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The Genius of Asking Dumb Questions
Two days ago I commented on how technical jargon can either enhance or impede communications. I ran across this quote today from the 1987 book Thriving on Chaos by Tom Peters along the same thread, and thought I’d share: Mostly, it’s the dumb, elementary questions followed up by a dozen even more elementary questions that…
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The ITEA Criteria for Software Process & Performance Improvement
(I originally wrote this article for the ASQ Software Division Newsletter compiled in the first quarter of 2009. I’m reproducing it here because I’ve found the ITEA criteria to be remarkably useful for all kinds of planning since I was introduced to it last year.) For software professionals, particularly those of us who manage product…
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Overcoming Jargon
I was talking to a group of professors from James Madison University yesterday, when the topic shifted to “discrete event simulation”. They asked me if I knew anything about it – I said no. I don’t think I had ever heard of those words strung together in the same phrase, and so immediately assumed that…
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Free Wireless for All
The California Zephyr, Amtrak train 6 out of Denver, stopped for about 5 minutes this morning at the tiny little station of Osceola, Iowa. It was just enough time for me to turn my wireless on, surf around for an unsecured network with a good signal, and check my email, the weather radar, and this…
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Sociotechnology, Public Policy and the Global Economic Crisis
Today’s Washington Post includes an article on “How We Can Restore Confidence” in our economy. Confidence, after all, is one of the energetic drivers of the economy – without it, spending grinds to a halt, and the delicate equilibrium of economic flow is jeopardized. The author, Charles T. Munger, reflects on the reasons for the…
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Google Measures Energy to Conserve Energy
Why measure? Because measurement compels behavior. I’ve written about this previously in my article on the Trash Guy, but now Google is taking note: ”Studies show that being able to see your energy usage makes it easier to reduce it.” This is the driver for their new Google PowerMeter project, which envisions a future where…
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The Wii Fit and Quality Considerations
This week, Forbes published an article called “The Truth About Wii Fit and Weight Loss”, noting that even though the Wii Fit is now in over 1.5 million households, it still isn’t delivering the health benefits that were envisioned. Why? Because people just aren’t using the Wii Fit enough to realize the weight loss benefits…
Quality and Innovation 