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Welcome

Tags: @ 11:30 pm |

Hi. My name is Paul Culmsee of Seven Sigma Business Solutions and welcome to my blog. For my bio, go to my about page. On this site, I discuss mainly SharePoint issues, with particular reference to strategy, governance and return on investment issues, but sometimes I end up writing techno-babble articles too

If you are an IT decision maker, and non propeller-head, or simply interested in topics on the softer side on people and technology, then the articles listed on the right side of this screen are probably for you. For the technical oriented readers, the left side is probably what you are looking for. I do write long posts, I’ll admit, but I try and keep them interesting with some humour.

If you would prefer to view this blog the way your RSS reader sees it (newest posts first), then click here.

SharePoint Performance Management Series Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 1 – How to stop developers blaming the infrastructure Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 2 – So what is RPS anyway? Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 3 – Getting at RPS Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 4 – Making use of RPS Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 5 – So what is latency anyway? Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 6 – The unholy trinity of Latency, IOPS and MBPS  Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 7 – Getting at Latency, IOPS and MBPS Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 8 – More on SQL and SQLIO Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 9 – Don’t believe everything you R/W Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 10 – More tools of the trade…  Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management Part 11 – Tales from the Microsoft labs SharePoint Branding Series 1 Branding Part 1 – How CSS works with master pages Branding Part 2 – How CSS works with master pages Branding Part 3 – How CSS works with master pages Branding Part 4 – Packaging up your masterpiece into a Feature Branding Part 5 – Feature Improvements and Bugs Branding Part 6 – A "solution" to all issues? Branding Part 7 – The governance of it all SharePoint Branding Series 2 More Branding Part 1 – Customisation using JavaScript More Branding Part 2 – Customisation using JavaScript More Branding Part 3 – Customisation using JavaScript More Branding Part 4 – Customisation using JavaScript More Branding Part 5 – Customisation using JavaScript More Branding Part 6 – Customisation using JavaScript Free MOSS/WSS 2007 Web Part – Hide Controls via JavaScript InfoPath Sack Justin Bieber with SPD2010 and Forms Services – Part 1 Sack Justin Bieber with SPD2010 and Forms Services – Part 2 A tribute to the humble "leave form" A tribute to the humble "leave form" – Part 2 A tribute to the humble "leave form" – Part 3 A tribute to the humble "leave form" – Part 4 A tribute to the humble "leave form" – Part 5 A tribute to the humble "leave form" – Part 6 A tribute to the humble "leave form" – Part 7 A tribute to the humble "leave form" – Part 8 Enterprise Integration SharePoint Webcasts: Reporting Services for the Really Really Good Looking "Ain’t it cool?" – Integrating SharePoint and real-time performance data – Part 1 "Ain’t it cool?" – Integrating SharePoint and real-time performance data – Part 2 New book preview – SharePoint 2007 Developers Guide to the Business Data Catalog  Application Development SPD workflows- “ERROR- request not found in the TrackedRequests” Review – Understanding SharePoint Journal Developers who do a “Russell Crowe” SharePoint Event Handlers – things to look out for Form Services and SPD Workflows… STSDEV – Pure Genius Troubleshooting How not to troubleshoot SharePoint Troubleshooting SharePoint (People) Search 101 Migrating managed metadata term sets to another farm on another domain An obscure “failed to create the configuration database” issue…  Troubleshooting SPSearch and good practices for moving large files  It’s email integration Captain, but not as we know it (problems with incoming email handling on SharePoint 2010 Un-managed metadata – A couple of gotchas More User Profile Sync issues in SP2010: Certificate Provisioning Fun Consequences of complexity–the evilness of the SharePoint 2010 User Profile Service Why me? Web part errors on new web applications Index index everywhere but not a result in sight. SQL Server oddities SBS 2008, Hewlett Packard, WSS3, Search Server 2008 Express and a UPS – Oh the pain! Missing metadata with Office 2003 – yet another “duh” moment… Cannot restore from recycle bin – nested folders Sometimes Microsoft bashing is justified Good advice hidden in the Infrastructure Update Office Server Search memory leak and stuck on crawling SQL Logins and AD Accounts can bite Darn IIS and Service Packs! Gary Lapointe is a genius (and has good music taste too) DCOM Fun with SharePoint Poor windows explorer view performance in SharePoint- Careful with pre-requisite SharePoint Features A brief sojourn into the world of Exchange 2010 Security Using google to find potentially misconfigured SharePoint sites All in the name of "security"… Cisco Series SharePoint for Cisco Fanboys – Part 1 SharePoint for Cisco Fanboys (darn WEBDAV) – Part 2 SharePoint for Cisco Fanboys (and developers) -Part 3 SharePoint for Cisco Fanboys (and more developers) – Part 4 Sharepoint for Cisco Fanboys (beyond TFTP) – Part 5 SharePoint for Cisco FanBoys (final housekeeping) – Part 6\ WIFI Security: Background, Risks and Mitigation Part 1 WIFI Security: Background, Risks and Mitigation Part 2 An annotated IPSEC example Offbeat MOSS World Name Dropping To the company about to make me an offer too good to refuse… Fun with "wicked problems" SharePoint – Helping me become a "kept man" Toddler insights into understanding I bet it seemed logical at the time jQuery- SharePoint Blu-Tack

