Just Sail Into The Sunset

Sailboats chase the sun as it descends into the Pacific Ocean. Just another awesome January sunset. 

View from Magic Island (Oahu)

The Waikiki Lights Are On Again

View from Queens Surf

The lights are back on in Waikiki with hope that they remain on as the state navigates the management of Covid-19. There are still many restrictions in place that keep changing.

If you are planning on visiting Hawaii you should do your homework on Hawaii before making your travel plans so you are aware of the current regulations in place. Be prepared for your visit so you can have a memorable vacation.

The Beautiful Hawaii Sunset in July

Nature doesn't care what's going on in the world. Nature is an artist who delivers some beautiful sunsets to view. Every moment in time that goes by you witness a new view. 

I like to make an effort to capture beautiful moments in time that nature delivers. I'm just a romantic that loves sunsets. For a few minutes, you can be mesmerized by the beauty of our world.

Ala Moana Beach Park - Honolulu

Is the Aloha State going down for the count with COVID-19?

Waikiki waiting to welcome visitors back

The countdown to August 2020 to reopen The Aloha State to visitors is in jeopardy with the rise in daily COVID-19 cases. Hawaii was doing very good prior  to July. The carefully staged reopening of the businesses and parks is now yielding some undesirable results with a spike in COVID-19 cases in the state.

Everyone did their part during the shelter in place period to have a low number of COVID-19 cases. It's now July and it looks like people are letting there guard down trying to live like COVID-19 does not exist anymore. I witness a lack of urgency to contain the virus daily when I see irresponsible individuals behaving like someone gave them the all-clear message that COVID-19 is gone.

The State really needs to open up to allow visitors to resume their vacations in the Aloha State, but it could come with a cost of sickness and deaths to bring in revenue to help re-boot a state in dire straits.

The plan to allow visitors to skip the current 14-DAY quarantine law is in jeopardy due to a lack of a clear plan that needs to be in place on August 1st. Everyone needs to be on the same page on how this plan will work. The plan is to have out of state visitors tested 72 hours at a site approved by the Hawaii State Department of Health and provide evidence of negative results upon arrival in Hawaii to skip the 14-day quarantine. This plan is not foolproof. What will happen when some visitors fall through the cracks and bring in COVID-19 and spreads it all around? Is Hawaii able to meet the demands of additional healthcare for visitors with the current spike in resident's healthcare?

By the way, the visitors are responsible for the cost of the testing. That will be an additional cost for their vacation, but a choice many will opt for. States on the mainland are currently seeing a big spike in COVID-19 cases. Is it too early or overdue to open the Aloha State? 

Many questions are awaiting answers with solid action plans while the clock is ticking with the State of Hawaii on the mat after receiving a deadly COVID-19 knock-out punch in the head causing massive hemorrhaging to it's Banana Republic economy that depends heavily on tourism to fund the state.

The Daughter He Never Knew

Daughter / Father

Being a father is a blessing that should bring joy to you. Well, I have a story about a father who did not know he had a daughter until years later when I told him. It's never too late to catch up on the lost years. I found out through DNA results that a person I grew up with has an adult daughter. I contacted the young woman and her story matches the timeline of her father. The young woman without a doubt is the daughter of the person that I will not name for privacy reasons. 

I was very disappointed with the responses from the guy I grew up with when I explained to him that he has a daughter. He was in denial at first and then relived his past and he remembered the timeline of meeting and spending time with a woman that produced a daughter from their encounters. I was told by the father that he parted ways with the woman and had no knowledge of her pregnancy. 

The woman ended up giving the baby up for adoption. The young woman told me she was adopted by a loving family. The guy I grew up with is married with adult children. I feel sad for him that he does not reach out to his daughter because he is afraid of what his family will think.

I will never forget the Father's Day, I broke the news to the guy I grew up with and the outcomes were very disappointing. I know it's a lot to process that you have an adult daughter, but be a father and welcome your daughter to your family.

Happily ever after ending, not, we do not talk to each other anymore, he unfriended me on Facebook. Do I regret telling him about his daughter? Hell no! She is a very nice person.

