Ryan Gensel

On the "New Economy" of Quality Information

2009-09-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

We run the risk of becoming too intellectualized, ie. Structuralism versus Post-Structuralism. I fear we will repress our innovation to disregard concepts that have abstract meaning, and look to empty materialism and “false nouns” to fill the void.

Business will inherently be linked to the evolution of language. We need to make knowledge accessible, not insulated from meaning. There are decisions that can not be decomposed into “true/false” / “on/off” / “0/1″, but we as language users will relate concepts as our own mind translates the symbiotic cultural conventions and re-write previously held tradition.

I think we need to collaborate in small multi-disciplinary teams, set definite function requirements, and iteratively create “utterances” that flatten a concept in context of the current development cycle. Fix and Fail, Fix and Fail. Waste is a byproduct of innovation, but innovation applied can be leveraged to provide future value, not as a market insight to borrow against, but as an obvious evolution of a knowledge area. Quality will tell the story of human evolution. Quality of Life and Quality of Information are inextricable.

The more organization and efficiency a workplace assumes, the more practices will be related to concepts of Communism and Fascism. They represent extreme ideologies. Culture is a balance, humanity is a balance, thought is balance. It only takes a few pages of Nicholas Nassim Taleb to realize we are arrogant assumptuous animals through ignorance and cognitive dissonance will turn foreign concepts into pariah.

Godwin’s law will precipitate Benford’s law of controversy and we will circuitously improve concepts by unconsciously popularizing then unpopularizing a subject. The subject remains benefited, but the poet is lost in translation.

(Adapted from a comment @ http://experiencematters.criticalmass.com/2009/09/04/the-new-economy-where-branding-and-digital-become-essential)

Ryan Gensel

twitter.com/readysetproject
ryangensel.blogspot.com

Why you do not know your Company's IQ

2009-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

IQ is Information Quality. If information represents language and meaning, quality represents the effectiveness of that communication to present meaning in that language. The concept of information quality has been around since the inception of language. Philosophers master language and meaning, to develop patterns that simplify the presentation of information as a situational context. Relating meaning to the language of communicators inherently creates a narrative perspective of information experience, since individuals experience time linearly and perception logarithmically. Information Quality is becoming more relevant to organizations that strategically design products and responsibly conserve resources.

Cultural Adoption of Information Quality

A “hype cycle” represents the interest in a concept or practice by a specific audience, and historically models the adoption of technology. The hype cycle is characterized as having the following five phases:

Trigger - An event or incident that triggers initial interest.
Peak - Over enthusiasm and unrealistic expectations.
Trough - Disillusionment abandons concept.
Slope - Experiment and practical application.
Plateau - Value is demonstrated.

The hype cycle can model the adoption of Information Quality, provide context to the current cultural environment, and present the eventual transition of Information Quality from conception to convention.

Trigger
(Hypothetical and Obscure)
: Culture – Intellectual Abstraction – Academia Academia is positioned to interpret and analyze culture. The abstract concept of Information Quality is described by the works of linguists, philosophers, and diplomats. They create and define models that represent the interpretation of information in communication. Academics dissect the language and meaning of those concepts using scientific methods and explore new abstract relationships. As academics create new knowledge and publish their findings; individuals, institutions, and public personas monitor those developments and borrow ideas that have direct utility to their interests. In the case of Information Quality; individuals, institutions, and public personas could now attempt to qualify the effectiveness of communication to improve their ability to control.
Peak
(Overenthusiastic Application and Failure)
: Politics – Business – Information Systems Propaganda is presenting an unethical relationship of concepts as communication, but optimized to eliminate individual interpretation. To establish control, organizations improve the effectiveness of communication, but reduce the objectivity of that information.

Trough
(Experimentation and Discussion)
: Internet – Information Technology Control is temporary and unstable since individuals eventually refuse invalid information. The damage incurred while communicating propaganda aggregates in individuals as a resentment towards the concept and organization, hastening cultural abandonment.

