Getting ready to game

I made a decision this morning that meant I hunkered down on the exercycle, turned on MTV and proceeded to get a round of morning exercise in. I will be going ahead and getting an XBox One in September so I can play Dance Central Spotlight: Harmonix's new version of its popular Kinect game.

I was extremely disappointed when Harmonix announced in March last year, after releasing three boxed versions and a back catalogue of downloadable songs, that they were canning the franchise. Even if they had decided to end the expensive disc version release, having DLC (downloadable content) kept the game alive and when you've perfected all the songs you already like, essential for continued engagement with the game. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw the announcement on my Facebook feed that they had resurrected Dance Central and are releasing Spotlight in September. And then came the kicker: only on XBox One.

I've hummed and hawed over the last few days about whether a single game should justify a new console purchase, because unlike in my late teens and early twenties, I am no longer able to spend 24 hours solid gaming and my use of the XBox 360 in the lounge is almost exclusively for fitness and dance-related activities.

Fun fitness | Gadget Girl Files

I love Dance Central. I enjoy the challenge of perfecting the routines: getting a flawless run then doing it again and again until the only way to improve my score is to tweak the angles of my arms, be conscious of my leg placement, perfect on the timing and programming my muscle memory so that it nails the routine every time. And I enjoy the leaderboard: inching my way up the ranks until I'm in the top 20, then the top 10, railing at how my mostly faceless competitors are managing to improve their score still further when I'm consistently hitting my top range. And then there's the euphoria of actually being number one... in the world (imagine Jeremy Clarkson saying that last bit).

And that's the thing: IN THE WORLD. How many other ways can you compete in your community for top ranking in something global? Technology has made the world smaller and in this microcosm it's certainly the case. I chose at age seventeen that I would not be a professional dancer but I still love to dance and love to perform. And as with anyone who has a craft or a sport, I want to gauge how good I am. And whilst not every amateur dancer in the world plays Dance Central, there are millions of us who do: from the beginner dabbler to the competitively obsessed. In fact, the competition on that global leaderboard is arguably better and more fierce than I might find in Christchurch, New Zealand and the granularity of the Kinect's assessment of my timing and form harder and less forgiving than my old ballet teachers. So, despite my frustration at Harmonix backing Microsoft on this forced upgrade off perfectly functional gaming machines, I will grit my teeth and do it.

Despite my weekend conversation with my other half about having time to make this decision, I can't actually leave it till August or September to decide. Why? I have prep to do.

This is what I know. It will take me about an hour to try each of the ten initial release tracks. I will go for the hardest setting straightaway for maximum points. I will choose the two or three that I will tackle first. It will take at least five run throughs to get muscle memory to take over watching and following the on-screen dancers. From there it may take another five to ten runs to get in the top twenty of the leaderboard. If I want to hit it running, I will need to do this in that first weekend of release. To be match fit I will need to have the stamina to dance about six hours each day of that weekend. That's twelve hours of dancing. It's a marathon, truly.

Cardio fitness is not the only requirement. I will need core strength and flexibility to take on the hardest settings and agility to get the tricky timing. This means losing at least another 3 kilogrammes of weight, getting back into the splits, and having sufficient cardiovascular capacity to do three hours solid of cardio with a one hour break and do over again. All this needs to be achieved in three months or less. Good thing I like having goals and I love a challenge.

This is the future of gaming. You're laughing right? Gamers are traditionally considered to be the couch potatoes, pale-skinned, curtains closed variety. People who can drive a car on screen but can't drive stick on the road. Well, I contest that view obviously... Whilst there are many of those who take on the traditional first-person shooters, flight simulator and racing variety all weekend long, there's a large number of us who are mature adults still enjoying the gaming scene without quite the blinkered obsession of youth.

The progress of technology is such that biometric equipment, such as the Kinect, will lead eventually to immersive gaming such as the holodeck on Star Trek. And whilst you may be able to simulate a virtual Klingon or an Orc coming at you with weapon, the ability to parry a thrust, dodge the strike and jump over obstacles is much harder to simulate. We'll need to clock some serious gym time to compete.

Right: I need to stop typing and get packing. I have a new gym bag to load and a Les Mill Virtual BodyBalance class to get to: splits don't happen by themselves, you know.

