It's only week 2 and I'm trying to figure out what to write about and how I'm going to stay motivated to continue for three whole months. My daily routine doesn't quite seem interesting enough to captivate anyone's attention, but I'm going to continue to try because maybe someone out there is actually reading :-)
Rundown
Over the past week I made quite a few large strides. I arranged 1-on-1 meetings with team members and began to dig deeper into what is needed by those that I work with on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I also began to explore the aspects of the job that have been built around a budding monster and how I'm going to tackle this will be an ongoing challenge.
1-on-1 Meetings
Being the youngest member of my team (in both age and tenure) I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to sit down and meet with those around me with so much experience. I gain constant feedback and insight into what it means to be a part of the team and it's great to feel like everyone has something important to teach me. There are so many new concepts and everyone seems to have an opinion that is slightly different from the last so I pick up each section of advice and add to it as I go. It's great to have so much personality because it creates a new step in learning how to manage and communicate in my weekly meetings.
However, being the youngest also means that I have a lot to prove, and often times, I feel looked down upon. Not that I'm disrespected as a person, but more that my opinions are so new, young and probably uneducated. I need to constantly keep in mind that I am still learning, so my opinions and ideas are always open for change. I'm sure this will adapt as I grow into the new role, but I really want to make an impact today, and that's hard when I'm not yet a respected leader. So, I really need to become that leader and prove that I can take charge and value every single opinion and aspect of my new role.
The Monster
This week I also learned about what I'm going to call 'The Monster'. Basically, this is the deep chasm of information that has been scattered across all teams from a previous member. The specific person is no longer with the company, but the remnants of past work remain, and it's partly my job to bottle them up into an organized and well managed location.
The Monster grew as a result of what teams needed. Scripting was created and given for each new aspect that was necessary, but the scripting was very poorly managed and was by no means done professionally. More specifically, most code is entirely un-commented and I am left to sort through it all, learning as I go. I can see, in some sense, that this made the job invaluable because no one truly understood how deep the scripting went. As a result the old process has now become the way of today.
The problem is that team members put together the pieces on their own, and afterwards, more scripting is tacked onto the older scripts to keep the work routine moving. If any of the parts is broken, then new hack jobs are implemented to continue on. This adds to the monster and it continues to grow. I'm not sure how to stop it and it might take a doomsday collapse to start from scratch and do it the right way. Until then, I am left to sweep around the grenades, hoping that nothing explodes.
Results
I know that all of this is just a recap, and unfortunately, I don't have any answers to the issues at this time. Part of my goal is to create the picture and add descriptions of resolutions over time. I just hope that you don't get to bored in the meantime :-)
Cheers!
-Dingle
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
My First Post
THE BEGINNING:
This being my first blog, I figure it will be best to supply a reason for my creation and to set some goals in moving forward. I've been told that writing my ideas will help me to better organize thoughts and display them in a fashion that is useful for others. That being said, I would like to focus on business analysis and the learning process involved in working through my new job and the added responsibilities that it entails.
I began my quest to learn everything there is to know about Business Analysis. Granted, I will never know everything, but with a lofty goal, I will never cease to learn and grow along the way. It's been 3 months thus far so I might be compared to an infant in my learning experience.
Before beginning my job, I read that you should allow 3 months time for learning, meeting new people, and getting integrated into the role and your key responsibilities. Taking a step back to breathe in all of the concepts has been more than challenging to say the least. I say this because my engineering background has taught me to step in and redesign or change a function if it needs updating. For the moment though, I am soaking in the new role and waiting for my chance to make a difference.
BECOMING A LEADER:
From my perspective, my next role is to really step in and lead within the projects that I have been given. But what exactly does this mean? Am I to step on others toes to reach the top? Perhaps I need to make my presence known in meetings and presentations. Maybe I find new and bigger projects that need my assistance...
All of the above questions really get ahead of a well maintained learning process, so how do I find step one? This is a big challenge and making my priorities is going to be key. So what comes first? For me, I have really decided to focus on communication. Forming 1-on-1 meetings with team members to get to know what's working well, what's missing, and what needs to be changed immediately. This allows me to meet all working team members from the IT teams, to the marketing analysis groups, and even financing. What a great opportunity to really expand my communication skills and begin to build relationships that will be essential for future tasks.
GROWTH:
I am still excited to learn every nook and cranny of the new work environment and I am drinking from the never ending fire hose. My goal is to become a knowledgeable employee who is incredibly valued and useful within the company. I can only do this through hard work. Work here is not defined by hours and time that are put into the job, but instead by the intellect that produces useful analysis for those that need it. It's not the end goal that is important, but more the process involved in getting there.
THE END:
This is not the really the end, but merely the start of a long quest to move upward and onward. Hopefully I learn something along the way, and maybe, just maybe, my insight will stir you do the same...
This being my first blog, I figure it will be best to supply a reason for my creation and to set some goals in moving forward. I've been told that writing my ideas will help me to better organize thoughts and display them in a fashion that is useful for others. That being said, I would like to focus on business analysis and the learning process involved in working through my new job and the added responsibilities that it entails.
I began my quest to learn everything there is to know about Business Analysis. Granted, I will never know everything, but with a lofty goal, I will never cease to learn and grow along the way. It's been 3 months thus far so I might be compared to an infant in my learning experience.
Before beginning my job, I read that you should allow 3 months time for learning, meeting new people, and getting integrated into the role and your key responsibilities. Taking a step back to breathe in all of the concepts has been more than challenging to say the least. I say this because my engineering background has taught me to step in and redesign or change a function if it needs updating. For the moment though, I am soaking in the new role and waiting for my chance to make a difference.
BECOMING A LEADER:
From my perspective, my next role is to really step in and lead within the projects that I have been given. But what exactly does this mean? Am I to step on others toes to reach the top? Perhaps I need to make my presence known in meetings and presentations. Maybe I find new and bigger projects that need my assistance...
All of the above questions really get ahead of a well maintained learning process, so how do I find step one? This is a big challenge and making my priorities is going to be key. So what comes first? For me, I have really decided to focus on communication. Forming 1-on-1 meetings with team members to get to know what's working well, what's missing, and what needs to be changed immediately. This allows me to meet all working team members from the IT teams, to the marketing analysis groups, and even financing. What a great opportunity to really expand my communication skills and begin to build relationships that will be essential for future tasks.
GROWTH:
I am still excited to learn every nook and cranny of the new work environment and I am drinking from the never ending fire hose. My goal is to become a knowledgeable employee who is incredibly valued and useful within the company. I can only do this through hard work. Work here is not defined by hours and time that are put into the job, but instead by the intellect that produces useful analysis for those that need it. It's not the end goal that is important, but more the process involved in getting there.
THE END:
This is not the really the end, but merely the start of a long quest to move upward and onward. Hopefully I learn something along the way, and maybe, just maybe, my insight will stir you do the same...
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