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Monday, November 26, 2007

When is using SharePoint like washing windows?

I was doing some spring cleaning today (Yes, it’s the middle of November. Don’t ask…). My wife set me up with a bucket of ammonia water and another bucket of clear water. The task for me: get done as fast as possible putting in just enough effort to pass the initial inspection. The task as she saw it: get the windows clean, period. Did I mention I’m in a fifth floor walk up and one of the two windows does not have a balcony or fire escape? Oh, now the picture starts to become clearer you say.


As I was cursing under my breath through this labor of love, it reminded me of projects I’ve worked on that have gone awry. Let’s put it in perspective. I have a client of over 7 years (my wife) who has hired me to do a project (the windows), a project that has been done at least once, if not twice a year since the beginning of the contract. You’d think I would have figured it out by now. It’s a four step process:

  1. Wash the window with ammonia water
  2. Rinse the window with clear water
  3. Wash the window again with window cleaner and a rag
  4. Polish the window with paper towels

For some reason, I never begin the project with that plan. I just start slopping away at the windows, knowing deep down it’s never going to be good enough on the first pass. I’m expecting the client to come in to show me what is wrong with the first pass and I’ll fix it from there.

Sure enough, “You aren’t finished are you? What about the corners over here?” Yes, I WAS finished. No, I’m NOT finished, thank you very much.

So, I added the third step of washing the windows, this time with Windex.

“That looks great!”, she says. “Now, what are you going to do about the streaks?” Out come the paper towels, because we do all of our news reading online and don’t have any newspapers to do the polishing.

That’s when it finally hit me… did I tell you I’m really thick headed? Doing a project at home or in SharePoint is the same thing; you have to lay out the plan. You have to know each party’s expectations, agree on the outcome, sketch out the basic timeline and components before even beginning.

The problem with home projects is that I don’t spend anytime making a plan. I just jump in and start “coding”. If I worked that way for all my clients, I’d be out of business.

Since I’m not a beginning window washer, I have no excuse. What’s yours?


Windows

Windows

Windows

Windows

 

Please Join the Discussion

3 Responses to “When is using SharePoint like washing windows?”
  1. Chris Quick says:

    Mark,

    What a nice analogy! Why didn’t I think of this when I was hanging blinds over my windows last week?

    These are excellent points and a reminder that a planned approach is always better (and more cost effective) than an as-you-go approach.

    Chris

  2. Jean Wright says:

    Great post. However, I didnt know window washing required 4 steps. Ammonia, hmm… Learn something everyday.

  3. Mark Miller says:

    Jean,

    You definitely wouldn’t last long at my house as a window washer… you would miss the first step!

    Mark


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