1. The quality or state of being actual or true.
2. One, such as a person, an entity, or an event, that is actual: “the weight of history and political realities” (Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.).
3. The totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence.
4. That which exists objectively and in fact: Your observations do not seem to be about reality.

There are no facts, only interpretations. ~Friedrich Nietzsc

Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion. ~Democritus

To treat your facts with imagination is one thing, but to imagine your facts is another. ~John Burroughs

How reluctantly the mind consents to reality! ~Norman Douglas

After you've heard two eyewitness accounts of an auto accident, you begin to worry about history. ~Author Unknown

and my favorite...

Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures. ~Jessamyn West

spending a lot of time contemplating reality lately. and what i've come to realize is that the mere fact that some try to impose their reality as fact and absolute totality is absolutely the most insane thing eve in the entire world amen. i'm mean, really? how do you have a discussion with another who believes in absolute totality of their reality? you don't. you end up trying to go along with their beliefs until you can't anymore. or you begin to hate them for it. or both.

i may be stubborn but i stick to my values and my beliefs and i can even try it your way for while. but if you can't try it mine, then i'm out the door. it's called "meeting in the middle". i give a little, you give a little and hey look at that, we've figured out a way to compromise!

my dad surprised me the other day. he told me that he knew my most recent long term relationship wouldn't work not because of all the reason i sighted but simply because i am a giver and he was very clearly a taker. i asked him what he saw specifically that made him come to that conclusion and he simply replied "reality".

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. ~Mahatma Gandhi

Posted by sarah ann at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sarah A. Perry
Managing Software Projects
Class #2 Homework
June 8, 2009
Wideband Delphi
1. Wideband Delphi is a consensus-based estimation technique for estimating effort. It was derived from the Delphi Method, which was originally developed in the 1940’s by RAND Corporation as a forecasting tool. The Wideband variant of the Delphi Method was developed in the 1970’s and was further refined in to a “repeatable process” the 1990’s. It is called Wideband because compared to the earlier versions of the Delphi Method it involves greater interaction and more communication between participants.
2. Two characteristics of the Wideband Delphi method are as follows:
a. You must have a vision or scope document to start using this method.
b. Your team must work together well, as the discussions can get heated and a team that already has friction will find that they run into many disagreements that are difficult to resolve.
3. Two strengths of this method are as follows:
a. This method results in improved effort estimate accuracy. A common problem with estimates is that the estimator does not fully understand what she is estimating and has not fully explored any assumptions. WB Delphi addresses this problem through discussion of assumptions and adjusting the task list (and therefore the effort estimate) accordingly.
b. Stakeholders, users and managers (“observers”) are encouraged to attend these estimate sessions. Assumptions tend to be problem areas and are generally discussed at a level that is understood by observers. Observing these sessions encourages a mutual trust between the technical team and non-technical team and results in an increased stakeholder sense of ownership of final estimates and will generate a greater understanding of how the engineers work.
4. The only weakness I could detect with the WB Delphi method is because you are dealing with human beings who have thoughts and feeling and the method is consensus driven, it is possible that a single team member will disagree with the team’s estimate of a task and will continue to disagree through the course of the project. This can be especially dangerous if the disagreement is over a task being assigned to that team member. This can cause dissension among the group and while there are steps the PM can take to dissolve the matter, you still run the risk of not being able to reach a real consensus.
5. A PM creates an estimate group consisting of a moderator (generally has no stake in the outcome) and between 3 to 7 estimators over a wide range of a project team (managers, developers, designers, architects, QA engineers, requirements analysts, technical writers, etc.). “Observers” are also encouraged to attend (stakeholders, managers, end users).
The vision and/or scope document is reviewed by all members of the team and then they meet for a “Kick Off Meeting”. The moderator explains the method to any new estimators, reviews the goal of the session and then the team discusses the product in development and any assumptions. The team them brainstorms a task list of 10 to 20 major tasks. These tasks become the top level of the WBS (work breakdown structure). The team then agrees on a unit of estimation (days, weeks, lines of code, etc.). The moderator gathers the list of assumptions and tasks generated in this meeting and then distribute them to the team. The team then does “Individual Preparation” and estimates the level of effort (not calendar time) for each task and adds any tasks or assumptions that might have been missed.
The team then has an “Estimate Session”. They begin by discussing each estimator’s additional tasks and assumptions and discuss whether or not to add them to the WBS. Once the final task list of the WBS has been agreed upon each estimator lists a task and their estimated level of effort. The moderator will collect the forms and tabulate the results on a whiteboard. Each estimator calls out clarifications or changes to the task list and changed tasks and newly discovered assumptions or questions are raised. The group resolves any brought up issues or disagreement and they are recorded on the task list. The group then revises their initial estimates and the moderator updates the plot. The moderator leads the team through several rounds of estimates to gain consensus on the estimates. The estimation session continues until the estimates converge, the team is unwilling to revise estimates, or within a two hour time frame.

The PM and the moderator work together to gather the final results. The PM resolves any remaining estimate differences and generates a final task list including level of effort. The PM also creates a spreadsheet of each individual team members final estimate, providing a good report of best and worst case scenario for each task.

A final meeting is held to review and decide if the results are sufficient for further planning.

6. In a forum on different estimation methods, one user noted that Microsoft teams are actively using the WB Delphi method, but I do not know how reliable of a source the user was. Several other articles I read mentioned that this method has proved to work very well in smaller software companies and was also particularly useful in web design and development firms.

Posted by sarah ann at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

i've been the girl so in love with a person incapable of giving me what i needed out of a relationship that i not only went back to him over and over but i gave away every last shred of my self-esteem to keep him.

i've been the girl who not only suffers through an unhealthy, demoralizing relationship but then goes back to it in hopes that time spent apart has inspired him to love me enough to change...or at least try.

and guess what? IT HASN'T.

admitting that is hard. it's step one in getting over you and i swear to god i will get over you or i will die trying.

the rules for day one:

cry. a lot.
no retail therapy.
no isolating.
watch the weight.

game on.

Posted by sarah ann at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

um hi. it's been a while, eh?

need to do better for sure.

news:

ucsc classes for pmp certs. rad.
dmb live two nights at the mgm in vegas. rad.
prop8 upheld by the ca supreme court. not rad. seriously considering finding out how to add a measure to make marriage illegal. my parents divorce fucked me up more than any gay marriage ever did or will.

also i have no idea what i'm doing. fuck.

ok - carry on. nothing else to see here.

Posted by sarah ann at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

i've been hesitant to post about this only because it means if i fail i have to face up to it publicly (sort of, who are you readers?). i've made a commitment to 30 days in row of yoga.

i'm on day 3.

:)

i have my yoga schedule written out for the week, including several options for classes on the weekend and i'm even going to do a class friday morning since i work from home that day (something i swore i would do since i started working from home over 6 months ago).

it's going to be tough on saturday - after a long night or concert at outside lands and a beach party to go to later saturday afternoon - i'll have to get to class at 8am. but i'm determined to make it happen with lot's of pre-planning and just total dedication to my newly developing practice.

after all, i am worth it!

Posted by sarah ann at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)