John Hunter's blog posts

I am Giving as Much to Charity as I Spend on Myself for the Next 3 Years

Fri, 9 Jan 2026

Given how horribly my society is behaving I have decided to give at least as much money as I spend on myself to charity each of the next 3 years. My guess is that I will continue this past 3 years, but I will see how it goes and then re-access my long term plans.

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I fear for our future if those of us who can do much more chose not do so and just pretend their actions don’t matter. We must take action to stand up to the incredible abuses of our government today, if not the harm to all of us, and even more so to future generations, will be heartbreaking.

Quality is a Journey to Excellence – Improving the System

Tue, 22 Jul 2025

Deming has this pithy way of putting a lot of the problems along those lines and what he says is: "Lets play American industry and we’ll make toast. I’ll burn and you scrape."

William Scherkenbach Files on Management Improvement

Mon, 14 Jul 2025

The Curious Cat Management Improvement Institute has partnered with William Scherkenbach to make his files on management improvement available on their website. These files provide great value to those seeking to improve the practice of management in their organizations.

I was a Lucky Kid

Mon, 7 Jul 2025

My father traveled a fair amount for work. It worked out well for us. I didn't realize until I was an adult having parents who loved you and made it obvious they did day to day is so valuable. That matters. Being gone sometimes didn't matter to me, I am sure some days it was annoying and is annoying for other kids. But it is really a minor blip, in my opinion.

Using Deming’s Ideas – When Your Organization Doesn’t

Tue, 10 Jun 2025

You can transform your understanding and how you learn, with an appreciation for the Theory of Knowledge and what conclusions you can and cannot draw from the data you use. You can transform how you act.
View your organization with an understanding of Deming’s management ideas.
Think of the organization as a system. Even if you can’t persuade others to do this, you will understand the situation more clearly and be able to think of solutions that take advantage of this understanding.
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Consider what is within your sphere of control. Within that sphere you will have much more freedom to act...

Managing Our Way to Economic Success

Thu, 1 May 2025

there are two enormously valuable untapped resources in many companies: potential information and employee creativity. The two are connected. One of the best ways to generate potential information to turn it into kinetic information that can produce tangible results is to train all employees in some of the simple, effective ways to do this.

Build an Environment Where Intrinsic Motivation Flourishes

Tue, 4 Feb 2025

50 years after Douglas McGregor’s classic, The Human Side of Enterprise, too many managers still have not learned that using extrinsic motivation is not an effective way to manage complex human systems (organizations)...

Delighting Customers

Mon, 6 Jan 2025

If you have customers that see you as adequate you will keep customers based on inertia. But you have several big problems awaiting you.

Those trying to win your customers business only have to overcome inertia – which can be very low hurdle (saving a small bit of money, some minor additional feature). If your customers are delighted they won’t leave (by and large) without significant reasons to.

Create a Continually Improving Management System - not the Perfect Management Solution

Tue, 10 Dec 2024

...Test out various options in parts of the company. See what works. Build and improve the process and spread it more widely...

Curious Cat Management Improvement Institute

Tue, 24 Sep 2024

I have recently started publicizing the Curious Cat Management Improvement Institute

Curious Cat Management Improvement Institute is dedicated to furthering the education, professional growth and development of current and future managers and the practice of management in organizations.

Please let me know if you have comments, questions or suggestions for how to make the Curious Cat Management Improvement Institute useful to those trying to improve the practice of management.

I Fear for the Future of the USA if We Do Not Vote in Favor of the Rule of Law this Year

Tue, 20 Aug 2024

I cannot fathom how anyone seeking political office in the USA that doesn't strongly speak out against someone with the horrendous track record Donald Trump has amassed during his life and the last 8 years can get even 5% of the USA population to consider voting for them. However, the USA public has shown that my beliefs are very different than many, at least it seems about 40% or maybe even more, voters. I fear we could not only elect him but also those that have not strongly spoken out against his hundreds of violations of criminal, ethical and other abuses against our society.

