Working Up

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

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Words and Distant Lands

February 27th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips People in distant lands use the same words differently. Time and generations create distant lands. I was fascinated by this story about younger folks putting things on TikTok et al. Then older folks who admit people to college and hire them for jobs noticed those things. The younger folks spoke in the […]

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Tags: Communication · Conversation · Culture · Humility · Language · Time

The CONOPS

December 12th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips This is a reminder of one of the fundamental documents or documentations in creating systems that delight users. It is the Concept of Operations. First things first. We want to provide a system that delights users. Where do we start? Let’s talk with the users; watch the users; learn from the users, […]

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Tags: Communication · Concepts · Conversation · Engineering · General Systems Thinking · Listening · Systems

Speaking English or Some Other Private Language

September 1st, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If someone asks a question in English, please answer in English. Please avoid some other private language. In recent conversations, I asked, “Your research, how far ahead in time are you working? Your work may become reality in 1, 5, 10 years?” The answer was, “TRL 4.” (see this for a translation) […]

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Tags: Clarity · Communication · Conversation · Language · Respect · Vocabulary

Vin Scully, Neighbor – again

August 8th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Vin Scully died last week. He retired almost six years ago. I wrote about him in September 2016. Here is a repeat of that. I won’t hear my old neighbor’s voice anymore. Vin Scully retires. It was 40-something years ago. I was a kid playing in the back yard in southern California. […]

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Tags: America · Childhood · Conversation · Family · Life · Listening · Remember

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

You Should Not Have Told Me That

September 9th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If you want something in return for something, state that contract first. Person A: Guess what? blah blah blah. Person B: Oh my goodness. Person A: You can’t tell anyone what I just told you. Person B: Why not? Person A: Because. Person B: You should have stated the non-disclosure agreement before […]

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Tags: Agreement · Commitment · Conversation · Ethics · Trust

Why Persons Don’t Become Vaccinated and How to Convince Them to be Vaccinated

August 19th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Many persons want many other persons to become vaccinated. Their methods, however, are achieving the opposite. “Become vaccinated,” is an oft-heard cry. (Actually, I read “get vaccinated” which brings cringes of pain to those of us who know the meaning of words.) And there are many who do not get the vaccine […]

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Tags: Breathe · Communication · Conversation · Health · Listening · Patience · Please · Respect · Science · Virus

Anonymity in the Masked Society

April 19th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips All this mask wearing allows me to not recognize and not talk to people when I’d rather just keep doing things I’d rather just keep doing. The year of the virus has brought us many changes. Let’s consider one that I discovered recently and like (on those occasions when I like it). […]

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Tags: Alternatives · Appearances · Conversation · Reaction · Virus

Internet Discussion Chaos and Semi-Public Groups

April 1st, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Where will we go for discourse on the Internet? Semi-public groups for forums work. I like Seth Godin’s recent short essay on trust and how folks use the Internet. Godin described the early (1970s) online interaction as, “Because each of these groups were high-trust communities, it was easy to conclude that the […]

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Tags: Adults · Conversation · Ideas · Internet · Respect · Talk · Trust · Vocabulary