It could always be worse Because most of us don’t have the benefit (like I do) of seeing how other associations are managing their data, we tend to think our situation is much worse than it really is. So I like to collect stories of organizations that really ARE in bad shape. Here’s the latest example: A […]
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It’s all about managing expectations I placed an order online on a Friday and the store I was ordering from told me my product would deliver the following Wednesday. I would have preferred to receive the product sooner, but Wednesday it is. On the next day, Saturday, FedEx sent me an email confirming the product
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Experience is the best teacher Experience is the best teacher. Every one of us has experienced this (pun intended!) and we all know it’s true. And yet too often, when it comes to database training, we think we can place staff in front of a trainer, have the trainer show the class how to do something,
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Don’t ask for what you don’t need! Recently I received a bill from a doctor’s practice. The bill provided a website for paying online. So I went to the website and the first thing it asked me for is my account number. This is good because the bill they sent me has my account number on it.
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It is never done – so celebrate! A client of mine recently had their official “go-live” with their new AMS. On the day after go-live, my client said “I still have a whole list of things to do. We’re not done at go-live, we’re just getting started!” And she’s absolutely right! There is really no
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MDR (Minimum Data Required) I’ve written about minimum viable product (MVP) in software development in the past. MVP means getting the product out into the market with the least amount of features, in order to get customer feedback and to just get something out there. A related concept in data management is minimum data required (MDR)*. The purpose
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Simple and Faster is Better Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to attend a session at ASAE’s Annual Meeting entitled “No Analyst, No Problem!” presented by Bailey Kasten and Meagan Roloff. Their session was essentially about creating data visualizations on a shoestring budget. They presented several “case studies” of how they took relatively complex
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Patience and grace A past client of mine recently told me: “You inspire confidence and calmness which people need when going through an AMS transition.” This got me thinking about two behavioral attributes that I think are absolutely critical to success when going through any major technology transition: patience and grace. Technology transitions, no matter
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Sometimes you just have to try it and see what happens The single greatest key to happiness in data management (and life!) is to seek success and not perfection. A corollary to that could be “Try it and see what happens.” Part of my work with clients is helping them make decisions about business rules and business
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Training and testing I’ve written before that the best form of training follows this process: Tell them what you’re going to do, tell them what you’re doing, tell them what you did. When working with your software company to report bugs or other issues, you should follow a similar process: Tell them what you were
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