Details on some of the many abuses (frankly even 5% of which should disqualify anyone from supporting such an individual for any political office and most certainly from the most powerful political office in the USA):

Design Your Organization to Serve Customers Well

Wed, 26 Jun 2024

Around all these processes is potential information. And you can either use it or not use it. And in most places just waste it.
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There is valuable information just running down the drain. If you have everybody turned on and looking at process and saying how can we make them work better, you need to get some information, you need to get some data. That is the way you actually solve problems.

William Hunter in seminar, Quality is a Journey to Excellence

Parfrey’s Glen, Wisconsin

Wed, 19 Jun 2024

These photos show Parfrey's Glen in Wisconsin. It really was amazingly beautiful - the pictures do not do it justice. The light and colors were great - filtered through the trees above. The park is about an hour outside of Madison.

Racism in the USA

Fri, 14 Jun 2024

... as a kid I read biographies of Reggie Jackson and I learned about how bad racism was very recently in the USA, from the few pages they included about what he had to endure. That left an enduring mark on my understanding of my society.

Here is a recent clip of him talking about some of his experience. It is extremely damaging that we have "leaders" today trying to erase history and deny current realities.

Quality is a Journey to Excellence

Tue, 7 May 2024

I recently uncovered this 2 day management seminar that Bill Hunter (my father) recorded in 1985 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The embedded clip shows the first section of a the seminar.

The present system in the US has not provided for any meaningful contribution from the workers themselves to improve the methods of production and the quality of work life. They have no opportunity to exercise their judgement, imagination, creativity or versatility in ways that could contribute to their productivity and sense of dignity. It is no surprise that they undergo frustration and discouragement, feelings certainly not apt to contribute to their efficiency. The solution to our productivity problem is the necessity for management and labor to recognize the intrinsic value of the human being.

Russell Schrader

The USA Faces Extreme Risk if We Do Not Vote For Democracy and the Rule of Law in 2024

Wed, 10 Apr 2024

I am continually shocked and amazed at how far below (what I thought were low expectations) the Republican Party has managed to sink in the last 8 years. And it continually gets worse and more shocking. The country faces an enormous risk if we don't vote out those that have not strongly opposed the actions of the current Republican leadership this year. We need to rebuke their horrible behavior and vote those in power out of office, and keep those out of power today out of power forever.

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I fear for the USA if we do not vote for those that oppose the abuses the Repubican Party has accepted and promoted the last 6 years.

How to Safely Spend Savings in Retirement

Mon, 8 Apr 2024

There are no super simple answers in my opinion. But ideas like 4% (or 3.5% or …) do get you at least in the right ballpark for what has worked historically in the USA with specific portfolios

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No one blog post is going to provide an answer to the question... There are some very good posts, articles and studies on the topic, here are a few:

The Silliness of the Safe Withdrawal Rate Movement – “The correct answer to “what is a safe withdrawal rate?” is “something around 4%, probably in the 3%-6% range.” Not 3.59% or 4.21%.”
Bill Bengen: How to Monitor and Adjust Withdrawal Plans

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Texas Civil Rights Project

Tue, 2 Jan 2024

I donated to the Texas Civil Rights Project.

It is a travesty what has been done for decades to suppress voting rights. We need those who have had their voting rights suppressed to help save the USA from the dangerous actions taken by those increasing their efforts to disenfranchise so many people.

Most Valuable Companies in the USA Compared to the Total Market Capitalization

Fri, 17 Nov 2023

In general investing in low cost index funds (like Vanguard’s index funds) is a very sensible strategy. I personally invest mostly in individual stocks. I see stocks such as Microsoft and Costco that are attractive businesses to invest in but the stocks are so costly I hesitate to invest. In addition, I already am over-invested in mega-cap companies (my largest holdings are Apple, Alphabet and Amazon, about 36% of portfolio). So avoiding other mega-caps makes some sense to me.

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10 year returns: Apple (up 1,068%), Alphabet (up 424%), Amazon (up 693%) and Microsoft (up 1,090%). FYI, the total USA market index fund (VTI) was up 187% for the same 10 year period and the S&P 500 index fund (VTI) was up 204%.

The Value of a Management System Accommodating Remote Work

Fri, 10 Nov 2023

Working remotely creates a significantly different system than working all next to each other. There are big advantages to working right next to each other. There are also really bad office designs (which are very common) which detract from success of working next to each other (distractions etc. that cubical farms, "hoteling" create etc.).