Slope
(Convention and Best Practice)
: Marketing – Customer Service – Human Resources As time elapses, distance separates individuals from the resentment of a concept. Individuals rediscover a concept without the negative cultural connotation and experiment with new applications for old concepts.

Plateau
(Universal Concept)
: Operations – Values - Culture The practical utility of a concept is demonstrated and accepted as a cultural convention. Individuals will associate the concept and culture as a united entity, common and obvious to individuals in that culture.

Summary

The adoption of Information Quality assurance has been stalled by the maturation of Business Intelligence systems, which require unique planning and accurate calibration, but promise unrealistic efficiency and automation. Business Intelligence has been expensive, intrusive, and inaccessible to the majority of organizations, emulating the “peak” of a hype cycle. The Internet provides an environment to experiment and discuss Information Quality with other individuals, each sharing and communicating their interests, which corresponds to the hype cycle “trough.” Information Quality will eventually permeate the role of Information Technologists, as projects become more complicated, and management more automated. As organizational interest grows for Information Quality; Marketing, Customer Service, and Human Resources will adopt practices that improve the effectiveness of their communication, presenting the characteristics of the hype cycle “slope”. Operations, and the individuals that manage an organization will adopt Information Quality best practices and integrate conventions into culture, representing the hype cycle “plateau” which connects concept from abstract culture to meaningful adoption, and into meaningful culture.

Information Quality will eventually become an obvious mechanism individuals and organizations use to optimize communication, but until then, this is an example of how an organization will interpret IQ.

As an organization, interpret how effective your communication is:

Authority
Identifying and upholding shared values?
Mediating conflict?
Protecting victimization?

Scope
Planning projects?
Distributing roles and monitoring tasks?
Investigating expectations and delivering adequate solutions?

Composition
Using appropriate language?
Providing accessible formats?
Organizing information for comprehension?

Objectivity
Representing diverse perspectives?
Incorporating multi-disciplinary concepts?
Researching concepts thoroughly and unbiased?

Integrity
Communicating concepts honestly?
Improving employee quality of life?
Presenting transparent motivations for action?

Comprehensiveness
Guaranteeing quality of service?
Estimating the cost of service?
Conserving resources?

Uniqueness
Presenting original concepts?
Referencing established concepts?
Differentiating your services from competitors?

Timeliness
Providing relevant information?
Responding to language changes?
Managing operations?

Reproducability
Translating culture as policy?
Transferring information?
Integrating best practices?

No weighted score is necessary, since failing to meet any one attribute will result in employee burnout, wasted resources, and lost opportunity.

Solution

What practical solutions exist to improve Information Quality in your organization?

Provide organizational support to identify individuals as abstract but primary system components.
Leverage the momentum of human capital by focusing individual ambition.
Empower individuals to improve and optimize their role.
Utilize the motivation of individuals to autonomously improve the organization's ability to communicate.

-Ryan Gensel

twitter.com/readysetproject
www.readysetproject.com
ryangensel.blogspot.com

Information Quality - A shift in focus is imminent for all web workers

2009-09-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

The Internet facilitates human conversation, and is manifested as mostly text and visual ques. The hierarchy and order of which users experience the text/visuals is coordinated by organizational executives, designers, and information contributors. Experience is mapped as paths through elements intended to inform or persuade the user. The user, however has their own conceptual model of information they are interacting with, referencing, and updating as revised information experiences.

The quality of information experienced can be segmented and analyzed into about dozen categories (metric or KPI):

* Authority
* Scope of Coverage
* Composition and Organization
* Objectivity
* Integrity
* Comprehensiveness
* Validity
* Uniqueness
* Timeliness
* +Relevance
* +Context

Web designers and managers usually contend with only "Composition and Organization", reorganizing, presenting, and contextualizing information assets across a wide variety of formats: Applications, HTTP sites, Marketing Collateral, Business Intelligence, etc.

