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

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Entries from October 2012

Setting Limits on Tasks

October 29th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Some tasks don’t deserve a lot of time to complete, despite how much time I would like to devote to them. I find items that limit my time on task. Some tasks are worth only so much time. Regardless of how much I like the task or how much I feel the […]

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Tags: Design · Work

We Need More PeGAFOS

October 25th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips More often I find myself needing help from a person who is good at figuring out stuff. A PeGAFOS. I have simple needs at work. I need a person good at figuring out stuff. Someone who can consider a puzzling situation and figure out how to work our way out of the […]

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Tags: Excuses · General Systems Thinking · Ideas · People

Lurking in the Hall

October 22nd, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips In the hall, in the dark corners that cannot be seen by humans, lurks a monster. We, or us, know the monster. It goes by the name “they” or “them.” I suppose this post goes under the category of “something that happens almost daily when ‘we’ talk about our problems.” Someone is […]

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Tags: Communication · Health · People · Work

Work Redefined – Workers, too

October 18th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The definition of work is changing with more people forming distant, loosely connected teams. This requires people who can understand not only the words but the intent of a writer and a speaker. Here is a new definition of work: Work is something we do, not somewhere we go. For years, the […]

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Tags: Change · Communication · Work

Passion and Profanity

October 15th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Profanity is not an indication of passion. There are many other explanations for it. In a recent meeting, a colleagues let loose a stream of profanity. A moment later he said, “Please excuse my passion.” Sigh. Here we go. Profanity is not an expression of passion. I know plenty of passionate people […]

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Tags: Breathe · Communication · Management

Basics of Configuration Management

October 11th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Configuration Management is concerned with the integrity of the product. It isn’t complicated. It may not, however, be liked by all. I had a conversation with a co-worker recently about configuration management (CM). We had sat through a series of meetings where CM was tossed about in a swirl of angst and […]

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Tags: Management · Systems

Resource Leveling

October 8th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Resource leveling is an obscure term in project management. It is, however, paramount to project success. You are planning a project or planning some work that involves a limited number of people. You lay out all the tasks that must be performed and record all the resources needed to perform each task. […]

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Tags: Estimation · Management · Planning

Jumping to Conclusions

October 4th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Try as we might, we often jump to a conclusion while bypassing the rather boring gathering of facts. Results are predictable and predicted. “Jump to conclusions” is an old cliche. Let’s try to put a little more thought into this topic. Consider the Satir Interaction Model from the late family therapist Virginia […]

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Tags: Communication · People

Eat, Rest, Work

October 1st, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Some simple life advice: eat, rest, work – in that order. Fatigue is a killer to accomplishing anything; hunger is a killer to accomplishing anything. Trying to accomplish anything while tired and hungry? Not much chance of accomplishing anything positive while a very high chance of accomplishing a mess. When I am tired, […]

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Tags: Breathe · Choose · Health