Have You Heard?
The largest online event for SQL Server, Business Intelligence, SharePoint and .NET is about to happen – it’s just days away! The SSWUG.ORG Ultimate Virtual Conference is next week – it’s easy to register and save your spot – there is even a quick video on the home page of the conference that gives all the details –
But you need to act now – it’s only a few days away. When was the last time you attended a conference (70 sessions, 20 speakers) with a money-back guarantee, no travel, incredible content and full access to presenters? This is the bieggest online event, period – check it out!
Watch the video here or Get Registered
(You could even win an Xbox 360 or MSDN subscription!)
Featured Article(s)
Tips for using SQL Server 2008 data types
Here you can find some helpful tips to choose the appropriate SQL Server 2008 data types.
Featured White Paper(s)
Did You Know? It’s Easy to Simplify SQL Server Management: Helpful SQL Server Tips: A Quest E-book
Optimizing SQL Server performance isn’t easy. There’s a lot of information about solving performance problems, but not much a… (read more)
Free PowerShell Scripts for SQL Server
Have you been thinking about giving PowerShell a try, but weren’t sure where to start? Idera offers 20+ free PowerShell scripts for SQL Server that can help you with a number of daily tasks. Try them directly in PowerShell, or using Idera’s PowerShell Plus, a powerful interactive console, script editor, debugger and comprehensive PowerShell learning center.
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Agile Data Warehousing
One of the best resources I have found for Agile Data Warehousing, or simply Scrum and XP techniques is "Agile Data Warehousing" by Ralph Hughes.
This book was written by Ralph and his team of Agile Warehouse professionals. As a team of consultants applying Agile methods to Data Warehousing they discovered and documented many insights and techniques resulting in success.
The book provides a reasonable overview of Agile techniques such as Scrum and XP (Extreme Programming) providing a framework for software development. It also compares traditional waterfall software methodology with Agile techniques contrasting the amount of effort lost in documentation opposed to useful code or automated tests.
So in Agile development where do you start, and what are the skills needed for your team? The book provides great detail on the different team members and skills required for Agile Warehouse Development. The text shows you how to decompose a large project into smaller and smaller stories that can be completed in a short period of time. It demonstrates how to establish a foundation and build on that foundation making more and more robust applications.
How do you know if you are on schedule and within budget? An Agile methodology actually provides more accurate estimates of progress and budget that waterfall technology. The larger your project is, the greater the accuracy of Agile over Waterfall. But, I don’t know everything I am going to do…how can I estimate? Our text provides techniques for daily burn down (progress of the current tasks being implemented) and Velocity (rate of high level initiatives being completed).
Are you working on government contracts which must demonstrate CMM compliance? Agile conforms to CMM requirements quite handily. The text also provides insight into how that is accomplished using Scrum/XP techniques.
The hardest part is how to actually start an Agile project. Ralph provides guidance from his experience leading many new ventures into Agile methodology. He provides reasonable expectations for a team to get rolling. He also provides reasonable expectations regarding when results should be forthcoming from a newly established team.
This book is a great read for anyone doing software development dealing with a database. It is even more helpful if you are doing a Data Warehouse specifically. But the concepts still apply. It is only the first in a series of three books from the same group.
Do you have other good resources you love to use for administering databases, building database software, managing or building onto your SharePoint sites? Send those tips here and I’ll be sure to share with the rest of our members.
Cheers,
Ben