Calculating the Cost Savings of Effective Training Material
How can I go from "obvious idea" to tangible business ROI? Read on for some specific ideas on making the soft stuff worth your time. (Part of a series)
The Sandpit
(via GNC, thanks for this one!) A bit of artistic inspiration; a visually stunning film, combining time-lapse and tilt-shift photography. httpv://vimeo.com/09679622 For the intellectually and technically curious - more information here. For the artist and the observationally curious - tai chi under the freeway? Nice.
A Hierarchy of Information Requirements
It's a common problem statement - 'I don't have enough information to (run my business unit, manage this process, identify opportunities, etc.)'. The solution designer, when faced with a question like this, starts with a little detective work; the problem is too broadly stated.
Business Proposals and The Lesson of Jabberwocky
When someone asks my opinion on their writing, I'll get fairly detailed; I've noted in the past that there is a lot of power and influence in the written word, and it's fairly important to get it done well, or your project proposals just never seem to get off the ground. This particular proposal suffered from a lack of direction; it didn't take the reader (the decision maker) through a clear progression. Admittedly, the subject matter was a bit technical and…
Leading Change: Pick Something, and Do It Well
To be successful in leading change and creating value, demonstrate your ability to make Change happen skills in People, Process, or Technology.
Why Corporate IT Fails when Competing with Consumer Tech … and How to Change the Game
There is a fundamental difference in the level of innovation and design for internal "enterprise" technologists vs. external product developers. Internal teams are rewarded for getting work completed, while external folks win when their work is actually put to use. What are some ways to change that dynamic, and improve the work of internal teams?
IT Budget Hacking (w$$t)
Some block-and-tackle IT management stuff for today - taking a long, hard look at the IT budget, a task that is less-than-pleasant for many. Most of my peers have already cut any and all low hanging fruit - it's time to start thinking aggressively. Software Maintenance for the Small Stuff Most have concentrated on their ERP and other large, strategic vendors - but what about all of those little invoices that come every year? I'm talking about development tools, management…
If I Told You a Fractal Solution, Could You Change the CEO’s Mind?
As the new year approaches, debates over the "value" of IT and business projects intensify; it's not holiday stress, but the excitement of the approaching New [fiscal] Year. Lately, I'm hearing more about the struggle to quantify business value, especially when selecting those few projects that will "make the cut". We will definitely iterate on our scoring framework, adding a cost / benefit template to facilitate more apples-to-apples comparisons between projects (yes, don't scoff - it is possible - more…
Underwhelming experiences with Google Wave
Took some time today to work with the new communication meme - Google Wave. I wouldn't call it a fundamentally new way to communicate - well, not yet. I think Google is safe to continue with a "preview" label - clearly not even "beta" yet. No horrible bugs - at least on the Windows platform - but some obviously missing features. And, I am not all that impressed with the basic idea - it's just a mashup of Google Docs,…
A Company is like a Sphere
Where do these great analogy ideas come from? Full credit - I got this one from a speaker at the SAP Research Center in Palo Alto, last spring. A company is like a sphere. As it grows, volume increases much faster than surface area, and the larger a company gets, more people get embedded and hidden from the end customer than are on the fringe, in customer-facing roles. As a general rule, this is a bad thing. Well, maybe a…