There are challenges to managing a system of work with people not being right next to each other. There are also huge advantages of hiring people that are not within commuting distance of your location...

The Current Republican Party is a Huge Risk to the Future of the USA

Mon, 6 Nov 2023

I am very concerned about the extremism that dominates the USA Republican Party. Far too many people are complacent...

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The Republic Party has been on a long term effort to destroy the rule of law in the USA. The continued tolerance of those that openly tried to overturn the results of the election they lost is a critical issue that anyone that cares about the rule of law should not tolerate.

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The long term efforts of the Republican Party to disenfranchise voters is another completely unacceptable behavior...

Remembering Brian Joiner

Mon, 16 Oct 2023

I knew Brian Joiner as a child growing up in Madison, Wisconsin. He and my father worked together and our families spent time together. As I grew I interacted with Brian in my professional life and that relationship made my life better.

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His book, Fourth Generation Management, is one of the top handful of books I most recommend for those interested in improving the practice of management in their organization.

Society fails to invest in long-term solutions to long-term problems

Sun, 24 Sep 2023

I respect John Green and his brother, Hank. Their Vlogbrothers YouTube Chanel is a regular, enjoyable and educational part of my online activity. I recommend watching a few of videos and seeing if they should also be part of your online activity. Here is a screenshot from when John liked one of my tweets :-)

2023 William G. Hunter Award to Dr. James Cochran

Tue, 13 Jun 2023

...It is also meaningful because of the distinguished, accomplished, highly regarded recipients who previously received this award. Dr. Hunter continues to have profound impact on our discipline and on my career - in service, in teaching, and in research. Dr. Hunter has influenced me by example, primarily through his vision and efforts to improve the lives of others by applying our discipline to complex and consequential problems.

Expand the View of the System to Find Ways to Improve Results

Thu, 16 Feb 2023

By expanding the system view and looking at the results of the entire system it is often possible to find improvements that are not possible by only looking at “your” system. These changes can sometimes be more challenging to accomplish as they may require convincing others to make changes.

We Should Put Solar Panels Above Parking Lots

Wed, 1 Feb 2023

It is more expensive to build the solar arrays and infrastructure above existing parking lots (compared to an empty field) but it is a great use to space. We should be encouraging such development.

Annual Performance Evaluations are a Poor Management Practice

Tue, 6 Dec 2022

When you understand the challenges with evaluating a complex system it isn’t hard to know that evaluating individuals is not easy. Much of the evidence of individual “performance” is so dependent on impacts within the system that are totally out of even the individual’s influence. Yet it is easy to find numbers within a complex system that can be used to argue for or against an individual’s performance.

The contributions any individual brings to an organization is largely dependent on the system in place (see: 94% Belongs to the System).

Interview of Bill Hunter by Peter Scholtes on Statistical Variability and Interactions

Mon, 25 Jul 2022

For some processes it is enough to know a couple important variables and have an understanding of how they interact to impact results. Often though problems are created because the organization doesn’t learn enough about variables that can have a substantial impact on results and therefore feels blindsided by poor results. In some of those cases they were blindsided not by unforeseeable random factors but by variables they should have learned about. And then based on that knowledge designed their processes to take into account the potential impact of variations in that variable...

Using Customer Feedback to Drive Continual Improvement

Mon, 18 Jul 2022

That impact of creating systems that continually improve the value provided to customers is still very much under appreciated. The Deming Chain Reaction is such a powerful concept that allows us to create more value and reduce costs over the long term.

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Long term thinking with an appreciation for systems allows managers to focus on improving value over the long term while many of their competitors focus on reducing current costs no matter how much damage they do to their customers and the long term success of their business.

Profound Podcast with John Hunter – Curious Cat

Mon, 18 Jul 2022

In this podcast I discussed a bit of my history with management improvement. My father introduced me to the ideas as I was growing up. And that became formal during high school, when I attended a class for City of Madison employees (during the summer) on management improvement (Deming included a couple pages on those efforts in Out of Crisis). I also discussed: Design of Experiments, Peter Scholtes, W. Edwards Deming, PDSA cycle and six sigma. This podcast is part one of the interview.