LES MILLS® Virtual

Being agile

So this post is a bit more work-related than most. I only recently covered household appliances and label makers so talking about managing IT projects is at the opposite end of the spectrum. But I have a bee in my bonnet and some of you who work in my industry might have some views on it too.

There's the possibility here that this may be emotive enough to have some very dissenting views to mine!

I am a proponent of agile delivery: whatever flavour is best fit for the job at hand. But whilst delivering to priority, ensuring that benefits are being reaped as quickly as possible, and de-risking technical fog is all good, healthy stuff, I am aghast at how many projects I have come into or advised on that conflate the method of delivery with the practice of good project management. And of course the twisty knots that creates is often where I come in.

For a moment, let's go back to what project management is for: at it's core it's ensuring that a job gets done within the deadline, within the budget and to the standard required. It's the 'triple' constraint of time, cost, scope/quality. Project management is about identifying what bad things might happen (risk), dealing with with bad things that have happened (issues), understanding the relationships between things (dependencies) and using formal methods to ensure that all parties are on the same page about the current state of the triple (change).

User stories are great at describing function and well crafted-stories will be sufficiently explicit in the definition of done to detail non-functional requirements, such as the speed with which a task gets done or the quality of graphics, alongside what buttons will do, what the screen will render and what records will be updated. But it's not so great at the environmental context. A product backlog is not the ideal place to log "if the proposed legislation goes through then we will need to completely refactor the application we're building". Nor is it the place to monitor the actions against "oh dear we had a security breach" and all the face-saving communications, PR activities, and audits that go with that.

And whilst I am a very big fan of the social contract and transparency that come with the ceremonies, particularly daily stand-ups and retrospectives, they do not replace the need for appropriate team and account management. Stand-ups are there to gauge velocity and articulate impediments to progress, they're not a replacement for professional development nor performance management. The fortnight you fail a sprint because "instead of training you should just pick up a task outside your expertise this sprint and give it a go" is a fortnight you will regret. Nor is it pleasant to be arguing about what was yours and what was the vendor's responsibility because you didn't spend the time to define things clearly in the contract.

Before I start to get too much more on the rant, let me get to the point. It is good risk mitigation for the majority of projects, particularly in the application development arena, to consider and select agile as a delivery method. Waterfall is getting quite outdated and there have been too many projects that deliver products that no longer meet the need of today because requirements were gathered and technical design signed-off two years before. In some cases products don't even get delivered. But agile is not the panacea and no matter how strictly you may conform with your chosen methodology, it will not replace either the hard or soft skills of proper project management. You will still need typical documents and you will still need people who are motivated, know what they're doing and are good at what they do.

So if you don't want me or my equivalents being called in to help you fix it, be sure you pay proper attention to the wider context. And if I come in and ask for your risk and issues registers, your project charter and copies of your contracts, be sure they exist and are in good order.

Midweek Q&A

Maybe it's the long weekend in New Zealand, or maybe it's because I've been holed up working at home all week but no-one's asked Gadget Girl any particularly interesting technical questions. So I've gone back to the archives and dug some up for this today's Midweek Q&A.

Teresa: I need to track how many hours I'm working.

In this case one of my besties, Teresa, is a Samsung Galaxy user so the solution for her is Carlos Ribas' HoursTracker which is available  for Android. It's also available for iOS.

The reason I recommend HoursTracker is that it has a clock in, clock out function, you can elect to start the clock at a specific time (in case you forgot to hit start) or retrospectively add your logs if you're not tracking down to the minute. If you configure it, it can also track your earnings at both standard and overtime rates, and display simple reports showing your earnings against each job or pay period. Importantly for someone like myself, who often works through other companies, it can export the log and email it.

On Android the free version is limited to three jobs and three weeks of logs but in-app purchases for Personal and Pro versions give you options to suit your needs. On iOS the free version limits you to 3 jobs and 60 days of data. On iOS you also get a handy cloud backup function with additional features unlocked through in-app subscription purchases.

Sussie: what do you use to clean your iPad screen?

