GTUNGI

"Managers" connected with a mega construction project for my university are targeting a timeline of less than 3 years for move-in to the facilities of about 1.5M gross square feet (gsf) area which is a large mix of buildings of engineering and science departments, offices, classrooms and housing etc. Their optimism defies the past experience on the same project where for about 0.9M gsf area of similar nature the project has taken more than 5 years, and yet the move-in date is (hopefully) one year from now. I have been sceptical about such optimistic estimates, and have been researching about the timelines and completion data about similar projects. In fact, in one of my earlier posts I tried to highlight some statistics about project failures and some of the key reasons for such slippages as observed by many project managers and organisations across the globe. Unrealistic estimates about complexity and real quantum of work is one of the major reasons for failure. Cons

Recently I started using an iPad Pro 12.9 inch device and before that I tried using Microsoft Surface Pro 4 device (which I wouldn't call a 'tablet'; it is nothing less than an ultrabook). Some of my primary requirements from these devices were: a) mobility without sacrificing the compute power b) precise and responsive pencil/stylus for scribbling on presentations and annotating other documents. Particularly for Surface, I was looking at it as a replacement for my ultrabook which ran Ubuntu in dual boot with Windows 8. Surface is a great device for running Windows. However, running Ubuntu native is not as good on Surface. The deal-breaker for me was its Type Cover keyboard and unpredictable WiFi. Since I was not able to use Ubuntu on Surface properly, and just for the mobility part Surface Pro 4 was an overkill, so I decided to exchange the device with an iPad Pro 12.9. So far the iPad has been serving me well. However, here too I think the Smart Keyboard that Apple sup