Day 2 of my gauntlet (and my fourth shift in total) wasn’t too exciting, I spent the morning in BC Place setting up printers and testing network connections. Pretty boring stuff, really, but I had a good chat with Sully, the assistant Venue Technology Manager. He’s been working 7 days a week, like so many of the paid staff at both venues – crazy stuff.

Before I knew it, lunch! Even though the lunches almost always consisted of a warm soup with a bun, granola bar, packaged sandwich, fruit, and juice, there was a fair amount of variety. I believe this day was tomato soup with a vegetarian wrap – tasty!

Most lunches were variation on this theme.

In the afternoon,  I got to run the help desk for an hour or two while all the higher-ups were in a meeting. I was dispatching printer and computer technicians, closing tickets, phoning clients, manning two radios, and generally doing the most interesting work of my volunteer experience.

I love the volunteer coats - all of this fits in my pockets!

That’s pretty much it for Thursday. Not an extremely interesting day, but I had to finish it so I could talk about the rest of my week

Sorry it’s been a bit quiet around here – 5 days of volunteering in a row makes it difficult to find time to post, but I’m done until February 24th so I’ll attempt to fill you in.

Shift 3! My third shift (on February 10th) was on the morning of the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies, so I spent much of the day preparing things for the big event. Even though there wasn’t going to be full media present, we wanted to make sure everything was functional.

Olympic rings, seen a few hours before the dress rehearsal

The morning was spent trying to get a printer working in the East workforce check-in tent – there’s always something that just doesn’t seem to want to work, and this printer is definitely in that category. Helpdesk talked to Acer, who ruled out computer problems, so we talked to Ricoh, who ruled out hardware problems, then Bell, who ruled out network problems. After a few hours of running back and forth, we gave up and asked the central technology office to double check the firewall. One week later, and I still have no idea if this printer works.

Next up was going to BC Place and ensuring that the Commentator Information Systems (CIS) had the most recent updates deployed. As with most of my volunteer tasks, this was much more manual labour than it was technological. It involved walking all through the press area and looking for a highlighted icon on the screen. After 20 minutes of searching and zero systems displaying the highlighted icon, we were finally told that the patches had been remotely deployed and verified, and that we had just wasted our time. Oh well -  I got to snap a picture of a CIS machine. These are the machines located at every venue that commentators will used to pull up stats, bios, and other information about athletes.

The Commentator Information System (CIS)

After finding lunch (easier said than done – the lower level, where I’d eaten before, was closed off due to the ceremony preparation), I spent the afternoon doing odds and ends. While I was setting up a computer for the Information Booth, spectators started streaming in – 50,000 of them. I finished up my shift,  met up with my wife and some friends, and settled in to watch the opening ceremonies dress rehearsal. For those who have seen the real opening ceremonies (that’s everyone by now, right?), the dress rehearsal was almost identical, with a few exceptions. Ben Mulroney and Tamara Taggart warmed up the crowd, albeit without the spectator participation packs. All of the performers were present, but Jacques Rogges, John Furlong, and Michaelle Jean were played by stand-in volunteers. The final Olympic flag bearers were also replaced, so I didn’t get to see Bobby Orr, Donald Sutherland, or Ann Murray. Also, the entire section involving the torch was kept a secret – the ceremony just ended before any torch people came in. Still, it was pretty fun, and k.d. lang rocked.

Stay tuned for more updates

(Click here to read the next entry in the series.)

I’m far too tired from working a shift yesterday, attending the dress rehearsal last night, and doing another shift today, so no post from me today. Luckily, my wonderful wife has prepared a guest post that outlines the role that she’ll be playing during the games. Enjoy!

Another volunteer!

My Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics volunteer position is in Event Services (…or EVS, if you’re a fan of TLAs like the IOC). They call our team the face of the games because we interact directly with everyone and are usually the first & last people anyone sees throughout their Olympic experience. We are ambassadors and informants, helpers, and hosts.

As a Team Leader for Event Services, I will supervise 6-12 Hosts at a venue, mainly when things are in full swing for competition but also during athlete practice times and during other operations. Hosts are the dedicated volunteers who perform any or all roles like Spectator Marshal, Ticket Taker, Pacer, Usher, Access Monitor (and 4 more!) and work in all the public & common operational areas of the venue, interacting with all groups: Ticketholders, Security, Athletes, Officials, Media, Olympic Family, and pretty much all of the operational Functional Areas.

These are tough, tiring, and sometimes tedious jobs, but there are lots of great rewards and many memorable moments to be had. That said, for events of this scale & scope, the challenges are almost limitless – but from what I know of the Hosts I’ve met throughout my training so far, I will have a great team with many talents to work with. Like me, many of them will be working long hours for many days on end during the Games, and it is my task to make sure they get breaks, help them stay motivated, and serve as their escalation point for pretty much anything that happens on shift.

