[02] Grenada's version of Wickes
Sabbatical update…
It’s been longer than anticipated to send this next blog. With everyday bringing something new to see, sitting down to write has eluded me. However, after four months of travelling I’m starting to get in the swing of things… so second go:
My colleagues will attest, a simple pleasure of mine has been going to Wickes to buy materials for some DIY. A toilet cistern, lighting, door latches, anything that I feel my flat needs. The overwhelming satisfaction that comes from fixing a constantly running cistern, replacing a worn door latch so that it closes with the perfect amount of pressure… it’s hard to quantify.
So with some practical success behind me, I felt quietly confident about the three room, three week renovation that would be my project whilst volunteering at the GSPCA.
01.The Plan
01.1 Turn room 1 into a Parvo-virus isolated treatment room.
Parvo-virus is extremely contagious and causes such terrible D&V in the dogs unlucky enough to catch it, it can be fatal. Therefore, an isolated treatment room, to minimise the risk of the virus spreading to the other dogs at GSPCA was desperately needed.
The room had fallen into disrepair, aided by two competing armies of cockroaches and termites, both doing their best eat anything organic and turn that into poo. Without proper windows, a working tap and treatment table, it wasn’t fit for any kind of treatment and as such had become a store room.
01.2 Turn Room 2 into a Parvo dog run.
Once recovered from their symptoms, dogs that have had Parvo-virus must be kept isolated for 3 months to ensure they are still not contagious. Anthropomorphising, you can imagine after getting over some serious sickness bug, and feeling fit an healthy again, the last thing you would want is to be confined to your bed for 3 months. Therefore, creating an area for the recovered dogs to, at least, stretch their legs a bit felt incredibly important.
01.3 Turn room 3 from storeroom to puppies bedroom.
So that the puppies had a dedicated place to sleep and weren’t placed with the larger dogs, it was decided to make better use of this room. After a sorting and a clear-out, the plan was to re-tile, a fresh coat of paint, and add a gate, fashioned from off cuts of timber.
02.The Action
From my day job as an AI delivery manager, I thought it would be useful to employ some agile software delivery practices.
Out comes the Kanban board, RAID log and i’m preaching the agile manifesto at every opportunity. Like any tech project manager worth their salt, I’ll walk you through my processes, referring back to the agile methodologies I employed.
02.01 A precis of the RAID Log
Risks
Heat stroke
Assumptions:
I will be able to tile a floor after watching a YouTube video.
Issues:
A concrete dividing wall needs to come down. It’s full of rebar.
Dependencies:
Will Ramdhanny’s (the hardware store) have everything I need for this project?
After every project, it’s mandatory to perform a retrospective. My retro and the “after” pictures (think ground force theme tune) will be coming along shortly!