My Top Ten "Managing Technology" Posts from 2012

December 25, 2012 Dennis D. McDonald

It’s time to reflect on the year past. Courtesy of Google Analytics I’ve ranked my Managing Technology posts first published in 2012. Here are the “top ten” based on a ranking by the number of pageviews each received in 2012, starting at the top:

A Framework for Transparency Program Planning and Assessment. This is probably the densest and most specialized of anything I published in 2012. It includes a text overview of the topic, a link to a “mindmap” I’m using to organize concepts related to government program transparency, and a selected bibliography. This post represents a convergence of technology-influenced areas of interest to my consulting that I will also be focusing on in 2013 including transparency, project management, egovernment, and mobile technology.
Toward a Definition of Enterprise Mobility, Part 2: Key Questions. Smartphones and tablet computers are rapidly becoming everyday work tools. My view: it’s a mistake to treat them like just another portable device that needs access to the corporate network. They have the potential to radically alter how people work and communicate on the job. Listed in the post are some questions to ask when planning how to employ them.
Watching My First VUDU Movie. All is not rosy with the move to cloud based access to streaming movies. As much as I am looking forward to “cutting the cable cord” there are still some rough edges that need polishing.
Progress On Open and Collaborative Project Management. Here I discuss where we stand on enabling project management processes to become more collaborative through use of modern collaboration tools and mobile technologies. Also discussed is the reality that the old standby, email, isn’t going to disappear anytime soon.
Why Microsoft’s “Surface” Tablet/Netbook Will Succeed. I figured when I wrote this that making Microsoft Office available on the Surface would cinch its acceptance into the workplace. I hadn’t counted on the confusing dual architectures and the lukewarm reception to Windows 8. I’ve been quite impressed with what I’ve seen of Windows 8 but I recently made a detour to Ubuntu Linux when an old Windows 7 machine died. Now I’m wondering if I will ever make the move to Windows 8 myself.
What Should Apple Do To Fix Its Maps Fiasco? I own an iPhone 4S and have enjoyed using Apple Maps which I think is actually smoother and more polished than the recently released Google Maps for iOS. Still, Apple stubbed its toe big time on Maps and suffered much negative publicity. This post contains my recommendation for how Apple should recover by being more open in its repair efforts. Did they take my advice? Of course not.
What Are YOU Trying to Do with Mobile Technologies in the Enterprise? A lot will depend on whether you are using mobile technologies to (1) do more of the same, (2) do the same things better, or (3) do different things. The first is the easiest to manage and the third is difficult to plan for explicitly.
Developing a Collaborative Approach to Improving Project Management Practices, Part 1: Culture. The old “resistance to change due to corporate culture” argument is simplistic. I’ve been through enough technology projects to have learned that (1) focusing only on the technology and not the processes leads to failure and (2) when people personally recognize the advantages to them of changing they are more likely to change.
Some Requirements for Using a Mobile Device to Interact with a Project Plan. As a project manager I realized long ago that communication is critical to keeping project team members “on the same page.” Mobile devices provide a new and different platform for communicating about a project. I discuss in this post some of the different ways projects can take advantage of new tools.
The EPA’s Mobile Web Site is Great (except for one thing). The Environmental Protection Agancy (EPA), a former client, has been a leader in adapting Internet and web based tools to support its operations. This has continued to include innovative uses of mobile apps for interacting with EPA programs.Still, one area I think could use improvement is for the EPA — and other government programs — to make it easier to find out with whom to talk at the agency.

Not included in the above list are hits on pre-2012 posts such as How To Develop a Business-Aligned Social Media & Social Networking Strategy from 2007, book and movie reviews, and a special series I did on collaborative project management for Michael Kaplan.

My most popular book review in 2012 was for W. Somerset Maugham’s THE NARROW CORNER and my most popular movie review was for Ridley Scott’s PROMETHEUS.