The Aloha State - Closed (Covid-19)

Waikiki - Covid-19

Waikiki hotels are dark, with hope and optimism that better days are ahead in the Aloha State. The state imposed a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving into the state. All visitors need to stay put in their hotels for 14 days and residents staying put in their homes for 14-days. Break the quarantine and you will be fined and arrested with jail time. Vistors that have been arrested have been sent home to avoid jail time. The 14-day quarantine is scheduled to end on July 31st, 2020.

The state is slowly re-opening now with a majority of hotels opting to keep their doors closed until the 14-day quarantine is lifted. The business that depends on tourism is hurting bad. The 14-day quarantine can be extended past July if the Governor feels that the state is not ready yet to handle a large volume of visitors that could infect the state. 

Hawaii is counting the days to welcome back visitors. Right now the state prefers visitors to postpone their visit until the pandemic is under control. 

Special Friends

Meeting a new person is a blessing that is just priceless when you make that initial connection and the two of you hit it off. Your friendship will grow over time as you learn more about each other. Friendship is all about respect and knowing each other's boundaries. 

The types of friends we have can be near you or far away with technology bridging the gap. We live in a busy world that limits us from hanging out with our friends so technology helps us stay in the loop with each other. Facebook and Instagram allow us to share our lives with pics from moments that we capture on our smartphone that is always with us.

There are really special friends that call you or send a text message to you. They are checking in on you to remind you that they are thinking about you. That is so sweet to know that you have a friend thinking about you and reaching out to you. 

Make a friend's day by calling or texting a sweet message to them. It will make their day!

Job Shadowing the Daily Work Routine

Job Shadowing in the Project Initiation Phase will provide a good view of a day in the life of a department. Business Analysts use job shadowing to gather requirements and document the workflow processes. You don't have to be a Business Analyst to job shadow; project team members need to wear many hats at times. 

Process Improvement is the goal of job shadowing when you are replacing a system. Information that is collected from job shadowing will be used to compile your project requirements to achieve the defined deliverables. This is also a good time to start defining Key Performance Indicators that will be used to validate that process improvement is being achieved. Start making notes on Test Cases that will be used to validate the KPIs.

The Project Plan should have the defined KPIs evaluated at the appropriate time in the project timeline when results can be measured in a controlled environment. If all KPIs meet expectations, then a project Milestone is truly earned. If KPIs do not meet the expectations, then it's time to stop moving forward on the project so an evaluation can be done to address the failing KPIs. That's why you need good Test Cases to flush out any possible issues. 

My Final Thoughts on Job Shadowing that is a valuable project activity that should be used as much as possible to avoid disappointed Stakeholders after a project is delivered and it cosmetically looks good, but that's it, no improvement achieved. 

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in May 2020)

A Serene March Sunset in Waikiki

Beautiful view from a balcony at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel - Waikiki

March delivers very beautiful sunsets in Waikiki. Always make the time to enjoy the beauty that nature creates. Set your mind free from all the craziness that is going on in the world and focus on those beautiful moments in time. 

Mother Hen Leadership

Project Managers can learn from watching a mother hen taking care of her chicks. It's a neverending job keeping watch over those chicks to make sure they are safe and don't wander off and get lost or into trouble.

The Project Team needs a good leader. The Project Manager needs to always keep an eye on the team to make sure everyone stays on track. You need to be involved, but do not micromanage your team. Let them be independent like chicks so they can develop and become valuable team members. Be there to steer the team members back on track when you notice that they are lost and need some guidance.

Having good intuition is a plus. The picture I snapped illustrates the mother hen being concerned because she has a feeling that one chick is missing because there are only five chicks around her so she takes to higher ground to get a better view of whats going on.

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in December 2019)

Merry Christmas from Hawaii - 2019

The Sheraton Waikiki continues the Christmas tradition of displaying a Santa Claus & Mrs. Claus sand sculpture in the hotel lobby every year. If you are in Waikiki make some time to pose with the sculpture to capture a nice Christmas pic. 

Mele Kalikimaka means Merry Christmas in Hawaiian.

Sheraton Waikiki - Lobby 

Who Lives in My Heart

Life is a journey that will allow us to meet many people in our path or their path. Technology allows us to keep in touch with those people that we made a connection with.

A connection is a person that shares a common interest or you just like staying in touch with each other. 

