🚀 go-pugleaf

Rob Slade, doting grandpa of Ryan and Trevor wrote:

> BKCNDY2K.RVW   990130
>
> "Countdown Y2K", Peter de Jager/Richard Bergeon, 1999, 0-471-32734-4,
> U$29.99/C$46.50
> %A   Peter de Jager
> %A   Richard Bergeon
> %C   5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON   M9B 6H8
> %D   '99
> %G   0-471-32734-4
> %I   John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
> %O   U$29.99/C$46.50 416-236-4433 fax: 416-236-4448 rlangloi@wiley.com
> %P   330 p.
> %T   "Countdown Y2K: Business Survival Planning for the Year 2000"
>
> The authors have already had one crack at this, since this book is a
> "complete update" (according to the publisher) of "Managing 00."  The
> level of experience is not exactly evident.
>
> Chapter one is a disorganized aggregation of the various types and
> ways that the 2000 year is going to present problems.  (The blame is
> once again laid on Hollerith cards.)  It also tries to present an idea
> of the size and scope of the crisis by looking at the volume of work
> to be done.  Because of the lack of structure, though, the impression
> left is generally one of confusion.  It is also rather odd that the
> authors did not take the opportunity to present more examples from the
> problems that have arisen, and how much work it took to deal with
> them.  (Appendix A gives a "case study": of a fictional company.)  The
> disarray extends into chapter two with discussions of project 2000
> team composition, systems inventories, and a completely bizarre table
> of "best before" dates for Microsoft products.  Talk about embedded
> systems get really disorienting in chapter three.  We are told "an
> aluminum plant began to run amok" (because of leap year, not Y2K) but
> without more details it seems likely that this was due to a process
> control failure, not an embedded system.  There is also mention of the
> failure of older GPS (Global Positioning Systems) in August of 1999,
> without mention of the fact that this only coincidentally falls close
> to December 31, 1999, and has a different cause.  Chapter four returns
> to Y2K projects, with some helpful information.  However, it is also
> clear that this material is dated, since it talks about "event
> horizons" that have passed for just about everyone.
>
> Y2K is a project, like any other project, and chapters five to seven
> basically provide generic project management advice.  Chapter five
> looks at macro planning topics.  There is a rehash of prior material
> and a bit of a checklist in chapter six.  Personnel issues dominate
> chapter seven.
>
> Chapter eight gets into the nitty gritty of conversion with a look at
> date formats, coding, and the windowing, bridging, or wrapping
> approaches to software fixes.  There is a recommendation to look to
> the resources that you have, in terms of general maintenance software,
> in chapter nine.  A list of different types of maintenance tools, and
> how they can be used for a Y2K project, is in chapter ten.  Chapter
> eleven looks at outsourcing and takes a balanced approach, although
> its answer to the all important "how to assess" question is a reminder
> of that old saw: if you can tell the difference between good advice
> and bad advice you don't need any advice.
>
> Chapter twelve is very important to any Y2K plan: how to plan for
> failure.  Which deficiency will create the most mess, and what can you
> do about it?  Legal problems and lawsuits are overviewed in chapter
> thirteen.  For those still needing tools or outsourcing, Appendix B
> lists Y2K vendors.  Appendix C provides information on Web sites.  The
> bibliography in appendix D is, for once, annotated.  Unfortunately,
> when you look at the annotations, they are fairly obviously just
> recycled press releases.
>
> Given the fact that the authors have already had one chance at the
> subject, and have been at the forefront of publicizing the problem, it
> is disappointing that the result isn't of higher quality.  On the
> other hand, one cannot say that it is any worse than the others in the
> pack.
>
> copyright Robert M. Slade, 1999   BKCNDY2K.RVW   990130
>
> --
> ======================
> rslade@vcn.bc.ca  rslade@sprint.ca  robertslade@usa.net  p1@canada.com
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