Working Up

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

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Entries Tagged as 'Communication'

How’sit Goin’?

July 14th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips This is one of the fundamental questions that persons working projects need to answer. We know what we are attempting, but we don’t know the actual progress and how that compares to the expected progress. There are several fundamental questions that should be asked and answered by people working on projects. Among […]

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Tags: Communication · Management · Questions · Work

Computing and the TPS Report

July 11th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Though we hate to admit it, the goal of us who work in computing is to produce a TPS report. The “TPS Report” is the butt of all office jokes. It is meaningless paperwork that serves no purpose. For a full explanation, see the Wikipedia page on it. Those of us who […]

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Tags: Cloud Computing · Communication · Computing · Jobs · Work

Modern

June 16th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I see a trend in people using the word “modern” to describe technology. I find that unfortunate. Just this morning, I read: modern data stack modern programming practice modern machine learning modern artificial intelligence modern compilers And then I quit. I guess I am one of “those people” who expect others to […]

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Tags: Alternatives · Communication · Technology · Writing

Time to React

June 6th, 2022 · No Comments

By Dwayne Phillips Time is a marvelous tool. Allow time between an action or event and the reaction or the feedback for the event. I have spoken at large gatherings many times in my career (500 or 600 persons attending, most of them staying awake). I enjoy it. When I am finished speaking, I am […]

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Tags: Communication · Event · Listening · Reaction · Talk · Time

Yes-No Questions

May 26th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The basic yes-no question is quite easy to answer. It is either “yes” or “no.” Recognizing the question is a bit more difficult, but not impossible. There is a type of question for which the answer is either “yes” or “no.” It is quite easy to answer as there are only two […]

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Tags: Analysis · Communication · Conversation · Questions · Trust

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

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

It is Still About People

March 10th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Pandemic, hybrid, remote—it is still about people. “Nobody quits companies. They quit managers.”—Satya Nadella, CEO Microsoft How do you manage distributed or remote teams? Same way you manage in any situation. (1) You don’t manage people. You manage work. You lead people. (2) You lead people who are remote the same way […]

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Tags: Communication · Leadership · Management · People · Remote Work · Work

Abbreviations, Grouping Persons, and Removing Accountability

February 28th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips This bothers me—this bothers me often and deeply. We abbreviate or shorten descriptions of individual persons. We “lump them together” so as not to name individuals or describe them. Such removes accountability. This bothers me. Here is a news story about the Congress of the United States. There are hundreds of such […]

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Tags: Accountability · Clarity · Communication · Respect · Writing

The Details are in the Details

February 7th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Managers want to hear the summary. The details are delegated. It is unfortunate that the summary rarely agrees with the details. “Summarize it for me. Give me three choices. I delegate.”—managers everywhere all the time. Simple statement from the managers. They have manager tasks to do. They delegate work to others. The […]

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Tags: Communication · Design · Management · Software · Technology