John D. Head CONSULTANT | RAINMAKER | COLLABORATION & INTEGRATION EXPERT http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/ en-us Wed, 8 May 2013 14:20:53 -0500 My #IamLUG 2013 Presentation - What’s Next - Application Modernization Roadmap For Socializing IBM Notes and Domino Wed, 8 May 2013 14:20:53 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/my-iamlug-2013-presentation-whats-next-application-modernization-roadmap-for-socializing-ibm-notes-and-domino application modernization John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/my-iamlug-2013-presentation-whats-next-application-modernization-roadmap-for-socializing-ibm-notes-and-domino?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/my-iamlug-2013-presentation-whats-next-application-modernization-roadmap-for-socializing-ibm-notes-and-domino IamLUG 2013 yesterday:

http://www.slideshare.net/johnhead/whats-next-application-modernization-roadmap-for-socializing-ibm-notes-and-domino

Some organizations neglect or under-utilize one of the greatest IT assets in their portfolio - the line of business application. Most were built 10+ years ago with no Web, mobile, or social. This session describes the application revolution taking place, covering the options and best practices required for success. Migration and new development will be compared and contrasted. Real-world data will demonstrate the positive potential return on investment. We will discuss PSC's Application Modernization Center and how it helps move customers from merely maintaining Notes applications to increasing their value with XPages. If your organization is considering a migration or an XPages solution for your Notes/Domino investments, this session is for you!


For those of you that have seen this presentation at Connect 2013 or BLUG 2013 this year, we have made changes. All new sample slides and some new data slides on how to sell XPages are included.

This presentation is not possible without the amazing XPages team that I get to work with every day. Special thanks to Andrew, Ken, Wil, Mark, Kathy, Brad, Troy, Steve, Imran who worked on the projects highlighted. ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/my-iamlug-2013-presentation-whats-next-application-modernization-roadmap-for-socializing-ibm-notes-and-domino http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/my-iamlug-2013-presentation-whats-next-application-modernization-roadmap-for-socializing-ibm-notes-and-domino?opendocument&comments PSC Group’s Michael Blumenthal presenting on Solving Business Problems with SharePoint 2013 at CITAG Wed, 1 May 2013 15:00:00 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/psc-groups-michael-blumenthal-presenting-on-solving-business-problems-with-sharepoint-2013-at-citag Post_LinkedIN John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/psc-groups-michael-blumenthal-presenting-on-solving-business-problems-with-sharepoint-2013-at-citag?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/psc-groups-michael-blumenthal-presenting-on-solving-business-problems-with-sharepoint-2013-at-citag Michael Blumenthal will be presenting on Solving Business Problems with SharePoint 2013.  Please join us by registering here. More info:

Image:PSC Group’s Michael Blumenthal presenting on Solving Business Problems with SharePoint 2013 at CITAG ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/psc-groups-michael-blumenthal-presenting-on-solving-business-problems-with-sharepoint-2013-at-citag http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/psc-groups-michael-blumenthal-presenting-on-solving-business-problems-with-sharepoint-2013-at-citag?opendocument&comments Time to up our game in how we demo XPages Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/time-to-up-our-game-in-how-we-demo-xpages XPages John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/time-to-up-our-game-in-how-we-demo-xpages?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/time-to-up-our-game-in-how-we-demo-xpages
Typically, something like this is what I see in an XPages demo:
Image:Time to up our game in how we demo XPages





There is nothing 'wrong' with this, but it is out of date. It could be showcasing one of the out of the box templates or something custom (as this is), but its way to out of date. So, if you are going to show XPages to someone who has never seen it before, how about something more like this?

Image:Time to up our game in how we demo XPages

Not so small, but at least use the current version of OneUI. Focus on applications that don't look like Notes applications. Highlight something modern. Even better yet, why not showcase something like this:

Image:Time to up our game in how we demo XPages

That doesn't look like Notes. Or even XPages. It looks like a modern web application. But it is XPages:

Image:Time to up our game in how we demo XPages

You don't have to hire a designer to build a UI like this, you can purchase them. This one comes from a Twitter Bootstrap Theme website. You can spend $15 and get a great user interface that you can use with your applications.