So, armed with a radio and a clipboard containing a a military-like schedule and lots of other fun paperwork, I will encourage & support my team toward meeting three main goals for each shift:

• Think, Say, Do: Customer Service Excellence for all groups

• Have Fun: Motivation & Rewards

• Be Safe: Worksafe, Incident Reports

If you’re attending the Olympics, please remember to smile and thank the volunteers in the bright blue uniforms – lots of locals from the Lower Mainland, but also fellow British Columbians, Canadians and International folks too – who gave up many hours of their free time for training and weeks of their vacation to work overtime for nothing (and in some cases, even spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on travel & hotel costs) to be involved in these Olympics and work so that you and everyone else watching around the world will enjoy it. It will definitely make my job a bit easier if you do, anyway

Let the Games begin!

(Click here to read the next entry in the series.)

Yesterday I had my second shift, although it was supposed to be my fourth. Weighing on my mind for most of the day was the thought of attending the Venue Specific Training (VST) for Canada Hockey Place (CHP) that I had scheduled later that evening (making for a 14.5 hour volunteer day). This shift was somewhat similar to my first shift, in that I was moving around printers and TVs and doing other initial setup that won’t be needed come games time, but there were a few differences as well.

First of all, security is now in effect. On my last shift, I just walked into the compound, although I had to show accreditation before entering any buildings. Yesterday, I had to go through the full security procedure – walking through the magnetometer, having all metal possessions go through X-ray scanning, and gawk at the huge number of police everywhere.  I don’t think I saw a single officer on my last shift, but on this shift I don’t think there was a single time when there wasn’t a cop in sight. It was quite interesting – they’ve flown in police from all over. I didn’t get any pictures of the myriad uniforms (O.P.P., RCMP, York, Montreal, and many more) – something about taking covert photos of uniformed officers inside a security zone made me queasy.

Coke had a greatly increased presence as well – they’re in the process of stocking the dozens (hundreds?) of Coke vending machines strewn around the compound. This is definitely not a comfortable place for a Pepsi-lover, but I was able to rustle up something besides Dasani.

Costco would be proud (those are pallets of Coke in the background)

As mentioned, I spent yet more time moving giant printers and large TVs around. No 58″ monsters this time, although I did help mount 5 42″ plasmas and drag another 3 into storage (along with several 26″ screens). I hope by the time my next shift comes around that all TVs are set up, although I guess I should be thankful that they aren’t CRTs. I also got to walk into Canada Hockey Place for the first time in order to deliver some toner – exciting, I know.

All plasmas, no LCDs - greenest Olympics ever?

Lunch was soup and a sandwich – not near as tasty as last week’s vegetarian pizza, although we did get fresh buns and a drink was included. Afterward, while waiting for another task to do, I was quite happy when my supervisor suggest that I attend an earlier session of VST – effectively cutting 6 hours off of my volunteer day. I arrived in the parkade of CHP (miraculously transformed into a suite of offices over the past few weeks) just in time for training.

CHP is quite an impressive venue – much newer than BC Place, although smaller. There will be over 3000 people working there over the Olympics, about 1300 of them volunteers. Apparently this is the first Winter Olympics where figure skating isn’t located in the premiere venue, and I feel quite lucky to be able to be in and around the building during some awesome events (including the Men’s Hockey gold medal match!). I can’t say too much about what I saw inside, but I will say that it’s very strange to see the interior of this venue with no advertising (an IOC rule). I’m sure I’ll be able to share more as I learn a bit more.

Next up is a shift this coming Wednesday, when I start a gauntlet of 5 shifts in a row (contributing to 12 straight days of either work or volunteering). Until then, I’m taking it easy.

(Click here to read the next entry in the series.)

I got a call tonight informing me that two of my shifts this week (February 4th & 5th) have been canceled. I knew this was a possibility – apparently the police are doing a massive security sweep of the compound (Stadium, Canada Hockey Place, and the surrounding areas), after which everyone going in or out has to go through the mag & bag process (think airport security, sans shoe removal).

So, unless I think of something particularly inspiring, you won’t hear any Olympic-related things out of me until my next shift on Saturday. I’m still taking questions though

(Click here to read the next entry in the series.)

Update: Now with pictures!

Today was my first real shift as an Olympic volunteer, and it was certainly interesting. That is to say, the experience was interesting – the work alternated between somewhat interesting and pretty tedious, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Here’s a time line of my day.

5:00AM I wake up. Boo. I could have definitely used more sleep, but I’m also looking forward to seeing how my first day goes.

5:45AM The transit ride downtown. Even though this is the very first bus in operation on a Sunday morning, there’s plenty of people at almost every stop.

