By Brian Seitz on
12/15/2007 8:40 PM
Despite all the applied computational power applied to the problem of product design the process has only had incremental improvement during the past three decades or dare one say just automation of the tasks. What is needed is a fundamental reexamination of the problem and possibly a reengineering of the process to create a breakthrough in how products will be designed in the future.
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By Brian Seitz on
9/21/2007 6:49 AM
Microsoft appears to be repeating IBM’s history as it goes through its lifecycle. From smart growth, having to learn new rules when you're the dominate player in the industry, appearance of arrogance from the same behavoirs when smaller, alienation of original market and new technology and market model challenges. It maybe Microsoft will continue to follow IBM's history into a major service provider instead of a technology providor role it is known for.
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By Brian Seitz on
9/15/2007 10:25 PM
The saying goes “to really learn a subject teach it” and “if you help someone you’ll get back more in return than you give”. A recent event in helping a friend turned out to be a joyful reaffirmation of these sayings
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By Brian Seitz on
8/27/2007 5:25 PM
Most of the time the term Devil's Advocate has a rather negative connotation inside the corporate walls, a phase used to demean someone that looks at alternative or contrary positions to the majority. However, sometimes having a Devil’s Advocate may be just the thing to prevent disasters in business and government. Centuries ago Roman conquerors would ride through the streets in triumph with a Slave whispering in their ear that fame and glory was fleeting --a message not to take their success to seriously—a Devil’s Advocate roll if you will. Corporations at times have recognized the value of such a roll at times. Below is one such example.
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By Brian Seitz on
8/27/2007 3:25 PM
Office Accounting has arrived however, has a little more development before it could be called a solution for small businesses
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By Brian Seitz on
6/24/2007 5:00 AM
Its that moment of "How Brilliant! How come nobody ever thought of that before" that seperates what I call Innovation verse Step-wise refinement --both having value in our engineering world the Dante N Bini demonstrates through his approaches of building systems.
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By Brian Seitz on
6/9/2007 4:58 AM
Are mentorships and Internships all they're cracked up to be. Being a mentor is a great trust and can have lasting impacts upon your young protégé's career for life.
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By Brian Seitz on
6/8/2007 5:44 AM
Is the engineering profession a victum of its own success, delivering on promises with great regularity were other professions don't?
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By Brian Seitz on
5/3/2007 8:08 AM
I was going through my files the other day for a much needed annual clean-up and found some old materials during my "Skunk Work days" for others to enjoy.
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By Brian Seitz on
4/1/2007 6:20 AM
During the past several months I’ve been hopping around different organizations looking at how they are operating in the product creation sense; large corporations, small businesses, and all sorts of companies in between. It’s a sad story; we’ve become a corporate society run by spreadsheets and email. I don’t want to slam Microsoft for this, they're in the same boat wandering around the ocean of innovation hoping to find a gem to latch onto. Neither has IBM after downsizing again and webifying its processes been able to kick start serious innovation there either. So what is it that makes innovation so hard in businesses?
Are there no really new innovative ideas out there? I doubt it. There are plenty of things going on if we care to notice. Do we not have the right people on board? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe the maverick you hired isn’t in the right role or hasn’t a supportive organization around him or her to truly be the catalyst for innovation you’d hoped for. Is it a funding issue? ...
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By Brian Seitz on
1/27/2007 9:43 AM
The signs that the engineering profession, like medicine, is in flux are all around. As Engineering S/W becomes more "intelligent" design democratization become more possible and probable. Does this spell the end of engineering as a profession, a transition to a new model of work, or potentially a redefinition of engineering?
A long time ago Engineering was considered a highly qualified and respected profession. The profession and the disciplines under that profession (civil, mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Hydraulic, etc.) were, like medical professions, considered both a calling into a community of practice as well a requiring their own codes of honor. A new engineering candidate was not simply tutored in the academic of the profession s/he was apprenticed and grown through experience into a master craftsman.
I use the work craftsman deliberately in that too many engineering projects now are no longer works of a craftsman engineer, they are becoming more spreadsheet optimizations...
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