XPages injected much needed life into the Domino development space. Let's take advantage of this by focusing on the strengths of the modern web development platform it is. Customers get excited when something looks amazing. ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/time-to-up-our-game-in-how-we-demo-xpages http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/time-to-up-our-game-in-how-we-demo-xpages?opendocument&comments Passion Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:35:19 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/passion PSCGroup John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/passion?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/passion
Last week, both Mark Roden and Kathy Brown blogged about receiving their first star points in the PSC Group's 5 Points of Excellence program. It is our own internal career development program for employees. This is based in something we call Clear Vision, which is the culture at the company. It is a great program that focuses on a person's strengths. Each person can earn 5 star points out of a possible 25. The 25 points are the areas we as a company want to have.

Reading about Mark and Kathy talk about this program and achieving their first points made me smile. They are just two of the many people at PSC Group that were recognized so far this year. That includes myself.

I earned my 5th Star Point in 'Network" (my other two are in Sell, Propose, Mentor, and Evangelize). For myself, this was about how I have taken it upon myself to grow outside of the Lotus community. I sit on a not-for-profit board and am joining the junior board of a major Chicago networking organization in September. I have really pushed myself to build a great network outside of the my friends, or as Ed put it so well, family. As a salesperson, I need that larger network to help PSC continue to grow. To find new and interesting work for our consultants. To meet my own goals.

Working at PSC has been my best professional experience of my life. I look forward to continuing that for many years to come. ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/passion http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/passion?opendocument&comments Hear PSC Groups’ Norm Murrin talk about "Implementing Applications with Django CMS" at CITAG on 4/16 in Chicago Tue, 9 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/hear-psc-groups-norm-murrin-talk-about-implementing-applications-with-django-cms-at-citag-on-416-in-chicago PSCGroup John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/hear-psc-groups-norm-murrin-talk-about-implementing-applications-with-django-cms-at-citag-on-416-in-chicago?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/hear-psc-groups-norm-murrin-talk-about-implementing-applications-with-django-cms-at-citag-on-416-in-chicago Chicago IT Architect's Group on April 16th on "Implementing Applications with Django CMS". A bit more about the talk:

"CMS systems can be a valuable addition to your environment.  With the web getting more flexible and dynamic, can a CMS keep up?  In the presentation Norman Murrin will address how Django CMS can be leveraged to implement dynamic web features including AJAX and custom logic to tailor user content as well as handling basic content management."

CITAG meets at TechNexus at 200 S. Wacker Drive, 15th Floor Chicago, IL USA. The meeting runs from 5:30 PM until 8 PM. ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/hear-psc-groups-norm-murrin-talk-about-implementing-applications-with-django-cms-at-citag-on-416-in-chicago http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/hear-psc-groups-norm-murrin-talk-about-implementing-applications-with-django-cms-at-citag-on-416-in-chicago?opendocument&comments PSC at IamLUG 2013 Mon, 8 Apr 2013 15:00:00 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/psc-at-iamlug-2013 PSCGroup John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/psc-at-iamlug-2013?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/psc-at-iamlug-2013 IamLUG 2013 on May 6th and 7th in St. Louis, MO USA.
Image:PSC at IamLUG 2013



PSC Group, LLC has been a big supporter of IamLUG since the first one in 2009. PSC is one of two Gold sponsors. We will have a table talking about our solutions and the Application Modernization Center. We also have a few sessions the fantasic PSC team:

Don't Roll Your Own, Integrate...Collaboration On the Ground and In the Clouds
Speakers: Troy Reimer Kathy Brown Track: Development
Your users want to collaborate, so how do you provide that ability within your XPages applications without coding from scratch? Troy and Kathy will show you how to take advantage of existing collaboration capabilities and integrate them with your apps. They will begin with a simple integration of XPages and TeamRooms. Next they will demonstrate more complex integration, using XPages to surface data like files and activity streams from IBM Connections and SmartCloud Engage, using the IBM Connections API.