Profound Podcast with John Hunter, Part Two

Thu, 10 Mar 2022

In this podcast I discussed my thoughts on management improvement, Deming, respect for people, systems thinking and more.

Alzheimer’s and the Complex Scientific Inquiry Process

Wed, 2 Mar 2022

Medical research is complex. Once we figure out what is most critical and discover effective treatments often the explanations can then make it seem fairly simple. But that process is often decades of efforts that include years of frustration and confusion.

For long term medical impacts we often need to guess at important biomarker indications that may be closely related to health outcomes. But that process often isn’t as easy as it sounds.

The Growing Use of Apprenticeships in the USA

Tue, 15 Feb 2022

Apprenticeships are a great option for many people. For one thing you don’t have to take on a huge debt burden (previous post: Personal Finance Considerations for Going into Debt for Education). Also for many careers and apprenticeship is what is needed, not a college degree.

Confusing Improving A Proxy Measure with Actually Improving the System

Tue, 7 Dec 2021

The more experience you gain trying to improve, the better you become at improving. That journey is not easy, but it is very rewarding. I find keeping your sight on the long term is a great help. If you focus too much on the short term (which is very easy to do), it is easy to become so invested in achieving a short-term success that you seek to find numbers that let you claim victory. That is the death of efforts to improve.

It is just so easy to find some numbers that can be used to declare victory no matter how badly things are really going. Instead, accept that there will be many short-term failures and short-term successes, but each of those are fairly minor data points on the long term journey to create an organization that continually improves day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year.

Interview of Bill Hunter, Brian Joiner and Peter Scholtes on Better Management Practices

Wed, 6 Oct 2021

That kind of experience could not have happened if management wasn’t willing to listen to the workers and wasn’t willing to say to the workers “you have brains and you have ideas and why don’t you go out and see if you can solve it and I will back you up. And that is what they did

Bill on creating jobs people want to do:

If they are going to work with the attitude that part of my job is to figure out how we can make things work better around here it adds another challenge to the job which makes the work more fun and more enjoyable. It all points in the same direction it seems to me. These methods do feed into making jobs more interesting and morale going up and the job being better.

Photo from the top of Borobudur

Thu, 16 Sep 2021

I have been adding some photos to Curious Cat Photos including this one from Borobudur in Indonesia.

Also see photos of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state and others from the USA.

Toyota Mirai – Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Car

Fri, 3 Sep 2021

I am curious, even skeptical, about the potential for hydrogen fuel cell versus battery passenger cars. I do respect Toyota and so am wondering if they do indeed see something that most others are missing.

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I do think hydrogen fuel cells may provide a better option for larger vehicles (maybe even shipping), but I have done next to no research on this so I may be wrong.

It seem unlikely to me that hydrogen fuel cell passenger cars are going to make it but I would be happy to be wrong. Perhaps the advantages will overcome what seem to me to be challenges that are going to prevent them from being successful. I am confused about how committed to this strategy Toyota is (which makes me question my belief that hydrogen fuel cell passenger cars are not going to be successful).

Psychology Often Drives Decisions Rather Than Rational Thought

Thu, 5 Aug 2021

I think that the primary thing to remember is that often people's actions and decisions are guided by psychology rather than thoughtful deliberation and choosing the most sensible option (given that person's desires). What this means is you can't expect rational decision making to guide others decisions and actions. You are often better understanding common psychology and how that impacts decision making.

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There are 2 reasons this is important: first you are likely making decisions this way and can improve your decision making by understanding how you are making decisions. And second if you are trying to influence others understanding how they make decisions is important.

Science Explained: Wind Powered Vehicle Traveling Faster Than the Wind

Sat, 3 Jul 2021

This is an interesting explanation of a the physics involved with vehicle propulsion. And it is a great video showing the scientific method at work.

They only touch on it a little bit but the need for creating 4 versions of the small treadmill device to illustrate the principles in action is a great example of how science inquiry and engineering work. There are often many failed attempts before an engineering solution to the issue involved can be properly created...

How to Lead From Any Level In the Organization

Tue, 22 Jun 2021

Similar to helping other people grow their careers is the idea of helping other people to solve their problems. Again, this starts with a clear understanding of your sphere of influence. It determines what strategies you can pursue, and building your sphere of influence should be part of your decision making process.

