Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • The Value of Code

    It seems that many businesses can operate with a large margin for error. Managers can make some poor decisions, processes can be a bit inefficient, and employees can be disengaged, yet companies can still turn a profit. Non-profits, and certainly government organizations, can run without optimizing their work, much to the chagrin of many. However I continue to find companies that look for ways to not only become more efficient, but also to fundamentally alter their business models by better understanding their particular market. They can turn profits (or operate efficiently) far in excess of the averages for their industry with one tool: software.

    There’s a belief in many of these highly optimized companies that data contains lots of value, but in order to understand and harness the information contained within data, an enterprise must be willing to invest in better software. That requires better software developers. In a forward looking enterprise, that means lots of opportunity for those of us that work with data and build software.

    Those of us that create technical solutions need to learn to better interpret data and find ways to help our clients find and understand the patterns revealed by our software. Those of us that primarily manage data, need to better understand how software renders and showcases information compiled in our databases. We truly have the ability to reshape the way organizations run with our technological skills.

    Computing power continues to grow, accessibility to information improves, and our enterprises become more dependent on our systems. Now is the beginning of an era where we will have tremendous influence in helping change the way business works. I’d urge all of you to continue to look for new ways to manipulate data and find ways that showcase the value that software can bring to your organization. Even if your current company doesn’t value your skills, I bet another one will sometime in the future.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 2.3MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn.

  • Creating Placeholder Files

    I recently wrote about placeholders for disk space. While you can use any file, like large images, video, etc., I’ve found a really simple, easy way to build these files on Windows.

    Contig.exe

    There’s a sysinternals utility called Contig. You can download it from Microsoft and then unzip it on your system. It’s a command line utility, so you can use the /? to get the parameters from it, but here’s what you need to do: use the -n parameter, with a filename and a size.

    That simple. Here’s a sample call:

    placeholders1

    And in text:

    contig -n Hold1.place 1073741824

    That creates a 1GB file (roughly) on my system. I can then copy this file as many times as I want to save space.

    I use folder in the root called placeholder. I put one file in there and then copy it a few times to reserve space.

    Why that size? 1024 * 1024 * 1024.

  • Your Best Work

    Interviewing is hard. We also know that most of us don’t do it well, as evidenced by the choices we make when hiring. How many people have performed at the level you expected when you hired them? There are people that outperform your evaluation, but many more underperform your expectations. I think this is partially that it’s hard to evaluate someone’s skills in a short period of time, but also that the performance someone gives is impacted by the environment they work in. That’s hard to simulate in an interview.

    However, if we ignore that and look to find some method to at least evaluate a technologist’s skills, what do we do? We test, we quiz, we try strange questions. I read an account from a programmer looking to hire other programmers, titled How I ended up conducting the most successful technical interviews with a single question. It’s a good story, and it drew me in as the author followed the same path I’ve followed before.

    Then he exposed his question: tell me about the best project you’ve ever created. It’s simple, and I think it probably works well. Programming is a creative endeavor and those that love doing it, keep doing it. They will have projects they are proud of, if they continue to work to improve their craft. They’ll also be passionate about what they do. I don’t know if this would work in other areas, like system administration, but I’d like to think that most people have done something they’re proud of.

    However I don’t think this guarantees great workers. I guess you can evaluate the way someone approached their project, and how they dealt with issues, but passion does not always equate to great work. I’m an amateur woodworker, and I’m quite proud of my flagpole, but I’m not sure many of you would want to pay me to build one for you. My skill have a long way to go before I could make a living at that craft.

    Steve Jones

     

  • Personal Development

    This editorial was originally published on July 14, 2010. It is being re-run as Steve is on holiday.

    When we go to upgrade an instance, most of us have a process. We have a list of things we need to do, things like perform a backup, copy files, apply patches, etc. There is some definite order to what we do, and the most successful people I know in technology take the time to actually write out a list of steps to be sure they don’t forget anything, checking each item off as it’s completed.

    Why don’t we do that for our careers? Arguably that’s more important than some silly old server.

    One of the presentations that I  give at user groups and SQL Saturdays is my talk on The Modern Resume. I talk in there about some of the things that you can do to raise your profile, build a personal brand, and become more likely to get that next job. However I haven’t really addressed the making of a plan, which is something I need to add after I saw this link on a personal development plan posted by Brian Kelley.

    A personal development plan is a map for your career. A map that’s unique to you and what you want to accomplish. Whether that’s growing your skills in some area, getting a new job, or something else, the plan you build can help focus you and allow you to move clearly in the direction that’s important to you.

    It’s hard to build a plan, harder to stick to it, but perhaps hardest to figure out what to write down your plan. I’d suggest that you start with some short term goals, things that will make your job easier, or provide your employer a short term payback. This is often low hanging fruit, and can help get you thinking about your career. Then move on to longer term, or larger, goals that fit the place you want to be in a year or two.

    Don’t neglect your career as you grow. Give it at least as much attention as you gave that last server migration. You deserve that much from yourself.

    Steve Jones