The expected scope of web professionals is much too limiting, by only classifying individuals as technicians, we eliminate the recursive learning loop. The valuable information a developer discovers during the hours/days/weeks/months ruminating over the business processes you employ are generally wasted when not directly applicable to the current project task, but merely insightful as a concept. By improving the concepts for which we build organizations, processes, and products we can increase the quality, efficiency, and return on work already being accomplished. The quality of information directly correlates to a quality user experience - and vice versa during production/operation a quality: planning phase, execution phase, monitoring phase, and closing phase.

By evaluating and prioritizing why the information is important, we can optimize the message (hierarchy, order, content) for the most appropriate delivery.

Web professionals should facilitate the incremental improvement of information, with technology and creating conceptual models with abstraction and decomposition, before creating a software framework.

Ideas are much more flexible than code, and empty packages don't need decoration.

Keep up the great work,
-Ryan Gensel

twitter.com/readysetproject
www.readysetproject.com

(originally posted as a comment @ http://hobbsontech.com/content/recap-two-years-blogging-cms-migration-large-site-issues-and-more)

Ready Set Project - Overview

2009-09-01T11:30:00.001-07:00

Ready Set Project
Plan Successful Web Projects

Your company's web site does not have to be complicated, expensive, or maintenance intensive. Widespread adoption of information technology has exponentially increased the availability, capability, and complication of its use, and consequently the difficulty of selecting appropriate solutions. Ready Set Project is a professional consulting firm that specializes in web and information design for businesses.

The Internet is an information resource for people. To focus resources on efforts that increase satisfaction and multiply return, learn the expectations of your customers, employees, organization, and community. Use technology that facilitates efficient development, operation, and collaboration to clarify your message, simplify your business, and satisfy your customers.

Approach
Ready Set Project is Lean, Agile, Professional, and Transparent.

No technology or management methodology guarantees the success of your web site, however most companies claim and promise complete satisfaction. To survive, companies must balance adaptation, standardization, arbitration, and capitalization. While managing those constraints, the performing company must objectively collect customer requirements, and interpret those variables through the subjective filter of capability. The technicians selling and implementing technology are over committed, required to gain proficiency in decreasing time-frames, while disconnected and isolated developers reinvent functionality, misapply terminology, ignore efficiency, and extend deadlines, sacrificing the potential of your project.

Ready Set Project solves problems efficiently.

Using best practices and multidisciplinary design optimization, the consulting process iterates through the following phases:

Catalyst
Issue Identification
Goal Setting and Key Performance Indicators
Resource Breakdown Schedule

Parity
Industry Intelligence
Organizational Values
Language and Context

Imitation
Management
Market
Survey

Resolution
Decomposition
Abstraction
Resource Allocation

Recursion
Prototype
Optimization
Elimination
Standardization

The contributions of each phase's effort is captured by utterances, and serve as planning inputs for subsequent phases, improving the accuracy of project schedule, the efficiency of staff leverage, and the consistency of information quality.

Services
Plan and execute your web site by utilizing professional procedures and expert consultation.

Analysis (A)
Integrate heuristics, deductive reasoning, social network analysis, dynamic network analysis, link analysis, and brainstorming to identify project variables, assess priority, evaluate alternatives, and recommend approach.

Components:
Interview, Competitive Analysis, Personas, Survey

Focus:
Goals, Market, Users, Information Architecture, User Experience, Logic, Maintenance

Propose (A+P)
Structure your design plan, elect architecture, refine selection criteria, and solicit vendors.

Components: Request for Proposal Document, “Perfect Response” Baseline, Nonfunctional Requirements, Vendor Acceptance Criteria

Focus:
Resource Breakdown Schedule, Leverage Creative Professionals, Establish Governance and Policy, Investigate Alternatives

Build (A+P+B)
Components: Low and High Fidelity Prototype Utterances, Content Creation, Design and Development, Quality Assurance, Marketing and Maintenance Strategy

Focus: Development Schedule, Message Optimization, Communication and Collaboration

Focused Research
The same comprehensive analysis we use to build web solutions, can be be applied to any problem affecting your organization, customers, or offering. Race ahead of your competition to adopt emergent technologies, exploit mature methodologies, and win, with strategic direction from Ready Set Project.

