Minimise the tentacles on the OctopOSS. Keep it simple
Yesterday’s post discussed using smart contracts and Network as a Service (NaaS) to give a network the properties that will allow it to self-heal. It mentioned a couple of key challenges, one being that there will always be physical activities such as cable cuts fixes, faulty equipment replacement, physical equipment expansion / contraction / lifecycle-management. […]
A couple of interesting concepts have the ability to fundamentally change the way networks and services are maintained. If they can be harnessed, we could replace the term “network assurance” with “network healing.” The first concept is SON, which has been formulated specifically with mobile radio networks in mind, but has the potential to extend […]
A recent presentation just reminded me of “The Zen of Python.” It’s a collection of 20 (19?) software principles, particularly as they relate to the Python programming language. Since OSS is software-defined, (almost) all of the principles (not sure about the “Dutch” one) relate to OSS in a programming sense, but perhaps in a broader […]
The problem with OSS is that there are too many problems. We don’t have to look too hard to find a problem that needs solving. An inter-related issue is that we’re (almost always) constrained by resources and aren’t able to solve every problem we find. I have a theory – As much as you are […]
“When you start out in your career, you have a blank canvas, so you can paint anywhere that you want because the shit ain’t been painted on yet. And then your second album comes out, and you paint a little more and you paint a little more. By the time you get to your seventh […]
“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” Warren Buffett (although he attributed it to an unknown author, perhaps originating with Samuel Johnson). What if I were to replace the word “habit” in the quote above with “OSS integration” or “OSS customisation” or “feature releases?” The […]
Data quality is one of the biggest challenges we face in OSS. A product could be technically perfect, but if the data being pumped into it is poor, then the user experience of the product will be awful – the OSS becomes unusable, and that in itself generates a data quality death spiral. This becomes […]
There’s a concept that’s building a buzz across all digital industries – you may’ve heard of it – it’s a little thing called DevOps. Someone (most probably a tester) decided to extend it and now you might even hear the #DevTestOps moniker being mentioned. In the ultimate of undeserved acknowledgements, I even get a reference […]
Have you ever worked on an OSS where a COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) solution has been so heavily customised that implementing the product’s next version upgrade has become a massive challenge? The solution has become so entangled that if the product was upgraded, it would break the customisations and/or integrations that are dependent upon that product. […]
This is the sixth and final post in a series about the four styles of RPA (Robotic Process Automation) in OSS. Over the last few days, we’ve looked into the following styles of RPA used in OSS, their implementation approaches, pros / cons and the types of automation they’re best suited to: Automating repeatable tasks […]
This is the fourth in a series about the four styles of RPA (Robotic Process Automation) in OSS. The third style is Decision Support. I refer to this style as the parrot on the shoulder because the parrot (RPA) guides the operator through their daily activities. It isn’t true automation but it can provide one […]
This is the third in a series about the four styles of RPA (Robotic Process Automation) in OSS. The second of those styles is Streamlining processes / tasks by following an algorithmic approach to simplify processes for operators. These can be particularly helpful during swivel-chair processes where multiple disparate systems are partially integrated but each […]
This is the second in a series about the four styles of RPA (Robotic Process Automation) in OSS. The first of those styles is automating repeatable tasks by following an algorithmic approach to complete regular, mundane tasks. Running an OSS has many high value, challenging tasks for operators to perform. Unfortunately, they also have many […]
“…it’s hard to do big things in a small way, so I suspect incumbents have more of an advantage than they do in most industries.” Nic Brisbourne. The quote above came from a piece about the rise of ConstructTech (ie building houses via means such as 3D printing). However, it is equally true of the […]
OSS is an industry that’s undergoing constant, and massive change. But it still hasn’t been disrupted in the modern sense of that term. It’s still waiting to have its Uber/AirBnB-moment, where the old way becomes almost obsoleted by the introduction of a new way. OSS is not just waiting, but primed for disruption. It’s a […]
Let’s admit it; we’ve all worked on an OSS project that has gone into a period of extended stagnation because of a fear of the unknown. I call them “What if?” scenarios. They’re the scenarios where someone asks, “What if x happens?” and then the team gets side-tracked whilst finding an answer / resolution. The problem with […]
Root cause analysis (RCA) is one of the great challenges of OSS. As you know, it aims to identify the probable cause of an alarm-storm, where all alarms are actually related to a single fault. In the past, my go-to approach was to start with a circuit hierarchy-based algorithm. If you had an awareness of […]
Experts know a lot…. obviously. They have lots of answers… obviously. There are lots of OSS experts. Combined, they know A LOT!! Powerful indeed, but not sure if that’s what we need right now. I feel like we’re in a bit of an OSS innovation funk. The biggest improvements in OSS are coming from outside […]
“An organisation buys an OSS, not because it wants an Operational Support System, but because it wants Operational Support.” So if our customers are not investing in our OSS, what are they actually investing in? Easy! They’re investing in the ability to solve their own problems and opportunities in future. If we don’t actually understand […]
“It’s not unusual for something to be positioned as the high performance alternative. The car that can go 0 to 60 in three seconds, the corkscrew that’s five times faster, the punch press that’s incredibly efficient… The thing is, though, that the high performance vs. low performance debate misses something. High at what? That corkscrew […]
