Neil McEvoy

sure Julie, you’re the human face to what is an intellectually interesting debate on a broader level. I went through the personal pains of MS Access maaany years ago but I can still sympathize! 🙂
I’d say it’s a popular topic because it’s that curious paradox situation, a conundrum where you try and balance the opposing tensions of…[Read more]

Hi Julie
I do think out of this group of threads yours is the most finger on the pulse.
Shadow software simply means that the organization has applications somewhere in there that they don’t ‘officially’ account for, ie. IT doesn’t recognize them, so they provide no support.
It’s a specifically named topic because it’s so dangerous, for the huge…[Read more]

It’s the right dynamic to support for sure, but it’s the how that’s critically important.
End user organizations that take to developing “mickey mouse” software will create a problem that they eventually come back to IT to fix. Think of all those MS Access databases littered everywhere. It’s easy to write software, it’s not easy to write…[Read more]

Certainly this appears to be the root point. Ie. there’s no actual correlation between workplace performance and what you wear, but rather there’s these social dynamic and stereotypes. An office worker can’t type any faster in a suit but without one others will make judgements about them… etc.
So yes part of workplace maturity is to be aware…[Read more]

I’m sure that’s the way for some people, but that is the kind of point that leads us back to the deeper rooted dynamics and a big question mark over the “truth” of this policy.
I’m working from home & sat here in shorts and sandals, and my performance is at its best, as it always is when I’m most comfortable. So for me personally, there’s no…[Read more]

Yes Candace, it’s always the aspect of society I find most fascinating, ie, the “rules” we bind ourselves by, for sake of whatever: Religion, professionalism, etc.
All mental prisons of some kind and very much a product of the industrial era which was all about command-and-control hierarchy. As we continue into the Internet era it will be…[Read more]

It certainly is a fascinating topic, a keen insight into the nature of the personal dynamics involved in the workplace.
I mean, obviously there’s no actual relationship between what you wear and the work you do. A suit and tie does nothing to affect your abilities to do your work, and indeed on hot days they’re really quite inappropriate and…[Read more]

A thong, pair of sandals and a t-shirt that says ‘I’m with stupid’ and an arrow pointing up at me.
Thankfully, for you, I have no photos…

Awesome!!
I’d love to cover this in the upcoming Open Government Canada webinar : http://OpenGovernmentCanada.com
We’re pioneering something similar in Canada, the ‘G-Cloud Open Data Platform’ :
http://open-government.net/2011/05/30/g-cloud-open-data-platform/
Would love your thoughts on that too.

How about ‘Open Reporting’ – That’s the most universal descriptor I can think of. I think a layman would catch on.

Hey folks

I wrote a paper on exactly this, ie how Microsoft Cloud Computing can enable Public Sector Transformation:

http://open-government.net/2011/04/26/open-government-cloud-computing/

Like any IT, the key is to identify what new capabilities are enabled, and how do these relate to the political policy objectives..

Cheers, Neil.

I think it’s a shame we’re still not yet evolved enough to find jubilant celebrations of any one’s violent death inappropriate, nor wise enough to avoid it because ultimately it wishes the cycle back upon ourselves.