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I’ve written before about Microsoft infrastructure optimisation (IO), including a link to the online self-assessment tool but I had to laugh when I saw James O’Neill’s post on the subject. I’m sure that James won’t mind me repeating his IO quiz here – basically the more answers from the right side of the table, the more basic the IT operations are and the more from the left side, the more dynamic they are. Not very scientific (far less so than the real analysis tools) and aimed at a lower level than a real IO study but amusing anyway:
| The rest of my company… | …involves the IT department in their projects. | …accepts IT guys have a job to do. | …tries to avoid anyone from IT. |
| My team… | …all hold some kind of product certification. | …read books on the subject. | …struggle to stay informed. |
| What worries me most in the job is… | …fire, flood or other natural disaster. | …what an audit might uncover. | …being found out. |
| My department reminds me of… | …’Q branch’ from a James Bond movie. | …Dilbert’s office. | …trench warfare. |
| Frequent tasks here rely on… | …automated processes. | …a checklist. | …Me. |
| What I like about this job is… | …delivering the on the promise of technology. | …it’s indoors and the hours are OK. | …I can retire in 30 years. |
| If asked about Windows Vista I… | …can give a run down of how its features would play here. | …repeat what the guy in PC World told me. | …change the subject. |
| New software generally is… | …an opportunity. | …a challenge. | …something we ban. |
| My organization sees “software as a service” as a way to… | …do more things. | …do the same things, more cheaply. | …do the same things without me. |
| Next year this job will be… | …different. | …the same. | …outsourced. |