SaaS and Cloud Alternatives
Infrastructure is optional. Benefit from economies of scale, optimal design patterns, and flexible integration. Before you re-invent the wheel, evaluate the viability of alternatives.

Information Ecology and Audit
Executives and managers inheriting web responsibilities need to identify organizational information assets. Decouple legacy infrastructure, optimize user experience, and improve conversion.

Scope of engagement is scalable to meet client's requirements.

-Ryan Gensel

twitter.com/readysetproject
www.readysetproject.com

Death, Taxes, and the Company Web Site - Is advertising a meme?

2009-09-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

It has been more than 15 years since most Americans have had access to what we call the Internet. Business has changed since this global epidemic of information accessibility, but still some organizations are hesitant to invest resources in such an intangible media. Intangible, in this context, merely implies actions that have incalculable development costs or unpredictable market impacts. These intangibles are left uncalculated due to incompetence, not impossibility. The factors that represent project costs and impact, can be determined using the same techniques and methods utilized for traditional projects in any industry. However, if your project requires absolute public acceptance, deification of your cause, exponential profit increases, or becoming an Internet sensation (meme) your project will never be completed, never be profitable, and never satisfy an audience.

To companies, representing themselves in media has long been a tradition, but at the dawn of 2010, I challenge that assumption and ask, "is advertising itself a meme?" Ubiquitous information accessibility no longer allows corporations to manipulate markets, a feat generally accomplished with coordinated awareness campaigns. Advertising relies on sources of information, whether person, publication, or presentation, to disseminate and control a composed message, articulated to reassure trust, professionalism, and success, but the Internet represents a collaboration of all such mechanisms. How then can traditional campaigns be organized in a way that exploit new Internet opportunities, while still maintaining the control of conventional media?

I don't think they should. I think advertising is a cultural meme afflicted upon societies that hold economics higher than ethics. You should too, and here's why.

What do you think of the products / services you use, and what do you think of the company that created them? Are you aware that every purchased product has a manufacturer, trade association, and powerful lobby that works to manipulate the regulations by which they're restricted or enabled. Do you think every organization and individual that promotes the use of their product is doing so altruistically?

The answer, is an obvious "No". Our current paradigm of economic stability, relies on the ignorance of consumers to choose products that represent a higher social standard or perceived market acceptance. Meaning, a company that pays you to be happy with a product will benefit more, than a company that merely pays a 3rd party to convince you that you're happy with their product. This can be reinterpreted as, customers will purchase products they like, or be convinced to buy products they don't. Whether a customer is happy with their purchase, will change, depending on time and what happens between the next occasion they question their investment. Companies need to realize their product has a finite market window in which to satisfy their customers needs, too early and customers won't understand the benefits of the product, and too late, the customer won't benefit because the market has changed in the interim.

Does your company convince people to buy their product, or do you recommend a solution to a problem, and convince your customers of the effectiveness? Although societies are more connected since the advent of the Internet, the psychological methods and techniques of subliminal control are so embedded within the process of creating public awareness campaigns, that we can never feasibly separate the topic from the audience. The basis of communication is empathy, interpreting the pauses between language as an opportunity for reflective application, and translating the composition of diametrically opposed concepts into a conscious understanding that balances information based on the quality, reliability, or subconscious preference to that information.

If marketing was meant to control, and a company now realizes that control is unattainable, damaging, or unethical, by what mechanism can companies communicate their offering without adhering to the paradigm of manipulation? It would require a media that allowed: reliable global access to information, anonymous references to controversial perspectives, and immediate distribution, a motivated audience will emerge if the message is important enough for them to redistribute it. All characteristics of what we currently refer to as the Internet.

