by Dwayne Phillips Most tasks provide us with something and information. Often the information is more important than the something. Often the information is something we already know. If that is the case, skip the task. Testing is a task that provides information. Well let’s back up: a good test provides information we can use. […]
Entries Tagged as 'Process'
What will This Tell Us?
September 29th, 2022 · No Comments
Tags: Communication · Design · Information · Learning · Process · Testing
When Text Became Number Crunching
September 5th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The number crunchers now rule the world. How did that happen? Many years ago I was a number cruncher. I did then what people still call “digital signal processing.” We took analog signals, magically made them numbers in computers via gadgets called analog-to-digital converters or A/D converters, and happily applied digital approximations […]
Tags: Analysis · Approximation · Artificial Intelligence · Computing · Engineering · History · Machine Learning · Process
The Standard Configuration
May 23rd, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Start at the beginning and build from there. That sure is boring. That is the standard configuration. If, however, resources are scarce and the desire to accomplish new work is high, it is a good place to start. I recently restarted a new job. That is a long story for another day. […]
Tags: Adapting · Baseline · Culture · Learning · Management · Process · Systems · 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 […]
Tags: Adapting · Communication · Conversation · Decide · Ideas · Management · Meetings · Process
Slow and Slowing
February 14th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We don’t want to be slow. Stop all slow processes; be quick. There are, however, slowing processes—things that cause pause for thinking. And thinking is almost always a good thing. “This is slow. This is too slow. Let’s stop doing this,” said a frustrated person who has a good idea (or in […]
Tags: Agreement · Management · Process · Thinking · Time
Why fill-in-the-blank Projects Fail
February 3rd, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Special projects fail because they aren’t that special. We pretend or wish them to be so we can forego proven techniques and hard-learned lessons. We know why fill-in-the-blank projects fail. Let’s fill in the blank: Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning big data data lake non-profit whatever Of course these projects are different from […]
Tags: Adapting · Failure · Management · Process · Success
The Dark Ages at a Personal Level
October 21st, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips There are tools that help me remember the things I need to remember. They prevent a fall into the Dark Ages. Define Dark Ages: it isn’t that we forget how to do something, it is that we forget than we once could do that. Personal Dark Ages: it isn’t that I can’t […]
Tags: Competence · Information · Journal · Process · Remember · Tools
First, Make it Work, Second, Make it Better
August 26th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips An old wise technique is being forgotten, again. This is an old technique, but let’s run through it again. Make it work Make it better Please do these two steps in order. Please do both steps. Do not stop after step 1. I read daily about people attempting artificial intelligence and machine […]
Tags: General Systems Thinking · Process · Thinking
Solution Probleming
June 28th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we find a small shiny object that we R E A L L Y want. Then we go about finding problems that it will solve. Yikes. Here is the traditional or accepted way to solve a problem: State the problem State several solutions to the problem Pick the “best” solution Go […]
Tags: Design · Problems · Process · Requirements
Building Products or Building Infrastructure
March 15th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Are we making a product or making a product that allows others to make a product. Are we making a product that will allow us to make a product, but we spend so much time on the first that we never make a product? I see this often. People aren’t building products. […]