The special connection is a person you meet and interact with frequently. It can be in person or via an app on your phone. Try old school and just call each other like the olden days.

We live in an age that we are on the go all the time. Those neat apps on our phones allow us to share our lives with everyone in our circle of friends so we know what’s going on with each other all the time.

There is no app for who lives in my heart. Your heart knows who to invite in and makes room in it for your special friendships. 

Treat friendship like a wild bird that is meant to be free with no cage. If the bird likes you it will return and seek your company. Put the bird in a cage and lock it up, then see how long it will stay with you. The bird will find a way to escape to be free one day and fly away.

Through the years some of the wild birds in your life will fly away even though they were not in a cage. True friendship is a precious gift that will last through time. 

Summer has arrived in the Aloha State

Summer 2019 has arrived. 

I'm so blessed to live in a place that many visitors spend their precious vacation time $$$$ to visit. I don't take this paradise for granted. I play tourist all the time by taking in the beauty of Hawaii.

If you are planning a summer vacation make it a Hawaii vacation and enjoy the beautiful beaches and fresh air.

Now for Hawaii locals, you need to get outside and enjoy your beautiful state. 

The view from the balcony of the Miyako Japanese Restaurant at The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel
Oahu - Waikiki

Taming the Wild Wild West (Project Management) environment

The Wild Wild West environment that is just focused on completing projects with no regard for an approach with standards works for many companies. The question is how long can a company operate efficiently with the Wild Wild West mindset.  

Bringing in Project Management professionals to run projects in an environment that has been operating in a "let's just get it done" approach will be a challenge. There will be resistance and a waste of my time attitude given. 

Leadership skills to win over the staff and management will be crucial. The Project Manager needs to show confidence and control without intimidating the staff and management. A company that has not practiced structured Project Management will need to be educated on the value it delivers. 

Baby steps, one step at a time will be the approach to get staff and management onboard with practicing structured Project Management with defined approach and standards. Select small projects to start off with. Have a kickoff meeting to go over the expectations of the team when there is a Project Manager running the project. Ask for input from the team so you can make appropriate adjustments to the approach that will be used. Create the project timeline with tasks and distribute to the team. 

Completing a few small projects will provide valuable insight into how well the staff and management adapted to a Project Manager running projects. It will also show the staff and management the value of a project that is run by a Project Manager.

It's ShowTime for the staff and management to be presented with a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation from the Project Manager. The presentations will give an illustration of examples of the approach, standards, and reports. The presentation should be done after you completed a few projects to allow appropriate tunning for approach, standards, and reports. 

I recommend a Hybrid or Hybrid-Plus method to be used. It will be a continuous work in progress to fine-tune as you get to learn more about the company. A hybrid-plus will provide more flexibility.

I have two posts on my blog here on projectmanagement.com for the Hybrid-Plus approach.

The Lean / Agile / Waterfall made to order Hybrid-Plus for software projects

The Hybrid-Plus called The LAW

It's going to be an adventure to go from an unstructured Project Management environment to a well-tuned structured Project Management environment. This is your time as a Project Manager to become an even better Project Manager. All your skills will be tested and tuned. You will be a better Project Manager after you tame the Wild Wild West in the company.

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in March 2019)

The Spectacular March Sunset in Hawaii

Ala Moana Beach Park - Oahu

What can I say! You just have to be there to experience the beauty of nature closing out a day in Hawaii. Just make sure you stop in your tracks and take in nature's awesome display of beauty if you are at the beach when the sun says Aloha, see you again tomorrow.

The Hybrid-Plus called The LAW

Lean Agile Waterfall

A Lean Mind

The entire team needs to have a lean mindset of working efficiently to deliver defect-free deliverables to avoid wasting valuable time that could be spent on other tasks to get ahead.

Being Agile

The project could have some requirements that are still being finalized. Do not let missings requirements holdup the project start date if the missing requirements are not needed in the beginning. Create an Under-Construction task at the anticipated point in the project timeline. The team members need to be ready for new tasks to be assigned to them once the requirements are finalized. The Project Manager needs to keep a close watch on Under-Construction tasks in the project to ensure the project timeline stays intact. 