Considering the current marketplace and standards of operation for most industries, a company web site is mandatory, and should accurately represent the brand, organization, and offering. However, the process required to transform the informal business goals of a web site into a reliable procedure, that when applied, delivers a consistent satisfactory result, is an illusion. The expectations of a project will proportionately increase with the amount of hype surrounding its development. The web is controversial, futuristic, unpredictable, and the infinite application of emerging technology is fleeting, conjuring images of the "Wild West". However, most web projects will fail, not because they fail to function, but because they fail to deliver over-estimated market change. These failures are rarely referred to as formal failures within the organization, but merely categorized as a lack of diligence on the part of the performers, which produced an inferior result.

I challenge this assumption, I think a web site can only be successful if it has no expectations. If sites were the result of motivated internal teams that believed in their organization and offering, marketing buzz-words could be replaced by honesty, the ego of one could be replaced by the ego of every.

I know what you're thinking. A site created by nontechnical and unmanaged employees would look amateur, have no direction, and never function. Several years ago you would have been correct, however the technology that enables quick infrastructures, CMSs, Blogs, SaaS, PaaS is increasingly accessible and evolving daily, embodying the definition of cheap and easy. Individuals have gained new comfort in digital environments, and frameworks enable collaborative redefinition of a message and a transparent work-flow allows each contributor to intimately know the characteristics of each component. But where in an organization would a product of such collaborative insight be appreciated, should it be used for knowledge management and transfer, quality assurance, or to better utilize human capital?

Web sites aren't an http address, they're a symbol of global accessibility, equality of information, and hope. The hope that companies as a collaborative group will care as much as the people that operate them do individually, and present that message above one meant to control or manipulate.

-Ryan Gensel

twitter.com/readysetproject
www.readysetproject.com

A New Direction - Ready Set Project

2009-09-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

In August of 2008 I set out to create a resume that would present my skills, abilities, and experience as a Project Manager / Chief Creative Officer. However, my destination was not a cubicle, corner office, or board posting.

I am the CEO of Ready Set Project, a Consulting Firm that "Plans Successful Web Projects". Look for new developments at www.readysetproject.com or updates at http://www.twitter.com/readysetproject.

I intend to use this blog (ryangensel.blogspot.com) as a personal repository for my own articles as they relate to managing creative projects and implementing emergent technology.

-Ryan Gensel

twitter.com/readysetproject
www.readysetproject.com

The First Steps: Create a resume that conveys the role I played in the completion of successful projects. (Part 1)

2008-09-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

The closest I've come to writing a resume in years, is describing work experience for proposals, biographies for journalists, or creating job responsibility documentation for human resources. However, for the past five years I would typically receive fifty unsolicited resumes monthly from applicants applying for positions ranging from desktop support technician, web/application developer, network support technician, to business development associate and everything in between.

From Wikipedia, a resume is a document that contains a summary or listing of relevant job experience and education... and is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker, and therefore a large amount of importance is often ascribed to it.

So what does a Chief Creative Officer's resume look like and how should I organize my resume to highlight only those experiences and credentials that are most relevant to the desired position in executive level project management?

Google "resume" + "chief creative officer" and your results will fluctuate between real resumes, real job offers, example resumes, and job announcements, but adding the additional search query "filetype:doc" will provide the best response. I plan to review the resulting documents, take notes on the practices and phrasing that promote coherent expression of work experience, client information disclosure, specialty skills, and entrepreneurial success.

Of the eighteen resume documents downloaded, I critiqued and selected nine to represent my research data. I used Google Documents to create a spreadsheet and record results.

Review criteria:

Resume Title - Does the job seeker include one?
Last Position Held - What was the job seeker's last job title?
Tenure - How long did the job seeker work with their last employer?
Document Organization - How does the job seeker categorize and bullet relevant information?
Visual Impression (10/10 highest) - Does the document's design look impressive or embarrassing?
Visual Notes - Is there anything unique or especially interesting about the job seeker's layout?
Structure Notes - Is there anything unique or especially interesting about the job seeker's organization?
Verbiage Notes - Does the job seeker use any terminology or phrasing that really sounds impressive?