SharePoint Architect Series Confessions of a (post) SharePoint Architect: Midwives versus doctors Confessions of a (post) SharePoint Architect: Don’t define “governance” Confessions of a (post) SharePoint architect: Do not penalise people for learning Confessions of a (post) SharePoint Architect: The self-fulfilling governance prophecy Confessions of a (post) SharePoint architect: Yellow belt platitude kung-fu Confessions of a (post) SharePoint architect: Black belt platitude kung-fu Confessions of a (post) SharePoint Architect: A pink box called chaos… Confessions of a (post) SharePoint architect: The dangers of dial tone governance… Confessions of a (post) SharePoint architect… What are you polishing? Confessions of a (post) SharePoint architect… “Thou shalt NOT”  Cloud Computing The cloud is not the problem–Part 1: Has it been here all along? The cloud isn’t the problem–Part 2: When complex technology meets process… The cloud is not the problem–Part 3: When silos strike back… The cloud is not the problem-Part 4: Industry shakeout and playing with the big kids… The cloud isn’t the problem–Part 5: Server huggers and a crisis of identity The cloud isn’t the problem–Part 6: The pros and cons of patriotism Dialogue Mapping New videos: Demonstrating the value of Dialogue Mapping Australian SharePoint Conference Community Challenge 2011 – How we did it Dialogue Mapping: the Ying to SharePoint Yang The practice of Dialogue Mapping – Part 1 The practice of Dialogue Mapping – Part 2 The practice of Dialogue Mapping – Part 3 The practice of Dialogue Mapping – Part 4 The rationale of a 5 year old Engaging with stakeholders–did you know there is a standard for it?  Why can’t users find stuff on the intranet? An IBIS synthesis–Part 1 Why can’t users find stuff on the intranet? An IBIS synthesis–Part 2 Why can’t users find stuff on the intranet? An IBIS synthesis–Part 3 Why can’t users find stuff on the intranet? An IBIS synthesis–Part 4  Why can’t people find stuff on the intranet?–Final summary  Making Sense of SharePoint and Digital Records Management…   Wicked Problems and Project Management A Very Potter Audit – A Best Practices Parable I’m published in a PM Journal Wohoo! Heretics Guide has won an award SharePoint Analysts – Stop Analysing! Am I a Business Analyst- What about those calling themselves BAs- The one best practice to rule them all – Part 1 The one best practice to rule them all – Part 2 The one best practice to rule them all – Part 3 The one best practice to rule them all – Part 4 The one best practice to rule them all – Part 5 The one best practice to rule them all – Part 6  Why do SharePoint projects fail? – Part 1 Why do SharePoint projects fail? – Part 2 Why do SharePoint projects fail? – Part 3 Why do SharePoint projects fail? – Part 4 Why do SharePoint projects fail? – Part 5 Why do SharePoint projects fail? – Part 6 Why do SharePoint projects fail? – Part 7 Why do SharePoint projects fail? – Part 8 A warning on “tame” metaphors "Wicked Problem" Best Practice Slides and Demo Materials posted   Root Causes of Communication Fragmentation- Learning styles and behavioural styles Root Causes of Communication Fragmentation- Organisational Culture It’s all in the way you ask the question… How to Sabotage Your (SharePoint) Projects You know you have done a good job when…  Planning, Governance and Assurance Praise for SharePoint Governance and IA Masterclass Whatever you do, do not ignore legacy How to use Charlie Sheen to improve your estimating A simple way to improve your estimating (and a cool pub trick) – Part 1 A simple way to improve your estimating (and a cool pub trick) – Conclusion The secret to understanding governance SharePoint Governance – Debategraph Style It’s all Joel’s fault… ‘Governance Man’ has fallen into my trap Boy bands – how to understand the site definition/template debate A warning on “tame” metaphors SharePoint sucks at document management – or does it? A metal perspective  "Fair, Good, Better, Best" or "Crap, Unbearable, Barely Tolerable, Good"? SharePoint External Storage API – Crushing My Dream  Disk and I/O Sizing for MOSS2007 – Part 1 Disk and I/O Sizing for MOSS2007 – Part 2 Review – Balsamiq Mockup Tool (For SharePoint)  Information Architecture and Usability The facets of collaboration Part 1–Meet robot barbie The facets of collaboration Part 2–Enter the matrix! The facets of collaboration Part 3-The feature jigsaw The facets of collaboration Part 4 – BPM vs. HPM The facets of collaboration Part 5 – It’s all Gen-Y’s fault – or is it? Un-Managed Metadata: A couple of gotchas Improve your stakeholders “Crapness Calibration” ™ for SharePoint Information Architecture success Strategy and Management SharePoint Fatigue Syndrome On the decay (or remarkable recurrence) of knowledge  Why SharePoint training sometimes doesn’t deliver (and what to do about it) The problem with sales guys… (a peek into complex adaptive systems) Thinking SharePoint (and Listen to Your Mother) Thinking SharePoint (The unconsciously incompetent Ikea mecca) Thinking SharePoint (A tale of two clients) Thinking SharePoint (Lessons from Kung-fu Panda) Globalisation, Strategy, Technology and Organisational Maturity Mrs CleverWorkarounds – Skills and Competencies of Global Managers IT and the Corporate Immune Mechanism – the "Mother Hen" reflex "You’re not ready" – SharePoint kung fu Selling MOSS – A Choose Your Own Adventure Story Selling MOSS (The moral of the story) Functional consultants vs -great- functional consultants “Folders are bad” and other urban legends…  Return on Investment SharePoint ROI Slide Deck and Sample Scenario Worksheet Learn to talk to your CFO in their language – Part 1 Learn to talk to your CFO in their language – Part 2 Learn to talk to your CFO : Collaboration scenario – Part 3 Learn to talk to your CFO: WCM scenario – Part 4 Learn to talk to your CFO: Web Application Scenario – Part 5 Compliance, Methodology and Risk (ab)using ISO9001 for fun and profit Compliance is about to get worse… More on SOX and subprime Complexity bites: When SharePoint = Risk SQL God? No… I just know how to do a maintenance plan  IT Governance Standards: COBIT, ISO17799/27001, ITIL and PMBOK – Part 1 IT Governance Standards: COBIT, ISO17799/27001, ITIL and PMBOK – Part 2 IT Governance Standards: COBIT, ISO17799/27001, ITIL and PMBOK – Part 3 IT Governance Standards: COBIT, ISO17799/27001, ITIL and PMBOK – Part 4

