Project Management

Managing Your Expectations for Success with Trainers and Consultants

What word springs to mind when you think of past experiences with trainers and/or consultants? Unhappy? Frustrated? Satisfied? Pleased? Assuming you’ve hired a competent trainer/consultant, do you know what the primary difference is between those that have had a negative response versus those that have been happy with the experience? Managed expectations. By managing YOURRead… Read more »

Using GIS to Power the Open Data Movement

This is the second installment in a two-part series covering GovLoop and Esri’s virtual training event on open data and GIS. The first installment highlights a number of success stories at the state and federal levels. “I see the role of GIS as being able to make sense of [health] data. A lot of theRead… Read more »

Gather Stakeholder Inputs

Your organization consists of much more than just your employees and managers. Clients and customers, providers, contractors and others are also included in the role of “stakeholder.” When you’re ramping up for a transformation initiative, it’s important to gather the inputs from all stakeholders, not just those who are most obvious. Touch on topics likeRead… Read more »

What I learned from government innovators – Plus the seven gov stories you need to know

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER: Are you, like me, an Olympic junkie? If you are, there is more to learn from tuning into the Olympic coverage than how to execute the perfect twizzle. You can also learn valuable leadership lessons. Here are the top five. You can find all of our programs online: DorobekINSIDER.com and GovLoopRead… Read more »

Open Source Isn’t Just for Cost Savings

This is the second installment in a two-part series on open source software (OSS) for enterprise IT. The first installment discussed common myths about the use of open source technologies. “I think the biggest benefit to open source is the ability to move fast and to be agile.” – Andrew Hoppin Last week I hadRead… Read more »

Promising Practices for Interagency Collaboration

GAO has issued a series of reports over the past three years identifying more than 80 areas where there is potential duplication and overlap. It observes that “agencies face a range of barriers when they attempt to work collaboratively.” On occasions, the Government Accountability Office breaks the mold for its reports and looks for thingsRead… Read more »

What’s your contracting legacy?

Federal managers, especially those involved in procurements, say that they want to have a lasting impact and leave their organizations better off than before they came. Most start out with grand plans, an open mind, and a real desire to make positive changes. But then something happens… The change is much harder than they realized,Read… Read more »

Workarounds as Evidence of Broken Processes

I work for a culture (the Air Force) that prides itself on innovation and a mission-first approach. However, in a long-term work project involving process mapping and process design for an internal customer, I’ve also noticed a culture of workarounds driven by several factors: 1) obsolete yet required forms; 2) lack of concrete guidance fromRead… Read more »

Making Gov Innovations Matter – Plus the 7 gov stories you need to know

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER: Workforce = mission. If you don’t have the right people it is a recipe for disaster. But getting the recipe right is a huge challenge. So how do you make it work? Insights from the Government Accountability Office. You can find all of our programs online: DorobekINSIDER.com and GovLoop Insights atRead… Read more »