I generally stick to just a microfibre cloth to clean my plethora of screened devices. On greasier occasions, I might spritz a bit of eyeglass cleaner on. I really see no need to be handing out large amounts of cash for specialist cleaning kits — although I'm sure there'll be some expert out there who's aghast that I would dare to spray my $1200 device's capacitive screen with a spray designed for spectacles.

When I choose the cloth, I select a finer weave of microfibre. The ones they sometimes give you with your TV in a bag labelled 'for the shiny bits' works pretty well.

I did find a new Kleenex product at my local supermarket recently. The Viva TV and Computer Screen Wipes work a treat.

Q: what's a good labelling machine?

This question is from years ago, so I'm really looking into the archives for it!

My labelling machine(s) might have made the top 5 household items list, except they're not limited to household activities. Ours is a household that loans stuff out all the time. The Gadget Girl Library is often called on for people deciding whether they want to buy a particular tool or which one they want to get. Then there's the dongles that pair with a variety of wireless devices and ends of cables that are best labelled so we don't accidentally unplug the mySky mid-recording of the rugby game.

In New Zealand, Dymo and Brother are the predominant brands you find in stationery stores. And if you don't want to struggle hunting down the consumables, I suggest you stick with mainstream ones. There are plenty of different models around, depending on your requirements — the photo shows two of the Brother P-Touch options.

For both the Brother and Dymo brands you will find that the replacement tape is almost as expensive as the initial purchase price so they really get you on the consumables. The Brother's m-tape is a little less readily available and I have had to get it ordered in on a couple of occasions.

I've had my pink Brother one for several years and it's never let me down. I think it's made robustly and the tape that comes with it can withstand a few goes through the dishwasher and a bit of moisture without too much hassle. About a year ago I went ahead and purchased the QWERTY keyboard version because it has the ability to save my regularly used labels and it's far more efficient than re-typing my name and contact details every time I get a new device.

The Dymo one is the second one I've purchased of the identical model. The original one I had kept playing up after I loaned it to a friend and it's managed to defeat me in terms of fixing it. It's a battle of wills! Anyway, I bought another one because the range of Dymo tapes is larger: you can get paper, plastic and also iron-on for clothes. This is perfect for school uniforms and the like and back when one of my godchildren was staying over regularly I had taken to labelling clothes because it became confusing with three households (split family, as well as staying at the godmother's). I find the print quality of the Dymo doesn't look as polished as the Brother.

In summary: for a household with children where the primary purpose is naming of school and sporting items, buy the Dymo and know that it'll break after a couple of years but on sale it can cost as little as buying replacement tape. If you are using it for labelling things which are primarily indoors such as the office, general household, hobby items and electronics get the Brother: it will last years and you can get nice silver and gold tape for a more classy finish.

Housekeeping magic... 5 household appliances that save me

As with many modern women I feel the pressure to be and do anything and everything. This includes being a whizz in the kitchen and keeping a perfect house like a traditional homemaker even whilst working some stressful contracts and finding time for friends, family and a full quota of hobbies and exercise. Nevermind squeezing in time to maintain this and a few other blogs.

Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to fail abysmally on a number of housekeeper fronts (the dead pot plants, the piles of networking gear, the mountain of boxes yet to be unpacked just for a start) but there are some household gadgets and appliances that mean when I set some time for it, I can be a lot more efficient and effective.

My current top 5 techie household items in no particular order are:

1. Electrolux Inverter EWF12832 washing machine

I love this washing machine. No seriously, I love it. What makes this upgrade to my previous, much used and much respected front-loader so special? The range of additional functions and pre-panned wash cycles. Not only can it do the standard wash and spin, at 0 to 90 degrees Celcius and up to 1200rpm respectively, it also has a wonderful 'refresh' mode.

Refresh is a steam mode: no detergent or softener, just hot water and a gentle spin. Steaming clothes removes most odours and wrinkles without the need to do a full soak wash. I'm someone who dislikes even the slightest hint of body odour and I don't particularly like stale perfume, cooking smells and old deodorant on my clothes. This means that even if I've only worn an item for a few hours and it's not actually dirty, I inevitably put it through a wash cycle. Particularly in winter this can be a real trial as well as a massive waste of water and detergent, and results in wear, tear and colour loss on clothes.

