All in Collaboration

The Changing Culture of Big Data Management

In some ways managing “big data” tools and processes is no different than figuring out how to manage any other type of technological innovation. The technology is introduced, experts emerge and help control and shape evolving practical applications, and management eventually figures out what is worth keeping and what can be discarded.

A Project Manager's Perspective on the GAO’s Federal Data Transparency Report

While improving data transparency for both financial and non-financial data is an important goal, any effort requiring an enterprise level shift in data formats or associated business processes can also require a substantial early peak in required resources. If in fact we need to delay implementing data transparency programs, perhaps we can use our time wisely by doing a more detailed job of research and planning.

Understanding How Open Data Reaches the Public

In the long run, traditional top-down efforts at management control may be insufficient to ensure that both agency goals and the potential benefits of open data access — including unanticipated cponsequences — are realized in an efficient and cost effective manner. While leadership by the Federal government’s IT infrastructure will be necessary, it will also be necessary to ensure that ongoing efforts to advance open data access are managed efficiently both across agencies and in accordance with individual agency and program priorities; IT staff cannot do this on their own and will have to work closely with agency management.

How Project Management Roles Impact Use of Mobile Technologies

A project manager has a certain set of responsibilities and authorities, a project task leader has another, and a temporary member of a specific task team will have yet another. How individuals performing these roles interact with the project plan, with other project team members, and with project stakeholders and clients will influence — and be influenced by — how mobile technologies can support project management, communication, and collaboration.
One assumption is that a core set of project planning and task assignment information exists that can serve as a baseline model for structuring how data are organized, displayed and updated. Regarding the last point: the app needs to have the ability not just to organize and display information, it also needs to make it easy for participants to update and report status on actions and deliverables.

Learning from the World Bank’s “Big Data” Exploration Weekend

If you’re serious about data analysis there’s probably no substitute for getting “down and dirty” with real, live, messy data. Sometimes you just have to sift through the numbers with your “bare hands” if you really want to extract meaning from descriptive statistics, predictive models, and fancy visualizations.

How Will Mobile Devices In the Workplace Make People More Productive?

In 2010 I posted Sometimes a phone is just a phone and a web site is just a web site. It discussed what I thought at the time was important in a smartphone, e.g., phone service, web access, email — the basics — and was based on recent Blackberry experience and anticipation of getting an iPhone.

Developing a Collaborative Approach to Improving Project Management Practices, Part 1: Culture

In Agile grows up and new challenges emerge author Rick Freedman points out what project managers, sooner or later, learn from the School of Hard Knocks: changing and improving project management practices to improve the likelihood of project success involves not just improved management methods but also cultural changes within the sponsoring organization.