The Occasional Journal

Devils in Business Analysis

Thanks to the BA & Beyond Brussels conference organizers for the opportunity to present my views on modern Devil’s Advocacy in Business Analysis at earlier this year. My presentation is now available – click here and scroll to the bottom of the web page.

Jump Starting a Startup

Problem An inventor with a recently awarded patent was seeking a quick and cost-effective start-up to help create support and commercialize the concept. Solution Several initial meetings were held with the inventor to discuss the intellectual property followed by a thorough analysis of the market (customer needs, competition, size, obstacles, etc). Ringbolt created and managed the startup by…

Join me for a Discussion on Modern Devil’s Advocacy

I’ll be discussing modern Devil’s Advocacy on Thursday, November 12th at 1:30 PM (ET) with Adrian Reed, author, speaker, consultant, and principal of Blackmetric Business Solutions. This casual and open exchange of ideas will be informative and useful to anyone responsible for decision-making, such as business analysts and project managers, including both experienced practitioners in senior roles…

Bias, Group-think, and the US Supreme Court. Time to Change the Selection Process?

Note: this is neither a political piece nor an opinion for or against any nominee to the Supreme Court. Rather this is a discussion about human bias and group-think, framed within the process of how Justices are selected and the need for diversity and dissent within the Court.

The recent nomination of a new Supreme Court Justice got me thinking about the process of such appointments. This…

An Informative and Entertaining Online Exploration of Maps

Scientist/philosopher Alfred Korzybski observed: “A map is not the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness.”

Korzybski’s comment is insightful because simplified representations of the world can (intentionally or naively) offer misleading narratives about reality.

Bending Lines: Maps and Data from Distortion…

Why You Should Invite a Devil's Advocate into Your Business

You and your team have spent weeks getting a plan together for a new product, service or strategy. To arrive at this plan, you’ve interviewed and surveyed numerous stakeholders, conducted market and competitive research, worked out detailed launch and support plans, generated proforma financials and created a great PowerPoint presentation for executive management review and approval.

It’s…

The Critical Role of White Papers in Your Communication Plan

A white paper is generally defined as an authoritative report or guide that is intended to inform readers about a complex issue, including the author’s perspective on the topics covered. White papers typically rely upon expert knowledge and research in support of a solution or recommendation.

White papers aren’t the same as an article that is published in a scientific journal, heavy with…

Simplifying Complex Concepts for Non-Technical Audiences

Very bright researchers and technical professionals are often challenged to explain complex concepts in a simple way that can be understood by non-technical audiences. Relying on the alphabet soup of acronyms and arcane terminology from their subject matter expertise can lead both the technical presenter and non-technical audience to a frustrating impasse in understanding.

A common example of…

Decision Making Course Addresses Skills Gaps

A new course entitled, Improve Your Decision Making Skills, is now available to help address the analytical and problem-solving skills gap reported by various sources, including the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2018.

Designed as an introduction to critical and systems thinking, the course includes how to identify and construct strong arguments that support conclusions, and…

Creating Impactful Infographics for Medical Device Marketing

Rapid Oxygen Company is the developer of the unique R15 Portable Emergency Oxygen device which enables the citizen-responder a safe and simple way to offer emergency support until EMS/paramedics arrive on the scene.

Challenge

Having obtained FDA clearance for their R15 device, Rapid Oxygen sought support materials for their marketing and sales efforts which included:

(more…)

Building Practical and Cost-Effective Marketing Solutions

BNNano of Burlington, NC is one of only two firms in the United States that manufacture high-purity boron nitride nanotubes, a very rare material with virtually unlimited applications from industry and the military to medical technology.

In less than one year, the BNNano founders funded their venture through a private raise, started the firm, set up manufacturing and closed their first customer…

How A Simulation Became a Sales Tool

Business modeling to simulation is often viewed as an approach that is limited solely to “academic” analysis with little real-world usefulness.  The potential of modeling to simulation in business, however, can extend well into actual daily use across an enterprise with powerful results.

A Real-World Example

An international firm was introducing a new turnkey subscription-based training program…

Seek Help for Your New Product or Service

New product development, launch, and sustainment is a challenge for every business, and often more so in the regulated medical device domain. Identifying the market need, customers and end users to properly define the end product are all instrumental in a successful venture.

Following are several examples of products and services that I drove through development, launch, and sustainment. Contact…

A 6-minute video on business simulations to reduce risk...

I had the pleasure of speaking at ProductCamp RTP 2018 on the topic of reducing business risk through simulation — how business managers can achieve the same kind of benefits that pilots receive from the use of flight simulators. I have reduced my original ProductCamp RTP 2018 presentation to a 6-minute movie (below).

In simulated flight, pilots navigate a realistic virtual world while a trainer…

When I saw the recent news about a pill with an ingestible sensor to track medication adherence/compliance, essentially the next level of Medication Event Monitoring Systems, I thought again about what I refer to as the “Belson Fallacy” – the belief that tech can solve every problem. The Proteus Discover What I found particularly interesting was that this unique drug-device combination is…