Opening the Toolbox: Tools for the Domino Developer
Speakers: Julian Robichaux Kathy Brown Track: Development
It’s always important to have the right tool for the job. You wouldn’t use a screwdriver to hammer in a nail. It might eventually work, but it would take a lot longer. Tradesmen like plumbers and electricians make it look easy, but sometimes it is because they have all of those specialized tools. Julian and Kathy will open up the toolbox and show you some of the tools available to make your job as a Domino Developer even easier. Even better, most of the tools are free! They’ll cover tools for agents, XPages, browsers, testing, ideas for building your own tools, and more. It's like a home improvement show for developers!


What’s Next? Application Modernization Roadmap For Socializing IBM Notes and Domino
Speakers: John Head  John Beck Track: I Don't Know Where This Fits
Some organizations neglect or under-utilize one of the greatest IT assets in their portfolio - the line of business application. Most were built 10+ years ago with no Web, mobile, or social. This session describes the application revolution taking place, covering the options and best practices required for success. Migration and new development will be compared and contrasted. Real-world data will demonstrate the positive potential return on investment. We will discuss PSC's Application Modernization Center and how it helps move customers from merely maintaining Notes applications to increasing their value with XPages. If your organization is considering a migration or an XPages solution for your Notes/Domino investments, this session is for you!


I look forward to seeing everyone there! ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/psc-at-iamlug-2013 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/psc-at-iamlug-2013?opendocument&comments Application Modernization vs. Migration : When Apples to Apples doesn’t make sense Thu, 4 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/application-modernization-vs.-migration-when-apples-to-apples-doesnt-make-sense PSCGroup John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/application-modernization-vs.-migration-when-apples-to-apples-doesnt-make-sense?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/application-modernization-vs.-migration-when-apples-to-apples-doesnt-make-sense
As I talk with customers about projects, there is a lot of discussion around 'modernizing our applications.' For those of you that know me and have heard me speak, this is a topic right up my alley. Almost every customer has applications that are years old. How many years varies, but let's call them from 5 to 20 years old. These applications still run. They still perform the business function they were built for. They get tweaked here and there, but for the most part, they are left alone. IT organizations focus on new OS, ERP, CRM, and HR systems. Line of business applications are left to run as they are.

As organizations begin to think about taking these applications and modernizing them, an organization needs to approach the project correctly. Many times, this is looked as an application migration. Let's get the application to a new platform that is our current focus. Let's migrate the business process, data, and whatever else is part of it. There are many cases that this is the best option. But there are other cases where modernization will produce the best outcome. Every platform has a modernization vs. migration story. For the IBM Collaboration Solution folks reading this, this is the XPages story. There are different stories for the Visual Basic 6, AS/400, and many other platforms out there. But let's talk about the XPages story here.

When you are looking at taking an existing Notes application and you want to create an XPages version, treat it as an application modernization. Tear the application down. Go through the process, the design, the logic, the integration points, and the user stories. Look at what can be improved. What is not being used. What new business requirements are in the organization. Build a new XPages application, using the schema of the core forms and views, and create a new experience. Do not treat this as a migration of moving every bit and byte from one version to the next. The costs of porting everything from the Notes app to a new XPages version will outweigh the shiny new application