Compare Documents

Resume Title
Only three of the nine documents I reviewed included a "Resume Title", usually a one line statement that describes the job seeker at the beginning of the document, but none of those reviewed really provided a persuasive hook. So what should a resume title convey? The title differentiates your resume from others, and in addition to your name, is the first position specific information that prospective employers will see when searching for candidates.

Example
Inventive and Disciplined Design Director Seeks Fresh Challenges

How did I come up with that? Simple, break down the statement structure.

Inventive - Adjective
Disciplined - Adjective
Design - Adjective
Director - Noun
Seeks - Verb
Fresh - Adjective
Challenges - Noun

Inventive and Discipled - What skills or motivations does the job seeker possess that highlight their talents and experience?
Design Director - What role or job position is the job seeker applying for? (This does not have to be the exact title of the position, but merely a descriptive noun that represents the job seeker.)
Seeks - What is the job seeker doing to pursue an employment opportunity?
Fresh Challenges - What the job seeker is pursuing?

Let's hit www.thesaurus.com and brainstorm other title examples. I will try my best to eliminate words or phrasing that are overly dramatic or hint at condescension.

Adjectives:
Productive
Effective
Innovative
Creative
Resourceful
Adept
Methodical
Organized
Capable
Professional
Dynamic
Inspired
Enterprising
Ambitious
Motivated
Visionary

Nouns (job seeker):
Expert
Manager
Director
Coordinator
Specialist
Developer
Executive
Leader

Nouns (Goals):
Talented development team to collaborate with
Solutions to complex problems
Environment to excel

Remember, this is just an introductory statement and should not be too long or stuffed with commas, so keep it simple stupid. (KISS)

Last Position Held and Tenure
The job seeker's last position title and tenure dates will tell a potential employer about the prospect's most recent responsibilities and how long they have been managed.

Document Organization
Each document has its own information hierarchy and outline.

Resume #1

Last Position Held and Tenure:
Senior Producer - 2000

Document Outline:
Title
Brief Self Selling Paragraph Objectives (Ordered list)
Experience (Bulleted as Results)
Education
Professional Recognition
Systems, Software, and Skill Keywords

Visual Impression and Comments:
(3) - Dense 2 Pages, ugly bullets, sans-serif fonts

Structural Notes:
Systems, Software and Skill keywords section to organize alphabet soup of technical acronyms

Verbiage Notes:
Flexible, Enthusiastic, Self-Motivated and a Quick Study, Excellent Writing, Verbal and Visual Presentation Skills. digital assets, developed support materials and proposals that directly resulted in sales, defined successful site architecture and database blueprints with programming team, Compressed difficult concepts into entertaining metaphorical learning tools.

Resume #2

Last Position Held and Tenure:
2000 - Founder, CEO, Chief Creative Officer

Document Outline:
Title
Skill Summary (keyword bolded sentences list)
Education/Certificates/Software Fluency
Boards/Committees Served
Career Experience
Position (keyword bolded sentences)
Conference Speaking
Publications, Articles, Press Releases
Customer Testimonial
Industries Served

Visual Impression and Comments:
(6) - Sans-serif content and red-hued water marked client testimonial in serif

Verbiage Notes:
"My purpose is to create business and personal brand strategies with effective verbal and visual communication solutions that help individuals and businesses present themselves in an highly effective and professional manner." Professional, creative, versatile leader with demonstrated success in graphic design, web design and customer relations services. Enthusiastic leader with qualified experience in business ownership, sales, management, and business strategies. A bright, educated and determined individual with the passion to influence others and make goal-oriented decisions for the success of the company. Confident in ability and purpose in helping people reach their potential through the use of effective design concepts and verbal message deliverables. A passion and commitment to serve by developing interpersonal relationships within various business industries and stake-holders. Marketing success by understanding trends, diversity relations and developing support for a brand. Training expertise by providing instruction and curriculum development for graphic/web design and technology driven platforms.

