Working Up

Working Up in Project Management, Systems Engineering, Technology, and Writing

Working Up header image 4

Entries Tagged as 'Systems'

The CONOPS

December 12th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips This is a reminder of one of the fundamental documents or documentations in creating systems that delight users. It is the Concept of Operations. First things first. We want to provide a system that delights users. Where do we start? Let’s talk with the users; watch the users; learn from the users, […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Communication · Concepts · Conversation · Engineering · General Systems Thinking · Listening · Systems

Reading a Product Catalog Does NOT an Engineer Make

December 8th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The ability to read a product catalog does not make a person an engineer or an architect or someone who can think and reason. I have encountered this for 30 years. It is as if someone had a cue card in their hand. They spew product names. Things like: Kafka HDFS TensorFlow […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Clarity · Concepts · Design · Engineering · Ideas · Systems

The View from Across the Way

December 5th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes it is better to see the Eiffel Tower from across town instead on being on the Eiffel Tower and seeing the slums. I’ve seen many photographs of the great pyramids in Egypt. I have only seen a few photographs of the city next to the great pyramids. Yikes. I prefer the […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Appearances · Reframe · Review · Systems · Visibility

Levels of Abstraction

November 28th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips What are you talking about? What level of abstraction are you discussing? There are levels of abstraction. A car moves me from here to there. A car has an engine, a transmission, wheels, and fuel. An engine has spark plugs and belts and hoses. A spark plug has a housing, insulator, and […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Analysis · Communication · Learning · Systems · Teaching

Assuming It was Correct

November 14th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Take care when assuming that something was done correctly at some time in the past. “I’ll copy this, modify it, and move on,” said a brave and trusting person. Perhaps “this” was done correctly in the past. Copying and modifying is a good, time-saving tactic. What, however, if this was done incorrectly […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Appearances · Change · General Systems Thinking · Systems · Work

The Compliance Matrix

August 1st, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I take the time to describe an old tool that helps us do what is asked. There is room for doing more, but we should at least do what is asked. There is an old tool called a compliance matrix. For mathematicians, I apologize for the word “matrix” as this is a […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Baseline · Requirements · Simple · Systems · Tools

The Standard Configuration

May 23rd, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Start at the beginning and build from there. That sure is boring. That is the standard configuration. If, however, resources are scarce and the desire to accomplish new work is high, it is a good place to start. I recently restarted a new job. That is a long story for another day. […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Adapting · Baseline · Culture · Learning · Management · Process · Systems · Work

Data Science is the New Web Design

February 10th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Many of today’s data scientists are similar to man of the web designers of the 1990s. I think this is a good thing. A recent conversation with a colleague helped me to realized something about data science in today’s world. I thought data scientists were computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who knew […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Data Science · Engineering · Experiment · Expertise · Mathematics · Science · Systems · Technology · Tools · Web 2.0

Maybe It was a Bad Idea (that survived accidentally)

December 27th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Just because something survived and thrived doesn’t mean it was a good idea. There are other explanations. Good ideas bubble to the top. Market success shows those good ideas. Bad ideas fizzle. They don’t make it anywhere. Well, maybe these statements are true, but maybe the aren’t. I see things that have […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Design · Expectations · General Systems Thinking · Ideas · Reframe · Success · Systems · Technical Debt · Time

An Accepted Approximation

December 13th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips In order to move on with other matter, from time to time we accept approximations and use them. That is fine as long as we acknowledge such. Water boils at 212° F. Well, sort of. There have been many experiments performed on various things we call “water.” When is “water” really “water” […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Approximation · General Systems Thinking · Systems · Thinking