Application Modernization is more than a new user interface. It is more than writing Java and JavaScirpt vs. LotusScript. This is the time to create a new user experience. To streamline the business process. Cut out steps not needed. Detach the application from a rich client model and make it work in a browser or on a mobile device. Inject new ideas such as social, analytics, and other current trends. Reinvent the way the application is used and the outcome it shapes. Apples to Apples does not make sense here. Make apple pie out of the apples and change the story. The effect this will have on the users and things like ROI is huge. ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/application-modernization-vs.-migration-when-apples-to-apples-doesnt-make-sense http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/application-modernization-vs.-migration-when-apples-to-apples-doesnt-make-sense?opendocument&comments BLUG 2013: Application Modernization: Where Consumer, Social, and Mobile Converge Fri, 22 Mar 2013 05:33:45 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/blug-2013-application-modernization-where-consumer-social-and-mobile-converge BLUG John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/blug-2013-application-modernization-where-consumer-social-and-mobile-converge?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/blug-2013-application-modernization-where-consumer-social-and-mobile-converge
Application Modernization: Where Consumer, Social, and Mobile Converge from John Head


BLUG 2013 has been an amazing conference. 300+ people, the best LUG keynote I have ever seen (by Scott Souder and Louis Richardson), and a wonderful two days of content and chocolate. Well done Theo! ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/blug-2013-application-modernization-where-consumer-social-and-mobile-converge http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/blug-2013-application-modernization-where-consumer-social-and-mobile-converge?opendocument&comments The @Pebble Watch Arrives - Unboxing and First Impressions Mon, 11 Feb 2013 22:43:03 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/the- Pebble John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/the-?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/the-
Image:The @Pebble Watch Arrives - Unboxing and First Impressions

Front of the box

Image:The @Pebble Watch Arrives - Unboxing and First Impressions

top of the box

Image:The @Pebble Watch Arrives - Unboxing and First Impressions

Side of the box - you can see how the opening is part of the box. Apple totally changed the way that people think about packaging.

Image:The @Pebble Watch Arrives - Unboxing and First Impressions

The box open. Watch and charger. No manual. Nothing but that image and a URL.

Image:The @Pebble Watch Arrives - Unboxing and First Impressions

The usb to custom magnetic charger end.

Image:The @Pebble Watch Arrives - Unboxing and First Impressions

The Pebble itself.

Image:The @Pebble Watch Arrives - Unboxing and First Impressions

I know some of the photos are bad, but I wanted to show the size. Here is the charger attached to the watch.

So first impressions:
  • Watch is big. Even on my wrist.
  • Once you start charging the watch, a quick 2 second push of one of the 4 buttons turns it on.
  • Backlight is nice.
  • Pairing via Bluetooth easy.
  • Updating with iPhone app - took a while for the update to be recognized but worked from there.
  • Today, you can get the watch, get notifications, control music on your phone, and set an alarm. That is it. None of the cool apps are turned on yet.
  • Watch vibration for alerts is very strong.
  • When you get a call, it vibrates and shows the CallerID. Very cool.
  • The watchband is heavy, uncomfortable plastic. must replace it.
So first impressions are good. But there is much to do to make this worth what I paid. Or for the big ugly brick on your wrist. Looking forward to all the custom apps. ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/the- http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/the-?opendocument&comments #IBMConnect sessions by the PSC Group, LLC Team and from many more! Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:17:11 -0500 http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/ibmconnect-sessions-by-the-psc-group-llc-team IBMConnect John D Head http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/ibmconnect-sessions-by-the-psc-group-llc-team?opendocument&comments http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/ibmconnect-sessions-by-the-psc-group-llc-team Chris Miller a.k.a IdoNotes has put together. You can access the IBM Connect 2013 and Lotusphere Slides database here. From PSC Group, here are our sessions:

BP103 jQuery: The World’s Most Popular JavaScript Library Comes to Xpages - Mark Roden
BP211 Lessons Learned from the World’s Largest XPage Project - Andrew Barickman and Mark Roden
SHOW111 XPages: No Experience Needed - Kathy Brown and David Leedy
AD214 What’s Next? Application Modernization Roadmap for Socializing IBM Notes and Domino - John Head and John Beck ]]> http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dxcomments/ibmconnect-sessions-by-the-psc-group-llc-team http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/ibmconnect-sessions-by-the-psc-group-llc-team?opendocument&comments