Resume #3

Last Position Held
Chief Creative Officer

Document Outline:
Objective
Skills
Proficient with languages and applications including Familiar with languages and applications including Online Portfolio Recent work
Experience (statements separated by astrick)
Education

Visual Impression and Comments:
(5) - Use of four contrasting colors, Verdana font bold not recommended

Structural Notes:
Skills broken up as "Proficient with languages and application including" and "Familiar with languages and applications including"

Verbiage Notes:
Detail oriented not only in visual design, but also in information hierarchy, site structure and web graphic optimization • Experience developing for cross-platform and cross-browser deployments.

Resume #4

Last Position Held and Tenure:
2007 - Creative Director

Document Outline:
Cover Letter (175 words)
Experience (multi paragraph per engagement)
Press & Awards
Education

Visual Impression:
(7)

Verbiage Notes:
Managing and mentoring teams of highly talented individuals brings me a great deal of satisfaction. Finding the right combination of team and environment is my highest priority in identifying my next work adventure.

Resume #5

Last Position Held and Tenure:
2006 - Vice President, Interactive / Group Creative Director

Document Outline:
Objective
Qualifications
Employment (paragraph plus bulleted list of Key Accomplishments)
Education
Awards & Recognition Languages & Special Interests (nerdy hobbies)
Technical Skills Sets (as 2 column bulleted list, rating proficiency with "Expert, Advanced, or Intermediate")

Visual Impression:
(6) - All caps header text, technical skill sets organized in two columns

Verbiage Notes:
I have exceptional skills and a long history of creating brand experiences. These talents are amplified by my drive to succeed through principle-centered leadership and team building skills.I was selected by the board of directors to spearhead all integrated marketing efforts. My successes in this position impacted the company by helping secure 21 million dollars of funding as well as the sale of the company to EMC the world’s largest storage provider. I began by conducting research on competitors with best in market experience. Once research was formulated I spearheaded a steering committee of designers and engineers to gain support for new product features as well new product launches. eyond setting up the new business process, my day-to-day duties included initial business researches, concept development, cross discipline collaboration, proposal writing, and client pitch front person.

Resume #6

Last Position Held and Tenure:
2006 - Vice President, Director Interactive Strategy and User Experience

Document Outline:
Summary of Qualifications (bulleted list)
Work experience (bulleted responsibility details)
Education & references
"Client List and Book of Work at www."

Visual Impression:
(8) - Serif fonts, underlined words, and horizontal rules

Verbiage Notes:
Leader of Interactive Strategy and User-Experience group encompassing online strategists and information architects. Mentor, manage, hire, and focus group to ensure effective and efficient delivery of services to clients and highest quality work product. Manage group as part of an integrated offering delivering interactive solutions to clients in collaboration with traditional agency account, planning, and creative teams as well as with interactive creative and development teams. Responsible for development of resource and capability planning for group as well as management of teams in the delivery of strategy, information architecture, assessment, evaluation, and thought leadership to clients . Working with this global diversified industrial in developing and implementing an enterprise-wide internet strategy including governance, website development, internet applications, metrics, and content development. Leading a multidisciplinary team in development of a global strategic assessment across business units and geographies and developing a global online strategy that will inform development of properties and assets worldwide.