The Waterfall

The project flows like a waterfall. Each team member has important tasks in the waterfall. The timing for a team member to complete their tasks on time in the project is imperative to give other team members adequate time to start their tasks on time. Always keep the project flow in mind on how you affect other team members. We are all in it together as a team. The Project Manager is the safeguard to monitor progress and guide the team along the waterfall. 

The LAW

The ability to deliver any project on time by reducing waste and being flexible with the task assignments. Having a map of the waterfall (aka project timeline) will ensure you don't miss anything. The Project Manager is the architect of the map. 

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in March 2019)

Risk Register (Project Team Members)

The Project Team Members is an important risk on a Risk Register, there are many other risks to add to the register, but my focus on this article is Team Members. 

Project Managers need to focus up front on the availability of team members for a project. The Risk Register should include team members working on different projects, especially concurrent projects. We often assign key staff to multiple projects which is fine if their key dates and implementation have breathing room for safe multitasking. 

The Risk Register will provide valuable insight into how your project team is spread out. The reprioritizing of project dates might be needed to address overallocated staff. It's good to know up front that you are working with overallocated staff so you know the potential risk that could be a showstopper.

Roll the dice or play it safe. Just make sure that management understands all the risks that are involved with overallocated staff.


(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in February 2019)

The Party Invitation Guest Limit

The guest limit for a party should be made crystal clear. Most of the time you will be inviting a couple to a party so you need to make it clear on your invitation that only two people are invited. Get creative on the invitation and create two checkboxes with 1 - attending or 2 - attending. Do not let your guests control the number of people attending. The party budget and seating limitations will dictate how many guests per invitation will be allowed. 

Lack of common sense happens all the time with the people you invite to parties. Avoid misunderstandings by being upfront that there is a guest limit. Remember to indicate that no children are allowed if it's an adult only type of party. 

The Project Presentation

The big day is here to present a proposed project to stakeholders. You prepared a slideshow to provide visual aids so you make a clear presentation. Looks like you are well prepared for this presentation.

I have been to two presentations that blew up with displeased stakeholders. 

Presentation of a proposed cell phone tower in a residential community. It was presented at a neighborhood board meeting. The Project Coordinator started the slideshow and fielded questions that could not be answered. The Project Coordinator started to get nervous and stopped the slideshow and kept dodging all questions from the angry stakeholders. The chairman of the board had to jump in to address the Project Coordinator, he said can you provide the answers? He could not. The presentation was a failure. The Project Coordinator was not sincere to say I will get back to you on that question and just kept on presenting without being able to answer any questions.

Presentation of a proposed major neighborhood road work improvement project at a community town hall meeting. This presentation was slick and well prepared, but it ended in the community disapproving of it. The Project Managers did not crack under fire from the community. They kept their composure. Why did their presentation fail? They did not do a good job collecting traffic data and community input for the presentation. I call the examples they gave cherry picking and the community knew that they were cherry picking. 

Lessons to be learned from the two failed presentations.

1) Have subject matter experts available to help you field questions that you cannot properly answer. You need to anticipate the questions of the stakeholders in advance so you need to be well prepared. It's just common sense.

2) You think you have a polished presentation that will wow the stakeholders. Make sure you have accurate data to support your presentation.

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in October 2018)

The Plastic Bag Ban

Hawaii Say bye bye to free bags on Oahu

The City Council on Oahu approved a nonsense law that went into effect on 07-01-2018 banning plastic bags. Stores will be fined if they give out bags to customers on Oahu without charging 15 cents for each bag. The bags sold will need to be reusable plastic bags that are compostable or paper bags that are recyclable. The store keeps the 15 cents as revenue and the bags sold are taxed adding additional cost for the consumer.

Unprepared shoppers are carrying purchased items out of the store without a bag to show defiance for the bonehead law. Shoplifters are attempting to carry unpurchased items out of the store too. Looks like the stores will need to use that 15 cents to add more security. It does appear that stores have beefed up their security. The consumer is being stalked by store security or staff to look at you as a potential shoplifter making your shopping experience uncomfortable.

The plastic bag ban will not save our planet. The planet will survive. The only thing that can destroy our planet is a Death Star. We need a law banning any construction of a Death Star.

Star Wars - Death Star aka Planet Destroyer