It's been a busy couple of months. My new job is finally taking off, which is another way of saying that I'm never home. Been traveling almost every other week. Mostly to Boston, MA and a trip to Auburn, CA. I don't really mind business travel all that much, but combine it with planning for a wedding and a visit from the future in-laws... it's been interesting.
Part of my new job is to review and select the software the company uses. We have some antiquated, home-grown applications that really don't work well and need to be replaced. First in line was the applications our nurses use to track cases. Our business model is rather unique, so I couldn't find a perfect fit, but I was able to find a Case Management software that came close and is very configurable. The catch - the upper ups wanted it running by the beginning of Q2. I had 5 weeks to review, contract haggle, purchase, be trained on, install/configure, test, deploy, train the end-users and Go Live.
It was quite the challenge. And yet, as I look back, I am damn proud of myself. I learned a lot, not only technology-wise, but about myself. I actually was a little surprised at how my project management skills have improved. Not only did I have a successful Go Live, but the other business units are very excited with what they've seen me do for the first business unit and are ready to be the next implemented.
Oh - and did I mention during those same 5 weeks I was doing business analysis and requirements gathering for development work on another of our applications?
So our Canadian office will be next. Means I'll soon be flying to Toronto every couple of weeks. I just can't wait until it's Japan's turn. I might just decide to stay there for the entire project!
