Working Up

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

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An Important Question

May 6th, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There are many important questions that relate to one situation or another. I find that there is one question that is more important than most in any situation What did I learn? That is the more-important question. I try to accomplish things that I want to accomplish. I have a goal. I […]

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Tags: Education · Learning · Problems · Questions · Teaching · Work

Which Part Do I Write Now?

May 2nd, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I have to write all the parts to have a whole. But the parts that comprise the whole will probably change. I am facing a big writing project (“big” of course is subjective). I have divided the whole big project into parts. Now, write each part, check off the parts in the […]

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Tags: Adapting · Choose · Work · Writing

Fly Under the Radar for a While

April 18th, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Keep your earth-shattering new thing quiet for a while. Once it works, shout. This is basic risk management. Something has never been done before. That means it is difficult. I have a solution. I can do it or I think I can do it. The best practice, in my experience of doing […]

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Tags: Humility · Management · Process · Risk · Work

The Fireman Arsonist

April 1st, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We reward the fireman, the person who extinguishes a fire. Did the fireman, however, start the fire? I used to see this often. I worked in a place where engineers would plan projects and deliver systems per their plans. The trouble was: the engineers were terrible planners. They were good system designers […]

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Tags: Design · Engineering · Planning · Record · Systems · Work

Vocabulary and Ceremonies

February 29th, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We often use the vocabulary and ceremonies of a prescribed practice without actually doing anything worthwhile. Daily standup, peer review, prototype, minimum viable product, agility, AI, agent, etc.: examples of vocabulary that makes it appear as if something good is happening. Do they have a minimum viable product? Is there product much […]

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Tags: Communication · Honesty · Practice · Process · Vocabulary · Work

Of Course Middle Managers Aren’t Brilliant

January 15th, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Why do we wonder why middle managers don’t seem to do anything useful. That is the definition of “middle.” We disdain the “man in the middle.” He or she doesn’t seem to do anything but cause greater expense. We disdain the middle managers. They don’t do anything but add levels to the […]

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Tags: Accountability · Jobs · Leadership · Management · Work

Work From Home, Work at the Office (And Commute)

January 4th, 2024 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There are many aspects to working from home or at the office. One is simply the time wasted commuting. Folks are returning to the office after the pandemic. They are? Are they saying they are, but not really? One simple aspect of the question is commuting. I live in he Virginia suburbs […]

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Tags: Accountability · America · Economics · Employment · Meaning · Measure · Remote Work · Work

Lower the Bar

November 23rd, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we simply have to lower expectations when it comes to what other people will do. Too bad. We can do better. It happened again the other day at work. I needed signatures on paper, or at least the digital equivalent of them. It was all set. Go to this building on […]

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Tags: Accountability · Alternatives · Expectations · Failure · Improvement · People · Work

Two Essentials for Employees

November 20th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips There are two essentials for an employee. Given the job market, it appears that the great majority of employers don’t understand these essentials. I have been on both sides of the hiring and being hired world. I find two and only two essentials: Okay, that’s it. Next? The trouble is, it is […]

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Tags: Ethics · Jobs · Judgment · Multitasking · Remote Work · Testing · Work

We Don’t Have Time

November 6th, 2023 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The old saying about not having time to do it once still holds. Perhaps we will learn one day. There is an old saying about not having the time to do something right, but always having the time to do it over and over and over and… I’m not sure who said […]

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Tags: Choose · Communication · Expectations · Time · Work