                      

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Comments (57)

57 comments on “Welcome”

1. Nathan on September 12, 2012 at 12:54 pm said:

   Great amount of information. Thanks Paul. Here’s to hoping you have time to finish part 8 of the leave form with work flow.
2. Vishnu on October 9, 2012 at 6:15 pm said:

   You are simply rocking.. im completely benefitted by your website.Thanks a lot.
3. Digit Embroidery on November 19, 2012 at 7:04 pm said:

   What a great article, i just loved it and i loved to read it. Excellent thought author,i have bookmarked it.
4. JW on November 20, 2012 at 7:44 pm said:

   Hi Paul!
   I liked your articles, stories and thoughts. Please continue writing SharePoint topics.
   Added to bookmarks.
5. Screen Printing on November 22, 2012 at 5:40 pm said:

   It is too much informative and i did not know about it before reading it. I liked it very much.
6. Embroidery Digitizing on November 22, 2012 at 5:41 pm said:

   It is too much informative and i did not know about it before reading it. I liked it very much.
7. Beth Coleman on January 27, 2013 at 3:51 pm said:

   Very inspiring work. I am so glad that we will have the chance to see your presentation on Dialogue Mapping at Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland. Maybe others would like to attend on Thursday, Jan. 31st, 8:30 a.m. Register here: www.catalystco.eventbrite.com