We've added a new discussion group board for users of IBM's Rational Data Architect.  As with our other boards, this group is moderated.  You can participate via the Web, Mailing Lists, RSS, or Newsgroups.

Join the Rational Data Architect User Discussion Group

If you currently have a discussion group account for one of our other boards, that same account will work with the new RDA group.

As this is a brand new group, any assistance you can give us in letting RDA users that a new community has been established would be greatly appreciated.  We also invite IBM staff who work with RDA to join our group.

As a reminder, group policies and a group FAQ are available.

Karen will be leading this Tuesday's CA Summer Webcast on Starting with more than a Blank Page: Modeling with Industry Standard Data Models.  NEW - Watch a RECORDING of the webcast.

21 August 2007, 1 PM to 2 PM Eastern

If you've ever been asked to evaluate, use, or review third party data models, you'll want to attend this one hour event.

She will talk about the costs, benefits, and risks of working with these specialized type of pattern models, as well as 10 myths associated with using them.  Finally she will highlight the steps you should take if you are working with industry models.

Registration is required, but the session is free of charge.

A question and answer session will be offered at the end of the presentation.  InfoAdvisors subscribers are especially welcome to ask questions and debate - just as you do on our discussion groups.

Thank you for attending the CA Summer Webcast on Starting with More than a Blank Page.  At InfoAdvisors.com you'll find articles and videos about ERwin Data Modeler as well as tool-independent content.

You can sign up for our user discussion groups and create a member profile, if you'd like.

I was helping a friend check out job listings at Amazon.com when I came across this listing for a Business Analyst:

Qualifications

The successful candidate must demonstrate the following:

• Outstanding attention to detail, problem solving, and analytical skills  - Check
• Excellent written and spoken communication  - Check
• Excellent communication skills at all levels with the ability to present information in a professional and mature manner - Check
• Ability to work effectively to tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment - Check
• Understanding of Linux or Unix operations systems desired. - Check
• 3-5 years of demonstrable experience in at least one of the following financial processing areas:  procurement, asset management, accounting, accounts payable, and/or lease management. - Check
• Knowledge of Information Technology, including computing, storage and networking equipment. - Check
• Strong skills in Microsoft Office Suite (i.e. Excel, Word, and Outlook) are required. - Check Experience working with ERP software systems (i.e. Oracle/Remedy) is a plus, as is the ability to mine data and maintain essential metrics using these applications. - Check
• Track record of success in a fast-paced environment. - Check
• Ability to lift and move up to 75 lbs and assist team members as needed in the receipt, transfer and disposal of assets, with accommodation. - Uh....No

I'm not sure my friend could lift and move up to 75 pounds, unassisted.  I'm hoping this is an error...or is that that BAs at Amazon are expected to pitch in and help move skids of books around on their down time?  I can see some recruiter busy screening candidates against that last one, rejecting all kinds of excellent candidates because they don't look strong enough.

I've laughed at insane requirements in job postings -- you've all seen them - "5 to 10 years deploying Windows Vista in corporate environments", "5 years hands-on experience with EA/Studio", etc.  But what's the weirdest/most outlandish requirement you've seen?

Do you count the time reading this blog as a break?  Wasting time?  Professional Development? If you boss came up to you right now as you are reading this, would you be tempted to minimize the window or to share it with her?

I know situations vary, but as "hired labour", I tend not to do a lot of professional development while at client sites, at least not during regular office hours, as many believe that consultants should be 100% nose-to-the-grindstone busy during all hours on site.  I agree, somewhat.  I do usually take some time first thing in the morning to catch up on overnight e-mails (off shoring has a huge impact on my e-mail schedule) and evenings to take care of less direct client work, if allowed and supported by my clients.  I'm usually working on projects that require travel away from home, so taking advantage of a more secure Internet connection is good, but the usual reason is that I'd much rather work at a real desk with a real desk chair than spend hours on a tiny hotel "desk" trying to get work done.

I came across this story by Information Week on work habits, focusing especially on work habits of younger versus older workers:

Hardly Working? Survey Exposes The Mind Of A Time Waster

Are you working hard or hardly working? A new report out Wednesday may shed some light on why employees waste 20% of their workdays and why that may not be such a bad thing.

Salary.com's 2007 Wasting Time Survey showed the average employee spends 1.7 hours of a typical 8.5-hour workday on activities unrelated to the job. Almost 35% of respondents said they spend time on the Internet for personal reasons, 20.3 said they socialize with co-workers, and 17% conduct personal business. Respondents also said they make personal calls and take long breaks to run errands. The third annual review was conducted with 2,000 employees across all job levels through America Online and Salary.com users in June and July.

The average worker wastes less time this year than last, but companies still pay billions for nothing in return.

It's a bit of a head scratch-er for me...I remember it was only 10 or 12 years ago when IT professionals actually went on breaks - coffee breaks, often for 30-40 minutes at a time.  We got up, went to a cafeteria or outside park bench, and sat and talked about anything but work.  Sometimes work topics we raised and either we extended the break, or someone was smart enough to get the conversation deferred until we were back in side.  To make matters even more complex, we did this again at lunch and in the afternoon.  Good consultants didn't bill for this time, but employees expected this to be treated as part of their work day.  They didn't punch in, but this break time was considered part of their work environment.  It wasn't sneaky and it wasn't hidden.  Typically the breaks were 20-30 minutes and lunch was 30-60 minutes, depending on the organizations policies.

I have not worked in an IT shop for a long time that practiced such formal break times.  Most breaks these days are less formal, in smaller groups, and just managed by a supervisor.  Some supervisors frown on any break time for any reason (you've worked for those guys, I'm sure), while others take breaks with their staff to discourage burn out and increase creativity.

What intrigued me most was this point about generational differences:

More than 63% of respondents admitted to wasting time at work, and younger workers waste more time than older ones. Employees between the ages of 20 and 29 waste about 2.1 hours a day. The average for employees ages 30 to 39 drops to 1.9 hours, while people between the ages of 40 and 49 waste just 1.4 hours daily.

Nearly 18% of employees say they waste time because they "don't have enough work to do." Almost 14% said their hours are too long. About 12% say they're underpaid and 11.1% say their work is not challenging and that is why they waste work time.

I wonder if the wasted time is in addition to any sort of formal breaks, or hidden time spent e-mailing jokes and reading up on some starlet's newest rehab revolving door?  I wonder if it is checking out InfoAdvisors.com or posting to our discussion groups?  I also wonder if the time wasting activity differs based on generation.  Is a Baby Boomer's paying of a gas bill counted as 5 minutes of wasted time, or would a Boomer likely treat that just part of the balance of work and life?  Is the 5 minutes a Gen Mer spends forwarding an e-mail of a You Tube video link to a friend counted towards waste or is that part of her work life balance?

If a Gen Yer reads an article on the costs and benefits of using a surrogate key, does he treat it as wasted time, training, or work?  How about a Boomer?

Certainly some managers feel that anything not directly applicable to the day's task at hand is a waste of time, but do you?