Today was day 1. Of many. And while it was only on a treadmill, I have started well and FEEL AWESOME! A quick 5KM in just over 30 minutes is not bad going, considering it’s been months.

I have the #sqlfamily to thank. #sqlrun is the driver of this change and long may you wonderful people continue to encourage others.

Here’s my run activity for today:

http://runkeeper.com/user/lukehayler/activity/62714410

Tomorrow brings more Downhill Mountain Biking! Woo Hoo!!

Event Details

If you are not sure what SQL Server Social is all about, you can either read about the first event here, or check out the following recap:

What is SQL Server Social

SQL Server Social is a monthly event that has been created to provide SQL Server Professionals with a chance to network with industry peers, discuss predefined topics, have a little fun, have a beer and make some new friends.

What is the aim of SQL Server Social

SQL Server Social aims to build local SQL Server communities through regular social meetings, where database professionals can share their experiences and learn from their peers through open discussion.

Movember Edition

This month’s edition is a special one. It’s Movember and that means Mos! Here’s what the campaign is all about:

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in Australia and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

For all the guys planning on attending, let’s see who has the best Mo by the 24th of this month. There’ll still be 6 days remaining until the official end of the campaign, but it’ll be good to see how you are all faring by that stage. This will be my first year participating; you can follow my ‘progress’ on my Mo page – mobro.co/lukehayler. If you feel so inclined, I have also put together a team for SQL Server Social, so show your support for the cause and join in!

Facebook Page!

SQL Server Social now has it’s own Facebook page. This page will be used to keep all the fans in the loop with updates about future events, photos from past events, links to interesting SQL-related sites, and so-on and so-forth…So if you are on Facebook why not tag along and keep up-to-date. Check out the page here.

Twitter!

SQL Server Social is also all over twitter like a bad rash. Follow us for updates – @sqlserversocial

SQL Crosswords

One of the [optional] challenges for the event is to complete a SQL Server Crossword. The SQL Server Crosswords have been generously donated to our cause by John Sansom (blog | @JohnSansom). John is a DBA in the UK and is a frequent blogger at www.johnsansom.com. John has had several awards bestowed upon him including Microsoft’s Community Contributor 2011 and SQLServerPedia’s Professional Development 2010 Winner as well as being a Rock Star Blogger (in Tom La Rock’s rankings). John has a wealth of information on his blog, so do yourself a favour and go check it out.

See you there!

If you are going, or thinking of going, it’ll be worth your while selecting your preferences. To do so use the PASS Session Preference Tool – you’ll need to sign-up/login to be able to do so though.

You’re still here?

After a couple of blog posts (here and here), Arnie got a lot of support from fellow MVPs as well as assistance from Sponsors. This meant that the list of software being given to the chosen developers was mighty impressive. As of this writing the software package that the developers will receive (on being selected) is as follows:

• Microsoft: Visual Studio Ultimate with MDSN subscription
• Pluralsight: 3 month Standard subscription to On-Demand!™ .NET Training Library
• APress: 3 books of the winner’s choice
• O’Reilly Press: 3 eBooks of the winner’s choice
• ComponentOne: license for Studio Enterprise components and tools
• Microsoft Learning: Vouchers for 2 Certification Exams with Second Shot
• Quest Software: license for Toad® for SQL Server
• BillP Studios: license for WinPatrol’s Host-based Intrusion Prevention System(HIPS)
• Infragistics: licenses for NetAdvantage for .NET, NetAdvantage for Silverlight Data Visualization, NetAdvantage for WPF Data, AND QuincePro

All that software and subscriptions have a combined value of over USD$15,000. Whoa.

Project Criteria:

• Client is a USA IRS 503(c)3 non-profit, school, or church, OR a Canadian CRA registered charity,
• Solves a problem or satisfies a need for the client,
• Client desires the project and is supportive,
• Uses any combination of .NET 4.0, Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, or Windows Phone 7,
• May be a new software solution, or an upgrade to an existing software solution,
• Additional consideration given projects that will be posted on Codeplex with a GPL license.

Not in the USA or Canada?

