SQLonCall Show Posted
On the show today – a look at conferences and what they can offer, what you should look for. Find out about different things you can expect and the pros and cons of going to conferences.
> Watch The Show Here
Featured Article(s)
Tips for using SQL Server 2005 stored procedures
Here are some helpful tips to performance tune and optimize SQL Server 2005 stored procedures.
PowerPoint Presentations with the Power of BI
This is just too cool: Connect PowerPoint seamlessly to Microsoft Analysis Services and give business users the ability to create and present dynamic, drillable Intelligent Text, Excel Charts and Graphs, and Microsoft MapPoint Maps. Take advantage of smart report bursting to automatically generate hundreds of finished, professional PowerPoint presentations from within Microsoft Office. Get more information here – great idea!
Tips for Working with Management
Well, first off, a bit of an editorial. Might not be "reality" but… it’s really a managers JOB to listen to and work with their folks. The whole point of having folks with specialties working with you is to use their expertise so you can make good decisions. I’m hopeful that, by and large, this is the case. That managers realize their biggest resource in these decisions needs to be the people with their full attention on the issues of the day at a very detailed level. This does put the burden on you though to provide solid information – information that’s actionable and that gives all of the whole picture so that it can be understood and applied. That’s where our two writers come in today –
Harold writes "One thing that always gets management’s attention is the bottom line.
One thing that techies don’t want to admit is that their actions do affect the bottom line. This is especially true when we make an embarrassing mistake that impacts many people such as having to take down a server because the log files were not managed during the nightly backup. It is the techies opportunity to show they realize the impact and are taking responsibility for their actions. A short summary called an incident report with real figures goes a long way towards creating credibility between the techies and management. When credibility is established, and only when that happens will management listen to the techie. Once established the techie needs to continually nurture that relationship by sharing with management how the day to day activities are saving money. Then make a short list of key issues that the managers confident and you agree on are issues. In no more than a third of a page share the reason, cost, and benefit of the recommendation.
Then be patient because the manager is being bombarded with other great opportunities. Continue to nurture your relationship and you will be successful in getting your "Better" ideas through the "gray" middle layer of management."
Angie essentially agrees, writing "It has been my experience that Management likes to see clear and concise proof that better practices will actually buy them something over the short or long term. Testing has been the key in my career. Its most important not to leave out the soft numbers. Its easy to say "We will get another 25 transactions per second if we do X or Y." Its more challenging to say, "If we implement X, it will save the DBA staff 27 minutes a day, averaging to X dollars a year in resource savings due to Y and Z projects being completed on time or early.""
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Development, Change management, Code and Project deployment: Processes and Automation in SQL Server Environments
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TRANSFORMING EXCEL into a powerful, versatile, completely secure BI data-mining, analytics and reporting tool
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