Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Despite temporary angst, we want the tester who has the bad luck of doing something that finds the errors in our computer programs. A while back, my grandson was writing a program on our kitchen computer. He was writing some type of game where you picked a number and something happened on […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips “We have a process we use here” usually means one person declared the process and that process will disappear the day the person leaves. I have recently encountered organizations where “process is everything.” I hear boasts of, “WE do it this way all the time.” In my experience of 45 years (yes, […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips A simple tool for providing feedback to a writer. “Mary had a little lamb.” The above five-word phrase can be said at least ten different ways. It can be assigned at least ten different meanings. Which one did the writer intend? Now we come to providing feedback to a writer. Ask, “Do […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Despite cries to the contrary, we want bias. Our individual bias is what makes us individuals. Do we really want everyone to be the same? I doubt it. “We need to reduce bias,” said someone who meant well but wasn’t thinking things through. I am biased. I like some things and dislike […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips This is a simple, two-word question. It is fundamental if someone is paying for my time. What is all the fuss about? In the news recently, I find that a new advisor to a new executive asked all the employees to answer the basic question that is the title of this post. […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Want more efficient and more productive government? The solution is simple, but probably won’t be used. Once every now and then, someone comes along and tries to make government more efficient and more productive. Note: this means more efficient and more productive than it is now. This does not mean truly efficient […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Much of the jargon we use doesn’t make sense. If we didn’t use the nonsense, no one would understand us. We use jargon. I work in computers, and we are one of the worst offenders of jargon in communication. The jargon is nonsense. If I used real words, however, no one would […]

[Read more →]