Things are looking up. And while I retain a hefty bit of cynicism, I feel better about the future. The following are thoughts I considered keeping inside my head. But after all the help and support I’ve received over the last few weeks, it didn’t feel right to keep them in. So, here we go, […]
Forget dashboards, start with better data user interfaces
How do you interact with data? Is it through a report or brief? A place where you’ll find the data has been selected, polished, and tailored for a very specific purpose. A purpose that may or may not match your needs. It is through a series of tables or charts? Generic visuals with row and […]
Can you help me find a new job?
Thank you to everyone for your kind words and encouragement after learning I lost my job. It means a lot to know that I have so much support. And for those of you who shared with me your own personal stories of job loss, hang in there. Even though I’m searching, whatever I can do […]
Design without Evaluation: a Horror Story
Okay, so I’m jobless right now. So I could sit around and mindlessly click the “Easy Apply” button on LinkedIn or I can write about some of the many things that are on my mind. For the moment, I’m going with the writing thing. I put our new car in reverse. And slowly I back […]
I lost my job, here’s why, illustrated (bonus: 4 lessons learned)
There is a saying among sociologists, “so you might not have a job, but at least you’ll know why.” Well last week, a little over 8 months since I started my position at EnCompass, I lost my job. My first ever lay off. Losing a job can be a taboo subject. But I think there […]
Visualizing Strengths Finder Results in Tableau
Strengths Finder is a type of personality test designed to give individuals a sense of their core strengths. But it’s often used in organizations as a way to understand team dynamics and guide team structuring. From an individual perspective it’s super easy to understand. If you ask someone who has taken the test to give […]
A 2018 Evaluation Cartoon Christmas (5 new cartoons)
Just in time to spread Christmas cheer, a new set of holiday cartoons. We all know why the grinch really hated Christmas. Did you know that It’s a Wonderful Life is an evaluation story? What is the true impact of Christmas? Alexa at Christmas If Charlie Brown were an Evaluator
A few lessons learned as I close down my business.
Most small businesses don’t fail, they fade away. Starting next week I’ll be starting a new position, I’m super excited and will share more about it at the end of this post. But as I close my consultancy after a couple of years in operation I thought I would share some of the key lessons […]
Cone of Uncertainty Cartoons
So I live in North Carolina, luckily a bit in-land, not by the coast and not in a flood plane. With an impending Hurricane Florence, I’m a bit worried about the people in the eastern part of the state I’ve called home for the last decade. Even though we have a lot going well for […]
Bridging the Data Gap
The gap starts small. What we see is pretty much what we know. The questionnaire, the response rates, the frequencies, and the datasets. We can see it all, from top to bottom, nothing hidden. But over time we started tracking other things. Every click of a button, every swipe of a credit card, every watch […]
The “You Sir” Data Interface
“You sir, bring me some data.” Most organizations access their data through people. Real, live, people. Somebody, most likely somebody at a senior level, asks for data. Then somebody else goes and finds it. Of course you probably know this. If you read this blog there is a very good chance that you are part […]
When keeping it simple is stupid.
When I was a young kid my uncle had a stroke. A middle aged man with a wife and three daughters, it changed his life completely. Not so long after his stroke my uncle came to live with us, becoming part of our family unit for the final 30ish years of his life. Uncle Jack […]