Don’t Build Applications in a Vacuum
It’s the start of the new FY, and new projects are getting initiated all across the government. As these initiatives get underway, the post gives you three things to focus on, and three things to stay away from.
Project Management
When Data Remains Data
Have you ever used something once and then put it aside where it only collects dust? Unfortunately, data often has the same type of journey. Typically data is collected and then put aside, never to be used again. Jeff Neal, Senior Vice President of ICF International, sat down with Christopher Dorobek on the DorobekINSIDER programRead… Read more »
Become Your Office’s Sherlock Holmes by Leveraging the 5 Why’s
You don’t treat a bullet wound with a Band-Aid. You don’t take a bald head to the beach without sunscreen. And you shouldn’t take all issues within your office at face value. A common technique for getting to the root cause of an issue is called the “5 Whys,” and it can be a great… Read more »
How the Gov Got Rid of Chemical Weapons – Safely
On August 21st, 2013 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad carried out an attacked that killed more than 1,400 Syrian civilians with sarin-a chemical weapon used as a nerve agent. In the wake of the attack, a worldwide call for action was launched to get rid of the chemical weapons stockpile. Timothy Blades, Director of Operations atRead… Read more »
Awaken the Project Manager Inside You!
Recently, I enrolled in a course entitled “Project Management for the Office Professional” at Graduate School USA. To tell you the truth, I was skeptical. In my mind, project management had nothing to do with my desk job. Isn’t a project manager supposed wear a hard hat at construction sites? I could not have beenRead… Read more »
Balancing Your Metrics Portfolio
How do you measure the immeasurable? Things like human capital and human resources? Let’s be real, we want to know if we are properly investing in the right practices and the right people. But, the big question is how do we go about doing so? Kevin Desouza, the Associate Dean for Research at the CollegeRead… Read more »
Track Your Performance to Understand What Your Consumers Need – Part 2
A/B testing is a method of experimenting with one variable within your product, and then capturing how your users react to changes to that variable. What makes A/B Testing so important? It may be the BEST way to get timely and accurate feedback from your client base…
Track Your Performance to Understand What Your Consumers Need – Part 1
Back in July, my first post as a Featured Blogger talked to how you can get more money for your program and have more early success just by releasing sooner. And while that is certainly half of the equation, the reality is you need to be releasing content that folks care about. I think thisRead… Read more »
Meet Government’s Mr. Fix-It
The Ghost Busters have nothing on the Labor Department’s Mr. Fix it. Something needs to be repaired? Who are you going to call? Not those men in jumpsuits, but Ed Hugler! Something needs to be made accessible? Who are you going to call? Ed Hugler! He is the government’s Mr. Fix it. Edward Hugler, DeputyRead… Read more »
How to Know If You’re Really Lean and Agile
There’s plenty of buzz about government and its contractors being lean and agile. But how should agencies be thinking about these approaches, and how can they practically apply them to government? Greg Godbout, Chief Technology Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency offered this advice to agencies: “Agile is not what a software development team does.Read… Read more »