Now however, I simply throw in a few items, select the 'mixed' 21 minute or the 'cottons' 35 minute cycle and press start. The clothes come out only slightly damp and hanging for half an hour or a few minutes in the dryer with a dryer sheet to infuse scent and soften fabric does the trick. I've even used this on my dryclean only jackets and coats and some pretty delicate dresses with success.

Even though I do have a TOBI handheld steamer, this is far more efficient because I can do multiple garments, it's not manual, and I can be doing something else for the half hour the machine is busy: like many programmers I'm into the beauty of parallel processing.

Other handy functions: modes for dealing with bedding and delicates, thorough washes of more than three hours to the very zippy 18 minute express wash, delay function to have it turn on after we've already woken but in time to hang out before I leave for work, customisable programmes including a vapour cycle. It has a whopping 8kg maximum loading, 4 star energy and 4.5 star water efficiency ratings.

2. Zip 222 slow cooker

I'm a fan of having dinner cooking before I even leave for the office and to be serving up within minutes of getting home. Particularly now that #winterishere, stews and casseroles are so very a la mode. My favourite meals with this baby include apricot chicken (popular with the rest of the household all year round), lamb shanks slow cooked till it comes away from the bone, beef stroganoff, fusion Asian curries such as massaman lamb, and venison stew. Mmmm...

Seriously, any busy household like ours would benefit from one of these. This particular cooker has high and low cooking modes and a keep warm function perfect for those busy evenings when work shifts, sports, evening classes, and other activities means that not everyone can eat at the same time.

3. Breville BEM410 'the Scraper' mixer

We bought this mixer with the vague intent of baking bread that looked better than the one the breadmaker produces. I will admit however that the kneading attachment has never been used and not a single loaf has been produced using this machine. Neither has the whisk attachment been deployed for cream. However, hundreds of cupcakes, biscuits and a few full-sized cakes have made it to various workplaces, mixed using the leaf beater: an attachment which includes rubberised scrapers, a bit like a spatula. The Scraper promises professional-level mixing using planetary motion — a complex weave of movement that brushes the scraper against all the surfaces of the mixing bowl. Certainly I've never found dry ingredients caked to the side or bottom of the bowl with the handy handle, and the mixture is always a smooth consistency. I consider it lives up to its primary selling point. I do scrape the leaf beater attachment with a spatula mid-way through mixing, but that's basically because I can be a little OCD.

It has 6 different speeds, a full-tilt back arm, and is made from die-cast metal. It's certainly made baking quicker and more fun for me and since I feed the masses whenever I cook, I'm not the only one to benefit.

4. Braun 4191 hand blender

It was a close call whether I included this or my iron since this hand blender has been in our kitchen for a few years now but the fact that it has been around a while and I still use at least once a week meant it made the cut. I'm not raving specifically about this model but hand blenders generally particularly those which, like this Braun one, come with a variety of attachments such as the basic stick blender, chopping blades and whisk.

Whether it's crushing ice, processing cheese for sprinkling over pizza or pasta bake, prepping spices for puerco pibil, whipping cream, mashing root vegetables or pureeing beetroot for my favourite chocolate cake, this little gadget has been my best kitchen friend.

5. Dyson DC39 vacuum cleaner

When I told a friend that we'd bitten the bullet and splurged on a Dyson vacuum cleaner he was quick to point out that it was a large expense for something which was still plastic at the end of the day and would eventually require a replacement. But given we've bought a vacuum every couple of years and haven't been happy with the results for very long, it was worth trying for better quality. I have not been disappointed after nine months of this particular one.

As promised, this bagless model retains the same high level of suction right up to when it's full and requires emptying. The transparent body means I'm able to see just how full it is and just how much dust, hair and dirt it's picking up. I am always surprised at how much is lifted off what looks like an otherwise clean patch of carpet.

This Dyson has a very stable base and a fully extensible shaft; perfect for ridding the house of cobwebs on ceiling corners. A range of attachments make it appropriate for multiple floor types and fabric upholstery.

In a shoes on household, often host to children and pets, as well as a logburner that produces plenty of ash and a trail of sawdust and wood chips between the back door and the lounge, this is one of the busiest machines in the house. Even if we only get four or five years from it, I'd be happy with the level of spend simply for the quality result.