Yearly Archives: 2013

xAPI Design is ADL’s Next Big Thing

For the last year, almost a hundred people internationally have contributed to the specification for Experience API™. Lots of people talked about it, but these guys put it into being. I care about Experience API as a lightweight but heavy-duty technology that helps people respond to some of the low-hanging fruit that our greater communityRead… Read more »

3 Takeaways from the President’s New Management Agenda

The White House issued its “new management agenda.” Cynics, of course, will note that the President is announcing a “new” management agenda in the fifth year of his presidency. And, in fact, there wasn’t much new in Monday’s announcement outside of saying that the new director of the Office of Management and Budget Sylvia MathewsRead… Read more »

10 Best Practices to Utilize When Designing an Effective Survey

Evaluations are becoming an important part of almost every government activity, especially the administration of grant programs. Many grant program evaluations use surveys to collect information from both benefactors and beneficiaries. For these surveys to be effective, they should follow a few simple best practices outlined below. 1. Brief, Smooth Introduction: This should provide theRead… Read more »

Interesting elsewhere – 9 July 2013

Things which caught my eye elsewhere on the web Google logic: why Google does the things it does the way it does | Technology | guardian.co.ukThis evolutionary approach, and the Agile design processes that support it, is built into the fibre and psyche of web companies. They don’t think in terms of long-term detailed plans;Read… Read more »

When Was the Last Time Your Employees Had Fun at Work?

The phrase, fun and work, doesn’t have to be an oxymoron. Just ask any of the employees who work for the area companies recently named among the Washington Business Journal’s Best Places to Work for 2013. For the ninth year in a row, the Washington Business Journal has compiled its list of the best DCRead… Read more »

FUTURE CODE: Are web developers today’s news photographer?

A major US newspaper announced plans to fire its entire picture desk a week or two back. All 28 of them. To go. As someone who has worked on newspapers and now deals with them as part of their job that’s a significant step. It also underlines in it’s own small way this whole ‘theRead… Read more »

Esri Plenary In Review: 7 Emerging Themes for GIS Professionals

Today Esri’s User Conference kicked off in San Diego, California. Along with nearly 15,000 GIS professionals, I’ll be spending the week out in San Diego covering the event and learning the latest developments from Esri. The Plenary session this AM included: Esri president Jack Dangermond and Esri experts show how GIS is transforming our world.Read… Read more »