I hate it when others do this

But I've realized that calling the Six questions "Administrative" limits their perceived usefulness.  I also dislike acting on the varied and changing thing we call "perception". I'd rather deal with reality.

But the reality is that "Operational" is a better description than "Administrative".  "Operation" implies everyday, front-line work that has the ability to adapt to new situations.  "Administrative" implies a hands-off, set it and forget it mentality.

So, what I have now are the Big Red Question, The Four Directional Questions, and The Six Operational Questions.  I'll still be using "customers", "users" and "audiences" interchangeably, but I probably won't be keeping score on that.

Neologism Alert!

This little gem was coined one day when yet another project was doomed to oblivion by the piling on of absolutely critical deliverables after extensive reviews.

"Yeah but"s are actually essential to a successful project.  The devil is in the timing.  If you're still working around with the direction the New Thing is going to take, you end up with scope-jacking.  If you hold it off until you're at the operational planning stage, you're golden.  That's when you call it "risk-management".

There are always exceptions - usually when you run into legal issues that prevent directions you can take.  Or invisible boundaries when you find out there's a duplicate somewhere.

But as a general rule, do whatever it takes to dodge scope-jacking.

There's bad news and then there's Bad News

Remember when I was wondering about how my doctor's office got their new patient system?  Well, I've been following my connections to find the decision point and haven't really gotten anywhere. It's a passive search, so this doesn't surprise me.

Neither, sadly, does this.  I mentioned I'd been following the Quora Healthcare IT questions. Well, here's a pretty depressing answer:

 Which healthcare software has the best user-experience?

None. Repeat: NONE.

There is not a single major healthcare software company that genuinely cares about its end user experience, despite the fact that poor implementations have, amongst other things, been associated with increased patient death. The particular publication I'm thinking of is actually more reminiscent of a frustrated rant than a calm scientific explication[1].

And more along that vein.  Maybe I'd better step it up.

Another Doodle

Sorry about the off centered-ness, I did a poor job of scanning.

When looking at the directional questions, it's pretty easy to become overwhelmed.  Why on earth would you be answering something like "who are you" when all you're doing is asking for a simple change?

The answer in some cases is that you wouldn't and probably shouldn't.  The smaller the objective, the narrower the focus is going to be.  But there is this to consider:  you're not writing an autobiography, you're just setting down what you're bringing to the table.  This can help break the ice and let people get to know you.

If you're after something big that's going to change the way you do things, then it's pretty important that you answer all of the directional questions.  Having the answers at hand will remind you that you have an end in mind, who's on board, and what got you all started on this adventure in the first place.

Bonus Wednesday Link: Are You Smarter Than A Hyena?

Hyenas that think outside the box solve problems faster

The good news that in a group of  62, hyenas, only 9 will figure out if Schrodinger's cat is really there.

Safe Failure - How I (or really, my brother) made mistakes and survived

My baby brother has an article out on measuring things and how and why you do it.  It's a bit long, but a good read.

http://www.speedawarenessmonth.com/sample-data-like-a-pro/

Shooting for "Good", not "Great"

I made a presentation not long ago on the Ten Questions Plus One.  It was a dry run, really, part of the PHITE Club, where you can present without the pressure of a conference.  One of the suggestions was to put more pictures in to illustrate concepts.

So this is the first one.  They won't be in any particular order.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.  They are moderated, and I'm on vacation, so don't fret if I don't respond right away.