Don’t fret, the project is expanding. Thanks to Rod Colledge (Blog | @Rod_Colledge), Greg Low (Blog | @greglow) and Darren Gosbell (Blog) if you are in Australia or New Zealand you can also qualify for Project Phoenix. Rod has put together a blog post on the software packages available to developers/non-profits as well as the criteria being used to identify selected recipients.

So, if you are out of work, looking to improve your skills, give back to the community and reside in the US/Canada or Australia/New Zealand look no further than Project Phoenix. There will be a give-away every week for the rest of the year (at the very least) and who knows, this may just become a regular occurrence…

More links to posts about Project Phoenix

• Arnie Rowland’s list of blog posts about the project including awards to-date
• Eligible Non-Profits can submit a project proposal here
• Developers can submit a proposal here

People will find excuses (I have been one of them) not to do their documentation – on whatever subject/system/process/application. These may be:

1. I don’t have the time.
2. It’s not my responsibility.
3. I am not a technical writer.
4. Where do I begin?

Whilst I am sure that there are organisations that have numerous procedures in place for rigorous documentation of systems & processes, coding standards & conventions, there are (I am sure) many many more (smaller) organisations that have little or no documentation. At the very least, it’s a collection of random text files, word docs, Visio diagrams placed in any number of directories. Most of the knowledge of the way things work is stored in a few key employees heads. Whilst this may seem like a position of power to the employee (they’re ‘irreplaceable’), the organisation is taking a huge risk. As an asides, someone once told me “If you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted”. It is worth remembering.

Excuse #1            I don’t have the time.

More than likely, this is a cover-up for Excuse #4. There is always pressure to get projects finished as soon as possible, and that means the solution needs to go into production yesterday. Documentation is sometimes relegated to a date beyond that of the ‘go live’ deadline. And then as soon as you begin putting ‘pen to paper’ on the handover documents a new project comes along and documentation, once again, becomes a dim-and-distant memory.

Excuse #2            It’s not my responsibility

Oh yes it is. Trust me, if you ever want a holiday where you are not on call, it’s your responsibility to ensure that whoever is to hold down the fort, has the information they need to do so. Hands up all those who have accrued two years’ worth of leave because they were the only ones capable of maintaining their systems? I have known several colleagues who were in this position.

If you are building or administrating a system, you are responsible for imparting that knowledge to others. How you do this is another matter entirely.

Excuse #3            I am not a technical writer

This doesn’t matter. Whilst it is important to have good documentation, it is better to have something rather than nothing. If your organisation is yet to standardize documentation practices, this is your chance to take the initiative and show what you are worth.

Excuse # 4           Where do I begin?

I am willing to wager that this is the category that a lot of people will fall into. What needs to be included in the documentation? What level of detail is required? Who is the target audience? There are so many questions. As a developer/DBA/sysadmin it can be difficult to imagine what it is other people need to know in order to accomplish certain tasks. Assumptions are made, and then it all goes terribly wrong.

What am I getting at?

I believe that all of the excuses outlined above can be dropped if it was easier to create documentation. This focuses on the How. I have searched high and low for templates that can be used for a number of things, ranging from Database dictionaries & descriptions, system processes and procedures, development standards & conventions, reporting services templates/design standards, integration services standards & consolidation, the list goes on. I have had to settle with creating my own, and they always being improved, but by no means are they perfect.

How many of you would complete documentation if it were a matter of checking boxes and filling in blanks? If you had a template for, say, technical details of an integration services package,  I am sure that you would be more inclined to fill it in and therefore share the knowledge of that particular solution.

I am asking the community to collaborate, in whatever your speciality is, to share your documentation methods, templates, best practices. I would like to start a wiki of sorts that provides this information to everyone. Something that can grow from the community, for the community.

If you are interested in helping to get this started, email me, Tweet about it, DM me, or simply leave a comment. I am certain this could be a huge resource and one that would ultimately assist many people/organisations to centralise their knowledge base.

Some links to other posts on documentation:

• Mike Walsh
• Jorge Segarra
• Jonathan Kehayias