to take some unboxing and installation pics. This thing is incredibly easy to setup and use, so far I give it 4.9 out of 5 stars, only because nothing's "perfect". :)
Here are a few snapshots. Check out my Drobo Unboxing and Installation set on Flickr for more pics (53 in all). Good times!

More Office Updates

OK, so I made a little progress this weekend. The pictures below are of the items I'm discussing here. IF you want a little more detail, check out My Messy Office on Flickr

- I got rid of the XPS laptop.


- I set up the two Samsung monitors, previously in the closet, on the main desk in a portrait configuration.


- I finished my niece's laptop and got it out of there.



- I told my cousin he has until the end of the week to get the HP desktop, and any other computers he wants out of the bunch, or I'm gonna sell it.



- I'm giving the old cell phones (about 40 in all) to the Cell Phones For Soldiers organization. They recycle old cell phones and use the money to buy calling cards for active duty military personnel.

Office Cleanup - Step One - The Plan

OK. So here's the plan. Taking much of the great advice I've read on LifeHacker, I've decided that only things I use on a regular basis will make it's way back into my office.

Now, being a technophile, a LOT of techie stuff is actually used on a regular basis. I'm constantly using computers, PDA's, phones, iPods, UMPC's, laptops, etc. It just depends on what I'm working on at the time. I do not, however; use a lot of pens, paper, or other "office supply" type items. SO I will keep these to a minimum.

There are some key aspects that need to be taken into consideration:

1. I have to have a "dump" spot, to empty my pockets of the MANY items I carry with me for work. I have a Blackberry Curve, a badge, sunglasses, a watch, my personal Blackberry Pearl, some company "stuff", a Bluetooth headset, my wallet, my keys, my company laptop bag, and (though rare) any cash I may have in pockets. Whew! That's just unloading from when I get home in the evenings.

2. I use a LOT of computers. Granted, I don't use them all at the same time, but I do move from machine to machine performing various tasks and projects. Given that I find myself using the desktop more and more, when I'm working in the office, I think I'm going to move the desktop to the main desk and the laptop the secondary desk.

So here's the computer plan:

- The desktop goes to the main desk.
- The D620 laptop goes to the secondary desk, along with a monitor and keyboard for the FreeNAS server.
- The various cables, connectors, and tools will go into thesze nifty litte zipper bags I found at Wal Mart:



My idea here is that I put different types of cables in different zipper bags. If I have too many of one type of cable, I put the excess in storage in the garage, in case I need them for something in the future.

3. I need to trim the amount of electronics I have overall. For example, I have 2 Dell Axim's that I NEVER use, and probably never will, because this particular model doesn't have Wifi, so it's pretty much useless to me. I keep thinking I might get a GPS kit for it, but I know I'm probably not going to do that any time soon.

4. Magazines need to get read and get out. I'll be donating these to a Dr's office of something. I have tons of Windows IT Pro, CIO, PMI, Information Week, Disaster Recovery Journal, and Linux Journal magazines. All timely. All have great information, but I really have no use for it once I've read them.

5. Media is fairly well organized, compared to the rest of the office. I have most of the DVD's in one location, most of the musis CD's in two zipper cases, and most of the VHS tapes... Holy crap I still have VHS tapes?!@!%^$#*@# OK, so the VHS tapes need to be converted to DVD on my Magnavox VHS=>DVD machine, so let's scratch that.

6. All "olde" tech goes "buh bye". No excuses. If I can't plug it in and get an immediate benefit from it, it's either sold, donated, or trashed.

7. All project gear (i.e my Vyatta router, my old DC/DNS server, etc.) goes to the "lab" (A.K.A. the garage) for further processing and analysis.

8. External devices are always an issue. I like the idea of an under the desk gadget mount, but I don't think I want to implement one at this time. So what I will be doing is putting all of my gadgets in one location, close to the computer itself.

9 Cable management will be solved by cutting my own cables to the correct length, where I can, and mounting custom cable management system where I cannot.

OK. So that about lays out my preliminary project scope.

Time To Clean The Office...

OK. So if you've followed this blog at all, you know that I've struggled with what exactly to do with my home office. So, in the interest of embarrasing myself into fianlly geting it done, and keeping myself to a schedule, I'm posting picture of it in all of it currently redneck glory.

Before we commence with the pictures, here's some side info: There are 15 photos of of my totally messed up situation here. Yes, I know the office looks like crap, hence the reason for this particular blog post.

First, I will develop and post a plan for performing the cleanup.
Second, I will post the schedule for getting this all done.
Thrid, I will perform the actions and take plenty of pictures so you can see the progress,
Lastly, I will take photos of the complete renovation and I fully expect many "atta-boy" comments. ;)

In the interest of posting pics quickly, and not wanting to type all of the information twice, I've decided to share my Flickr account. Here are the pics of My Messy Home Office.