6:45AM I’m here! I arrive at the TEC trailer, situated just behind Canada Hockey Place and Stadium. Unfortunately, no one else is here yet save for one confused security guard, so I just end up standing out in the rain for a while.

7:00AM My manager arrives, along with a few other volunteers, and we shuffle into the trailer. We learn that there’s safety orientation for BC place at 8AM, so another volunteer and I wander off in search for coffee. We can’t find the volunteer lounge that our supervisor suggested, but a helpful security guard suggests checking out the casino for coffee. After winding our way through a maze of security fence, we find our way into the casino (only after getting ID’d by the huge security guard at the door – what can I say, I have a baby face!) We pick up our free coffee, have a quick look around, then head back to get ready for our safety training.

8:00AM The other volunteers and I get our safety training. This is only necessary because Stadium is currently an active construction zone, and is only required up to February 4th (which is, interestingly enough, my next shift, meaning this training will only be useful for this one day). After a quick run through, we head back to the trailer and pick up our hardhat and safety vest, change into some steel-toed gumboots, and then it’s time for work!

It's safety Chris!

8:45AM The next 3.5 hours involve:

• pushing a 100+ pound printer a half mile down the road
• loading a van with 6 printers, 4 computer + monitor combos, 2 26″ TVs, and 3 58″ (!) TVs.
• unloading said van at 3 separate locations around the compound

The 3 58″ TVs were especially annoying. After loading them onto a dock at Stadium, we spent the better part of a half hour scouring ring road (the wide track that surrounds level 1) for a dolly. Once we tracked it down, we circled the entire stadium trying to find a freight elevator. Eventually we got it done, and it was time for lunch.

The %#*$ 58" plasmas

12:30PM To say I don’t do much physical labour at my job would be an understatement. What can I say – I have programmer hands. Worse yet, I have development manager hands – my hands are so dainty that I get others to program for me! After a morning full of lifting, hauling, balancing, and wheeling, it was time to partake of the free (to volunteers) catering. I was much hungrier than I thought, and devoured a huge plate full of vegetarian pizza, fries, gravy, and bag of chips.

It's hard to describe how awesome this was.

1:00PM The rest of my day was spent helping out some Bell employees test the network drops in the press area. This was cool for two reasons. First, I got to hang out inside the main part of the stadium, getting an NDA-covered view of some of the opening ceremonies goodies. Secondly I got to check out where the press is going to sit to cover all the events taking place at the venue (Opening/closing ceremonies, victory ceremonies). If Reuters complains that their network doesn’t work, don’t blame me – it worked when I saw it last!

Well, that’s my first shift. My subsequent shifts will likely be quite different; a lot of the labour I did today was helping out other departments as there wasn’t too much tech-specific work left. Any questions about day 1?

(Click here to read the next entry in the series.)

I’ve just come back from finishing the final training step for my Olympic volunteering, so I thought I’d walk you all through what I’ve done so far in preparation for my first shift tomorrow.

The first training session, which was probably a year or so ago, did not impress me at all. I had submitted an application to be a volunteer in the Technology area of the games, and was called to attend technology-specific training. As it turns out, this training was much more generic – basic “get the volunteer spirit” type of stuff, what to say (“Thank you, Merci”) and what not to say (apparently referring to a Paralympian sledge hockey player as a “cripple” is a faux pas – who knew?).  I came away from this session rather skeptical about the ability of VANOC to actually pull things off.

Things were pretty quiet for a while, but as expected they’ve picked up in the last few months. I picked up accreditation and uniform a few months ago, which was sort of fun – they definitely had the process streamlined, which makes sense given that they’ll be distributing 25000+ uniforms. The uniforms came with a few useful surprises (travel coffee mug!), as well as a few odd inclusions (Excel gum, ColdFX, discount gas cards), and they’re a terribly bright shade of blue, but I can see myself wearing pieces of it for a long time. Here’s a peek:

Today was my final training session, Venue Specific Training (or VST – one thing I’m learning is that VANOC is chock full of TLAs). The venue in question is Stadium, known more commonly as BC Place. The first half of the training session was in the nearby Plaza of Nations, and was applicable to all volunteers – contact numbers, code of conduct, and other administrivia (did you know there are almost 10,000 2010 team members working at Stadium, 1300 of which are volunteers?). After that, we broke off into groups based on Functional Area and headed off on tours of the venue.

I’ve been inside BC Place before, but never behind the scenes – it’s a pretty impressive venue. After heading in through the East Airlock (BC Place has airlocks, not doors, as the current roof requires pressurization to remain inflated), we did a brief tour of levels 1, 2, 3, and 4. Most of my work will be on level 2, the press area, but there are various operations centers that will need servicing on the other levels as well. I’ll hold off discussing exactly what I’ll be doing until tomorrow – by then, I’ll know for sure!

