Working Up

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

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Back to the Office? On What Occasion?

August 5th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips After the pandemic, some of us will return to the office building on some days. When? Why? Let’s think a bit. The pandemic is over, I guess. It is time to commute to the office and work there. Right? Well, maybe. There are several activities for which online telecommuting doesn’t fit. This […]

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Tags: Management · Meetings · Remote Work · Resources · Thinking · Work

Earned Value Management in Two Sentences

July 26th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Earned Value management can be explained at great length (it has). Let’s try two sentences. Some people live by earned value project management. Some people, well, not so much. There are many books and chapters written on the topic (I am one guilty author). Let’s cut it down a bit. If it […]

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Tags: Approximation · Estimation · Management · Work

“Meetings”

July 8th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I love meetings. They are fun. At least the meetings I attend. Why attend any other kind? There are many types of gatherings that we call “meetings.” That is a disservice to the English language and to the “meeting.” My little work group has a daily “meeting.” I love it. I laugh […]

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Tags: Choose · Communication · Fun · Meetings · Work

Where is the Floor?

July 1st, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Half the persons in any profession are below average. At what point is a person not allowed in the profession? Where is the floor? Half of all teachers are below average. Half of all interior painters are below average. Fill in the blank for whatever job there is. Okay, we know that. […]

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Tags: Accountability · Competence · Systems · Work

Telecommuting and Shipping

June 3rd, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Working from home? Ship. End of questions about working from home. Fourteen months into the pandemic, many of us are still working from home. We are about to go back to the office building. I think. I am not sure. There are still questions about this telecommuting, telework, work from home, and […]

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Tags: Culture · Employment · Expectations · Goals · Myth · Remote Work · Time · Work

The Monday Morning Secret

May 3rd, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The weekend tends to erase all prior history. That is a bad thing in endeavors that are worth our time. Monday morning. A good weekend behind me. Okay, now what? Well, what’s interesting in the tech and culture news? Oh, look at that. I’ll spend some time exploring it. Problem: I am […]

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Tags: History · Notebook · Record · Remember · Work

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. […]

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Tags: Lifecycle · Patterns · Process · Purpose · Work

Figuratively and Literally

February 4th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We often use a “figure of speech” to describe something. Well, that’s nice, but I know that such-and-such cannot literally do something-or-other. Can we please have some literal descriptions? I have recently been reading constantly about a very popular software app. I won’t mention which one because that would take us off […]

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Tags: Communication · Fairy Tales · Technology · Work · Writing

Don’t Try So Hard

November 9th, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we are trying so hard that we fail to notice the simple and wonderful things right in front of us. Person A: I don’t see. It can’t find it. That idea, that concept, that thing that I’m trying to write. Where is it? Person B: Don’t try so hard. Person A: […]

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Tags: General Systems Thinking · Notice · Observation · Thinking · Work · Writing

The Delegated Task Test

November 2nd, 2020 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips When delegating a task to another person, clear communication is key. It is unfortunate that clear communication is also rare. Here is a simple test. Person A: Are you doing task such-and-such? Person B: Not myself. I delegated task such-and-such to Person C. Person A: Oh, good. Task such-and-such is intricate and […]

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Tags: Clarity · Communication · Testing · Work