What do I like about the paper edition? I can assure you it’s not the smell of the newsprint.
White Paper: Assessing Readiness for Enterprise Social Software
This White Paper was developed under contract to Jive Software. This is from the introduction:
Engaging with the Millennials on Your Project's Team
We’ve always known that you need to engage with target market segments where they live and communicate. It’s also useful to consider, if you’re a project manager, your project’s engagement strategy including how your project’s staff members and stakeholders communicate.
White Papers, Market Engagement, and Email Discrimination
I’ve had a Yahoo! email address for about ten years.
Getting Real About "Open Data”
If the “geeks” on your team understand all this that’s great. If not, you need to seek out and involve other areas of expertise, starting with people who understand what enhanced data services can do for your target users and the problems you are trying to solve.
The Fundamental Problem with Windows 8: One Non-User's Perspective
James Kendrick really nails one of the biggest problems with Windows 8 in The disconnect with Windows 8.1: Hiding the Utility. His summary:
Challenges Facing Small and Medium-size Government Contractors
My friend Bob Davis, interviewed by Mark Amtower recently on Federal News Radio, talked about the challenges facing small and medium-size government contractors.
Data Standardization Scores and Changing the DATA Act
The basic ideas behind the DATA Act’s focus on financial data standardization makes such eminently good sense that efforts to weaken such standardization should be carefully and openly assessed. Fundamentally, data standardization if managed well can reduce costs, improve data manageability, reduce errors, and improve communication. Implementing data standards can also improve how date transparency efforts are supported as long as the people who operate the underlying systems want to be more transparent.
My Top Ten Blog Posts from 2013
According to Google Analytics these were the ten most frequently hit posts from this web site in 2013.
Fixing the NSA: Getting Real About What Really Matters
I don’t agree with everything he says but, to paraphrase his thinking, “Let’s get real about what really matters.”
Recommendations for Collaborative Management of Government Data Standardization Projects
Standardizing how the U.S. government collects, manages, and publishes budget and expenditure data, as required by the DATA Act currently before the U.S. Congress, is an example of a long-term and complex project. It will be require careful planning, management, and sufficient resources to be successful.
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) making its way through the US Congress regarding Federal financial reporting has several implications:
How Important Is ‘Total Cost of Standardization’ to the DATA Act?
Last week I attended a meeting in DC sponsored by the Data Transparency Coalition, PwC, and Intel. Representatives of the Federal agencies likely to manage implementation of the evolving DATA Act presented their thoughts on implementing the Act’s requirements for standardizing and reporting on Federal financial data.
The Knight Foundation’s report The Emergence of Civic Tech: Investments in a Growing Field has some very intersting data on the investments in “open government” and “open data” that it refers to overall as “civic technology.”
Necessity is the “mother of invention” and a place like Detroit needs all the invention it can get. Perhaps better and more disruptive access to basic data that drives service improvement could be an important element in Detroit’s recovery.
Making Open Data Accessible Inside the Firewall
Balance between control and autonomy will be critical and will vary by program size, complexity, structure, and maturity. Also critical will be how external and internal users of related data resources are supported when important distinctions related to privacy and security need to be maintained.
Duck Hunting and the Future of Customer Support
Selling new tools is easy. Figuring out how to orchastrate all the resulting business process changes — including better coordination in customer support management — is more difficult.
There is obviously a need for transparency about this problem; it’s too serious not to discuss openly but we need to do so in a mature and fact based way.
In episode 72 they discuss three project management apps they are familiar with, Asana, Trello, and Basecamp. Veteran project managers will be amused — and will recognize — Gina’s comments at the end about her “Giant Life-Defining Spreadsheet”: