Author Archives: R.P. Churchill

Who Decides?

A little while ago, during our weekly Tampa IIBA certification study group meeting (you should join us!), someone asked me whether the business analyst or the project manager makes certain decisions. The specific question had to do with potential guidance … Continue reading

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What To Be Aware Of Going Into A Project

Short answer: everything! Long answer: let’s actually talk about it. The more you understand about the things you might encounter when you try to solve a problem, the more likely you will be to make use of the right people’s … Continue reading

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Why to Address a Problem in an Organized Way

When developing a solution or capability, it is usually good to make it as simple as possible — but no simpler. The key to walking the fine line between too simple and too complex (or too heavy or too expensive … Continue reading

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Old-Timey Calculators: Before Electronic Computers (and Even After)

Some time around 2004, as I was bouncing around the country doing data collections and research in support of the simulation and analysis of transportation and security systems, I happened to visit the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History … Continue reading

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Conceptual Modeling Work May Occur In Many Contexts

During a previously-referenced recent conversation I was asked why I refer to certain research, discovery, and data collection activities as “conceptual modeling.” I do so because it is a surprisingly general standard term of art that has its own Wikipedia … Continue reading

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Framework Phases Across the Proposal/Bid/Sales Process

I’ve discussed the many ways the different phases can be arranged in some standard(ish) management contexts, and how the work in each phase can be broken down in multiple dimensions, but those hardly exhaust their possible arrangements. Another important source … Continue reading

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“Where in the Framework Do You Think About How To Add Value?”

I was recently asked this by a very intelligent and insightful individual. My expanded answer follows. The short answer is that I differentiate between the solution and the engagement in several different ways. The solution, and the analysis performed beforehand … Continue reading

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Three Layers of Architecture, and Three Dimensions of Iterative Phase Loops

As I’ve been developing my engagement framework over the past few years, I have sometimes struggled to classify the exact phase in which certain activities take place. Or, more to the point, I have sometimes had difficulty contextualizing multiple different … Continue reading

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Approach Contexts for Potential Solutions

As I’ve been pondering different aspects of my engagement framework, the management environments I’ve experienced, and the nature of the solutions I’ve helped create or that I’ve learned about through other means, it occurs to me that potential solutions are … Continue reading

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On Entrepreneurship

There are many different definitions on what it means to be an entrepreneur, but to me the one that is most salient has to do with operating under conditions of uncertainty. That is, the entrepreneurial function involves offering new products … Continue reading

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