Resume #7

Last Position Held and Tenure:
1999 - Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder

Document Outline:
Objective
Experience (bulleted list)
Education
Skills and Interests (sub-headed as Languages, Computing Skills, Interests - Music, Sports, Reading)

Visual Impression:
(4)

Resume #8

Last Position Held and Tenure:
2004 - Senior Creative Director / Strategist

Document Outline:
Cover Letter (175 words)
Summary of Qualifications (356 words in bulleted statements)
Position (bulleted responsibilities)
Industry Expertise Technical Expertise (Interactive, Print, Video/Broadcast/DVD) The Evidence URLS (Web Site, Web Design, Flash Design/Actionscript, Print Design, Commercial Broadcast, Video, and DVD), Education

Visual Impression:
(5)

Verbiage Notes:
I have a demonstrated ability to listen to prospects' needs, develop solutions to meet their goals and budgets, and build trust and respect. The Evidence URLS:Performed strategic account planning with senior management in vertical marketing teams.
Lead, build and direct multidisciplinary 30 person teams comprising: Creative Directors, Art Directors, Designers, Information Architects, Content Analysts, Copywriters, Animators, Audio Designers, Multimedia Specialists.
Oversaw the creative work developed for clients’ print, web, broadcast, and DVD projects. Help evaluate client’s brand strategy and develop course of actions for the client to have a maximum reach for brand awareness.Managed the successful development, creation and/or execution of unique and original marketing concepts that work across all mediums (on-air, off-air and on-line), working with creative concepts of others and refining them as well as relationship development within and outside the department.
Work with strategy team (colleagues, supervisors, and reporting staff) to develop and define strategic short-term and long-term marketing initiatives to fulfill strategic plans as determined by senior management; troubleshoot related creative activities; anticipate, identify and form solutions to problems which arose. Provided creative leadership for branding on all platform initiatives across all my past company divisions and clients brands to ensure that all creative executions align with established guidelines, brand standards, style guides or any other official positioning documents.

Resume #9

Last Position Held and Tenure:
2007 - Marketing Director

Document Outline:
Cover Sheet with 50+ logos Introduction (400 words)
Employment history (paragraph)
Agency Work / Consulting, TV / Media, Entertainment / Casinos / Events, Liquors / Beverages / Tobacco, Publishing, Political / Elected Officials, Fashion / Cosmetics / Luxury, Non - Profit / Charities / Education / Real Estate / Sports Nutrition / Medical

Visual Impression:
(9) - Layout is impressive, but the content indentation and text justification distracts

Structural Notes:
Clients / Accounts / Events section organized by industry

Verbiage Notes:
This position had enabled me to act in the capacity of being the top adviser to the C.E.O., the C.O.O. and C.M.O. of the company on developing strategy and marketing for new business acquisition. Single-handedly, recruited and managed a panel of over 600 MD’s. Designed and developed management software and training on the process.

Document Organization Analysis
I used the collected resumes to refine an outline that integrates a project manager's diverse skill sets and unique experiences. (Items in bold are universal to most resumes.)

Title
Objective
Career Experience
Management Skills - Web Design and Development, Human Resources, Marketing, Structured Cabling, Network Integration
Technical Skills - Scripting / Programming (rate proficiency expert or advanced), Applications (rate proficiency by expert or advanced), Platforms
Education / Exclusive Academic Programs
Conferences / Technical or Sales Training
References
Industries Served : Satisfied Clients (partial list)
Project Examples

What now?
Relax. Turn on some music, and try to remember details of your past work experience. Write your brainstormed thoughts down, and try to describe each endeavor in terms of responsibilities and results.

In part two of this article I'll continue to describe the steps I've taken to develop a professional Project Manager's resume.

Remember Entrepreneurship? From Employed Chief Creative Officer to Private Practice Project Consultant.

2008-08-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

I've invested the last ten years of my life into being a professional technologist.

Until recently I served as the Chief Creative Officer for a leading systems integration firm in the southeast United States. I've worked remotely for the last 5+ years, collaborating and managing team members and projects world-wide, while living in Portland, OR 2006-08, Orlando, FL 2005-06, and Charlotte, NC 2005-03. Before taking a leave of absence in 8/08, my most recent client duties included translating abstract business models into application frameworks, delegate responsibilities to available resources, and create project documentation.

I've decided to pursue my interests, and become a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). While educating myself on the process groups, tools, and taxonomy as laid out in the PMBOK, I want to share my knowledge of the industry and document the progression of my transition from securely employed to independent and certified.