Testing
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There are currently two jobs up for grabs here at the Amsterdam techno hub of all things environmental. The big one is Unit Head of IT, which means taking responsibility for everything from the smooth running of the servers, to the long range financial planning of our IT infrastructure.
The guy you'd be replacing came to us via management positions at the World Bank, IBM and IFor (the UN deployment in Bosnia). If you think you've got the chops for it we'd love to talk to you.
The other is far more interesting but less glamourous. We'd like a Web Development Co-ordinator, which is how the words 'project manager' were translated when written onto a job description. Key requirements can be expressed in a form we'd hope you'd be familiar with
"As a web development co-ordinator you will work with campaigns to understand their needs and translate them into technical requirements so that our campaigns can achieve their online goals."
"As a web development co-ordinator you will identify, hire and manage outside agencies to develop online applications for Greenpeace so that we get great work and value for money"
"As a web development co-ordinator you will work with the Application Development Team Leader to deliver applications as part of a consistent architectural vision so that our systems function well together"
It says something about the software development world that the answer to the comment
"How many people, I speculated, lacked scales in their kitchen but did have a computer close to hand."
is perhaps 'enough to justify this project.' I've lived with enough geeks to believe this to be true. However I've generally made a point of ensuring that at least one person in every house I've lived in was very serious about their home cooking, so scales have been in plentiful supply (although the PCs to scales ratio was typically 5+) . Still, there's a website for measuring potatos - take a look http://www.howbigismypotato.com
Perhaps more interesting than the site (fascinating as it is) is the blog, which gives a pretty good description of a project developed in iterations. Until I get round to having one of our internal projects set up so we can view each separate iteration I might use this for explaining to internal clients what 'not doing it all at once' actually looks like.
Here's a little something from an internal office campaign I ran trying to get people to spend less time on email.
You will not be able to stay home brother,
You will not be able to login, sit down and doze off,
You will not be able to lose yourself in emailed exchanges,
Sending messages for their own sake,
Because the revolution will be organised
The revolution will be organised
The revolution will not be brought to you in multi-part mime format
In four parts with attatchments
The revolution will not send you minutes of meetings you did not attend
And documents you have no intention of ever reading
Because the revolution knows you have better things to do
The revolution will be organised
The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Alt.goldfish.preservation discussion groups email digest and will not require
You to fill in a read receipt
The revolution will not CC your boss
The revolution will not CC your friends
The revolution will not waste your time with unnecessary email
Because the revolution will be organised
There will be no need to repeat in emails
Things agreed in conversations
There will be no need to repeat in emails
things agreed in conversations
F.Y.I. There will be no need to reply to emails just
Because someone sent them F.Y.I.
There will be no need to phrase your emails
Using language straight from the gutter or to
Defend your opinion using a selection of flames and curses you have been saving
For just the proper occasion
Because the revolution will be polite
It will be OK to get up from your desk
And walk the fifteen meters to your co-worker in order
To arrange the meeting you are going to have in ten minutes time
The telephone you have been given will not be left to recharge
While downloading a new ring tone by Eminem,
Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue or the Prodigy
Because you will be using it
The Revolution does not need to send everyone a message
About its opinion of snack machines, the temperature in the office or the next election
You will not have to worry or panic about messages labeled
Important or urgent, unless they really are
The revolution will not write without punctuation
The revolution will not feel the need to connect your spelling mistakes
The revolution will be organised, it will be organised
The revolution will not be virtual brothers;
The revolution will be live
Apologies to Gil Scott Heron.