If some tool looks promising, try it out. It’s easy, download then play. Just about everything offered on the web these days has a free trial. Maybe you’re not ready for a full test but download the trial anyway. If you need another round of testing later, email the company and they’ll likely extend your […]
When choosing software, reject this statement
Before you adopt a new piece of software, reject this statement: Switching to the alternative is no better than staying with the status quo. The status quo is how things are being done right now. Most evaluators I know don't have a software package they use for interactive visualization. So, for them, not creating interactive […]
What you already know
If you have something that needs to get done sooner than later, you should probably use a tool that you already know. Something like D3 looks neat, but if there's deadline approaching and you've never written a line of code in your life then now is likely not the time to start. The thing we […]
Vulnerability and blogging
So blogging daily has resulted in a heightened sense of vulnerability. It reminds me of something Tom Murphy said in last year’s blogging advice post. For me it is still getting over publishing and putting myself out there. Even when I am doing more of a reported story than a blog/opinion I feel a […]
Infographics without illustrator
Want to design an infographic but don’t know how to use illustrator (a.k.a. the thing most designers use for infographics)? You have a lot more options these days with template based sites like piktochart, easelly, and infogram. You can also use a photo collage builder like pixlr or fotor to lay it all out. But one […]
Laureen Trainer’s Why Evaluate Cartoons
Not only did my why evaluate series result in a string of comments, I also received a few cartoon contributions. Today’s post features three cartoons courtesy of Laureen Trainer. I asked Laureen to give a little context, here’s what she wrote: I’m always trying to think of reasons why organizations should evaluate as I work a […]
The Known Software Universe
It used to be that you could get by with just a copy of Microsoft Office suite and your field’s analysis program of choice. Maybe there was another specialized tool you needed, or some type of home built piece of software owned by your organization but that was about it. But the web has grown […]
Don’t change your 200 page report
Don’t change your 200 page reports. I’m sure someone in your audience wants that comprehensive report, and if you change it, you won’t be serving that audience anymore. Now instead of changing the report, create an adaptation. A second report to reach a different audience (maybe a 30 pager). After you’re done with that, why […]
PDF Surprise
So wait… A bunch of PDF reports that were likely not written with a web audience in mind were put up on the web alongside lots of other PDF reports that were likely not written with a web audience in mind. There were probably no other dissemination strategies attached to communicate the individual PDF reports […]
Limited Resources
Today's “Why Evaluate” cartoon inspired by Jonathan Mwewa: Evaluation helps you to answer to key questions of the existence of your project or programme including relevance?, cost effectiveness?, efficiency?, replicability? and sustainability? We need to evaluate our work because we need to be accountable for the resources that we use because resources are scarce and […]
Blogging Advice – Short Version
So a little while ago I compiled a really long blogging advice post. But because everyone is overwhelmed, here is a really short post. You should start a blog because it gives you a platform where you have complete control. Here is how you start. 1. Go to wordpress.com and sign up. You’ll need an […]