Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Systems are commonly built by connecting smaller systems. This requires that the systems are connect-able, and that requires a defined interface. Most of the time, we build systems by connecting large boxes together in a system diagram. There are exceptions, and another post will discuss some of those. Still, connect the boxes […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Is this real? Is this a fake? Sometimes politicians and other childlike creatures show a firm grasp of the obvious. Mr. Trump did this recently with a comment about writing a note on paper and having it hand delivered. Aside from security, there is the attribute of authenticity. authentic: adjective, of undisputed […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Instead of describing smart things as “common sense,” try, “that’s smart.” I grew up with the phrase, “common sense.” Common sense was superior to “book sense” or education. Common sense was what people who knew what they were doing and could “get things done” had. Enough phrases from my childhood in qoutes. […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips If elected leaders want it, of course someone will build the fill-in-the-blank registry (if it doesn’t already exist). Big news lately about how large numbers of programmers have pledged not to build a fill-in-the-blank registry. (It is pretty easy to make such a pledge when you are employed and have enough work […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes, all that is needed is to explain the other people. This may be the most difficult task in the world. Some people just don’t understand some other people. Why not? Because those are other people who are somewhere else. The two groups of people need someone who lives with one group […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Working software is more valuable than documentation—except when it isn’t. And we have Dwayne’s Declaration. Part of the Agile Manifesto states: We…value working software over comprehensive documentation Some of us are old enough to have known this years before the manifesto was manifest. Of course we wanted working software, except when we […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes I work in groups of persons; sometimes I work alone. Why don’t I have a workspace for each of these types of work? This is a silly request; I realize that. This request, however, reflects reality and it would certainly improve productivity. I want two work spaces for myself. One is […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips I recount my first knowledge management effort in the early 1980s. Premise: knowledge cost resources, so save it. I was a newly graduated engineer in 1980. The US government sent me to the end of the earth to maintain electronic equipment. We had a lot of that stuff, and it failed fairly […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips People on the outside don’t know what people on the inside have discussed. People on the inside, however, tend to assume they do. The situation is common, and defies common sense. A small group of persons meet and discuss an issue. They discuss it for hours, sometimes days, and sometimes weeks. They […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips The heartlessness of the common job advertisement. If you issue such ads, please consider your audience—the unemployed. Join us! …reads the job listing title. The listing continues with… As we create wonderful wonderfulness in a wonderful workplace! GREAT! When do you want me to arrive? When do I receive my first paycheck? […]

[Read more →]