Data mining replaces the crystal ball

Data mining replaces the crystal ball

Business intelligence solutions have matured to the level where we don't have to ask anymore whether they are useful or relevant. It is a given that they supplement other business solutions. Due to increased competition, there is more need than ever to extract even more business value from business intelligence solutions. - Article published in Sistem, February 2010, p. 8-9....
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Introducing agile methodologies for project management

Introducing agile methodologies for project management

In traditional project management we should know the scope, cost and schedule of our projects. But in reality we often don't know all the details about scope, therefore we can't estimate the project cost in schedule. Agile methodologies have been introduced to deliver quick results and allow the project to address the real needs of the stakeholders. -- Paper presented at ZPM Forum June 3 – 5, 2009....
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Managing projects in Europe and Africa: What can we learn from each other?

Managing projects in Europe and Africa: What can we learn from each other?

Managing projects made up of international teams presents unique challenges in terms of communication, collaboration and managing stakeholder expectations. Being able to adapt to local custom is key in reaching successful outcomes, however, when a project team is made up of individuals from different parts of the world it is unclear which local custom to favor. -- Paper presented at PMI Global Congress EMEA Malta, 19.5. – 21.5.2008....
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Reducing the burden on IT developers

Reducing the burden on IT developers

  IT developers are often overworked, tired, stressed and required to work long hours. There are always new requirements to be implemented, bugs to be fixed and too many urgent tasks to be completed at the same time. Considering that developers must also take care of their professional development in order to keep up with current IT trends, accomplishing all of the above becomes mission impossible. This article looks at ways organizations can better plan developers' time. -- Article published in Sistem July-August 2007, str. 8-9....
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Understanding the success of conversion to Euro projects

Understanding the success of conversion to Euro projects

Lessons learned from conversion to Euro projects show that they were all successful, were completed on time and they achieved expected results without any major issues. Comparing this to the general perception that IT projects are always late, exceed budgets or run into trouble we have to wonder what was different in conversion to Euro projects to make them so uncharacteristically successful. -- Article published in Sistem June 2007, p. 22-23....
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Including the data warehouse in a service oriented architecture

Including the data warehouse in a service oriented architecture

As service oriented architectures are becoming mainstream we should consider how this affects data warehousing. We can expect impacts of service oriented architectures on both ends of data warehousing implementations: in the way we load data as well as in the way we consume it. -- Article published in Sistem November 2006, p. 6-7....
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Jan Korevaar Outstanding Paper Award

Jan Korevaar Outstanding Paper Award

I was the recipient of the 2006 Jan Korevaar Outstanding Paper Award at the 5th ICEC World Congress, held in Ljubljana, Slovenia in May 2006. The title of my paper was Implementing Earned Value Management on IT Projects. The International Cost Engineering Council initiated the Jan Korevaar Outstanding Paper Award to recognize the paper chosen by Congress delegates through their evaluations as the outstanding paper presented at each International Cost Engineering Congress. The award was created in memory of Jan Korevaar, Executive Director of the Dutch Association of Cost Engineers and Assistant Secretary of ICEC for many years....
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Implementing Earned Value Management on IT Projects

Implementing Earned Value Management on IT Projects

Many IT projects do not meet schedule, cost or scope constraints. Trouble is often not recognized due to insufficient procedures and non-existing control mechanisms. According to PMI, Earned Value Management (EVM) is one of the most effective performance measurement and feedback tools for managing projects, enabling the project manager to expose troubles. -- Paper delivered at 1st ICEC & IPMA Global Congress on Project Management, 23.4. – 26.4.2006. ...
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Loading the data warehouse in real time

Loading the data warehouse in real time

Data warehouses are the source for consolidated reporting from various data sources. Due to increasing demands for fast results, data warehouses are required to provide data in real time. The largest and technologically most challenging component of data warehouse implementation is loading the data through the ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) process. The article presents a case study of loading data into a data warehouse in real time. -- Article published in Uporabna informatika, Issue 1 Jan/Feb/Mar 2006, p. 5-14....
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Interview with Ralph Kimball

Interview with Ralph Kimball

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ralph Kimball on one of his many visits to Slovenia, where he was always happy to come both to deliver trainings and to spend time relaxing and enjoying the beautiful Bled region. The interview was first published in Info SRC.SI 2005/Issue 42, p. 5-7. 1. This is your sixth visit to Slovenia. What brings you back? Slovenia is a beautiful country and pleasant to visit. Also, the IT professionals in Slovenia are interested in data warehousing, which I teach each time I visit Slovenia! 2. You have been involved with data warehousing since its early beginnings. How do you see the evolving data warehouse from its early implementations to its recent widespread adoption? Do you believe data warehousing is fulfilling its promise to make information easier to access? What is still lacking? In some ways, the goals of data warehousing have changed very little from the earliest days around 1980. The goal of the data warehouse has always been to...
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