Any questions from anyone so far? I’m limited in what I can say about some things due to a non-disclosure agreement (I *did* see some rehearsals for the opening ceremonies today, but I can’t go into it), but I’ll answer anything I can.

(Click here to read the next entry in the series.)

So far, I don’t really know too much about what I’m doing. Here’s the basics:

• My title is “Help Desk Level 2″
• I’ll be working at BC Place (site of medal ceremonies, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies)
• I’ll also be working at Canada Hockey Place (site of men’s hockey, and probably some other things too)
• I do 12 shifts in all, including the morning of the opening ceremonies and the night of the closing ceremonies

My venue-specific training is this Saturday, and my first shift is this Sunday, so I’ll know a lot more about it then. I’m going to try to write an entry after each shift (training included), and probably a summary at the end, meaning this series should be about 15 posts – by far my biggest blog undertaking.

To help keep me motivated, be sure to leave a comment with any questions you may have about my experience. I’m going to try to answer anything you give me, as well as post whatever pictures I can – it may be limited, but I’ll squeeze whatever I can out of the volunteer’s communication protocols.

Watch this space for more!

(Click here to read the next entry in the series.)

One of my work goals for 2010 is to compete on the basis of speed. Specifically, I want to help my team:

• identify tech debt, defects, or process problems that are increasing lead time
• minimize or eliminate the creation of new defects and tech debt
• convince stakeholders 0f the value of delivering fast to get customer feedback

I think I’m already off to a good start. The aim of the project I’m currently working on is to add functionality to our product that makes it easier to integrate into customers’ existing infrastructure. The technical requirements are known to us, and we’ve finished implementing the functionality. However, we’re at a point where we’ve hit a bit of a wall – no one on the team has any experience as a consumer of this functionality (that is to say, none of us are IT administrators), and it has been difficult to get focused feedback from others within our organization who have such experience. What it comes down to is that we’ve got a feature that is technically correct (follows RFC specifications, has been load tested, etc.) but has not been tuned to customer environments.

This is not an uncommon situation in software – in fact, it’s part of the reason why “Have an embedded customer representative on the team” is a practice in Extreme Programming. However, it’s not always possible to find internal “customers” (we call them Product Managers) with extensive experience with every particular area of the field. For larger projects it may make sense to train the Product Manager in the specifics of the new functionality by having them consult heavily with paying customers, but for smaller projects this is not always feasible. My current project is less than a month old and we’re code complete, and much of the time was over the Christmas holidays with our Product Manager (and most of our customers) on vacation, so consultation wasn’t much of an option.

So, here we stand – a mostly finished project that can be release-ready within 2 weeks but that has not been fine-tuned to meet all customer requirements (as such requirements are unknown). What to do? The traditional approach within the company has been to do a beta, but these don’t necessarily solve all problems. Our betas are opt-in, and often contain very few members (less than .5% of our customer base). Feedback can be hard to gather as beta systems are often put into non-production situations. There is also quite a bit overhead involved in coordinating and communicating with all of the customers involved.

Instead, I’m pushing towards getting this thing released to all customers as early as possible. The more people playing with it the better. The code is not buggy (we hope!), it just may be lacking some specific features or compatibility. Rather than wait around for 2 or 3 months as we do research and try to completely accurately model customer scenarios (a process that’s inevitably difficult and fraught with errors), we’ll get the code out into the field.

The best case scenario is that everything we’ve done so far is adequate for the market, and there are no future requirements. This means we’ve starting recognizing value 2-3 months earlier than if we had waited and done more market research, and we haven’t sat around gold plating the project for a quarter. The most likely scenario is that our code is adequate for some, but others will need some enhancements before it will work for them. We can then prioritize these enhancements based on some sort of financial metric (renewal date of customers who need the feature, likelihood that the enhancement will bring new customers, etc.) and deliver them over the next little while.

The worst case scenario is by far the least likely to happen – that would be where customers get the new feature, find that it’s not quite up to snuff, and because of this decide to overhaul their IT infrastructure and rip out all of our company’s products because of this. That’s so unlikely that it’s barely worth mentioning. Something like this is more likely in the case where we’re changing an existing feature instead of adding a new one, but even then it’s a slim slim chance, and would be the result of a decision on the customer’s part based on emotion rather than reason.

If you presented a customer with the choice between the following two options:

• a rudimentary version of Feature X now, with improvements to come soon afterward
• a “complete” version of Feature X several months from now

… I’m willing to bet that most customers would pick the first option. The choice would be even easier once the customer realized that the “complete” version from the second option would likely have to be followed up by a release or two afterward containing improvements that the developers / Product Management failed to identify in the first go-round.

I’m excited that there seems to some buy-in to this approach so far – hopefully it pays off for us!