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

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Entries from April 2022

How Many People Can You Waste?

April 28th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We have lots of work to do. We have people here to do the work. How many of these people can we waste? I suppose we are still in “the great resignation.” Come back to the office building, now! (please) (pretty please) We have lots of work to do. We have some […]

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Tags: Management · People · Please · Remote Work · Work

The Conversations Before the Meeting

April 25th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips This discusses a technique that helps move “decision meetings” in a favorable direction. You spend time to save time. It works more often than not. I have been assigned the task of presenting an idea to a meeting of decision makers. Yes, many organizations still have groups of decision makers, and they […]

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Tags: Adapting · Communication · Conversation · Decide · Ideas · Management · Meetings · Process

The Machine Isn’t Learning

April 21st, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips “Machine Learning” is one of the biggest misuses of the English language I have seen. The machine isn’t learning. Let’s try to remember what is happening. Data science is a big deal these days. Well, it is until you read the fine print in the Help Wanted ads about data science jobs. […]

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Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Computing · Language · Learning · Machine Learning

First, Let’s Do Something Useful

April 18th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips When introducing something new, it helps to do something useful at the beginning and then delve into more details and more powerful capabilities later. I am interested in robotics, software, and my grandchildren. The intersection of these centers on my grandchildren and finding things for them to do when they visit me. […]

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Tags: Childhood · Learning · Solutions · Time · Tools · Work

Discovery as an Unintended Result

April 14th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Doing something that goes beyond what is required often leads to discovery, and discovery may be a wonderful unintended result. Many years ago (in the last century), I was involved in an upgrade to an existing system. There were new requirements that required new capabilities. Some of the computing hardware was to […]

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Tags: Alternatives · Design · Learning · People · Requirements · Solutions

Defining Jargon in Terms of Jargon

April 11th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We invent new ways of being lazy in communicating. It sort of sets us apart from the ignorant masses. I did a Google search on “Kubernetes.” The result: Kubernetes, also known as K8s, is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Oh, containerized applications. Of course. Jargon […]

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Tags: Accountability · Clarity · Communication · General Systems Thinking · Talk · Teaching

How to Write as Fast as You Can Type

April 7th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips A writer can write 2,400 words in an hour and thereby finish a novel in 14 days (three weeks). Why don’t we? The average typing speed is 40 words per minute. That is 2,400 words per hour. If you write three hours a day and rest your hands the remainder of the […]

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Tags: Competence · Expertise · Play · Practice · Writing

Another Silly Silence Agreement

April 4th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We seem to create silly rules about silence. This is another one of those, “What happens here stays here.” We create silly rules about silence. I wrote about one earlier in this blog, “Silence is agreement.” Nonsense. Another that just came to mind is, “What is said here stays here.” That permits […]

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Tags: Accountability · Adults · Agreement · Meetings · Talk