What it comes down to is proving yourself in this way—and doing so consistently. “It isn’t some secret sauce. Prove yourself to be valuable and you will gain influence. Help people solve their problems. They will be inclined to listen to your ideas. And helping people to solve their problems doesn't mean you are giving them the answer. It may mean you asking empowering questions.

Creating an Integrated Life Where Work Adds to Life

Tue, 15 Jun 2021

... I realize doing this to the extent he did is very difficult. But growing up with it I learned that the idea that you could design the whole life (including everything) to maximize life. And that it may well be that extra effort at work rather than detracting from the rest of life enhances it. For me the key is to focus on maximizing the whole and within that realizing sometimes there are tradeoff (essentially a zero sum game) but there may well be times when you can design the system of your life to find win win solutions.

Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet May Include Reduced Risk of Cognitive Impairment As We Age

Sat, 8 May 2021

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I have been taking this into account in my eating. I try to eat much more green leafy vegetable (though more is from my very low levels before). I try to reduce the amount of meat and increase the amount of fish and nuts. I try to eat enough fiber and I eat yogurt. I try to eat more fruits and vegetables in general. I try to reduce the amount of processed foods and sugar. My diet is far from great but it is much better than is was 20 years ago. I have probably been focused on doing better for over 10 years (post from 9 years ago: Healthy Diet, Healthy Living, Healthy Weight).

Decorated House in Nigeria

Tue, 6 Apr 2021

Photo of this decorated house in Nigeria by Bill Hunter (see more photos by Bill Hunter).

Taken during our holiday trip; see more photos from our time in Africa.

Huge Proposed Increases in USA Government Science and Engineering Support

Sat, 3 Apr 2021

The Biden administration has proposed greatly increasing USA government spending on science and engineering. They are proposing levels last seen in the 1960s when the USA was most committed to science and engineering spending (as most visibly seen in support for NASA).

New Health Care Insurance Subsidies in the USA

Mon, 15 Mar 2021

Under the new law, nobody will have to pay more than 8.5% of their income on health insurance. The government will also pick up 100% of COBRA premiums through September. COBRA is health insurance for people who’ve lost their jobs.

The Kaiser Family Foundation calculator lets you get a quick idea of what your approximate subsidy benefit. A 55 year old earning $55,000 would be entitled to a subsidy of $4,700 about 50% of their health insurance costs (based on the USA average). For a 50 year old the subsidy would be $2,900 or 38%. For a 60 year old the subsidy would be $6,800 or 59%. For a couple of 35 year olds and 2 children the subsidy would be $12,100 per year or 72%.

Learning from Customers

Tue, 2 Mar 2021

Create a management system focused on continual improvement that is engaged in seeking out customer feedback and continually improving the value provided to customers.

Most organizations do the opposite of this. They make put many barriers in the way of customers speaking to anyone that will listen. They put systems in place to discourage feedback from customers.

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Individual Stock Portfolio Investment Planning

Fri, 26 Feb 2021

Early last year when studying my portfolio I decided my two biggest positions (Apple and Google – those ready the blog won’t be surprised due to my 10 stocks for 10 years posts) continued to warrant the large portion of the portfolio they held. I also decided that I would systemically sell say 1% of Apple and 2% of Alphabet a year (the Apple dividend was also paying about 1% – actually it was more then but is much less now).

That was just a long term plan that helped me think about the long term portfolio management. But that, like all investment decision, was subject to revision. As both continued to soar I decided it made sense to sell more but maintain a similar plan, just maybe selling 2% and 4% a year...

Creating Low-cost Construction Materials Using Recycled Plastic Waste

Fri, 12 Feb 2021

Nzambi Matee is a materials engineer and head of Gjenge Makers (in Kenya), which produces sustainable low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic waste and sand. For her work, Nzambi Matee was recently named a Young Champions of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Interview of Bill Hunter: Improving Quality and Productivity in Organizations

Tue, 29 Sep 2020

Bill discusses the parallels to how a manager applying management improvement principles is very similar to an educator facilitating adult learning. Rather than an authoritarian approach where the boss tells subordinates what to do a manager helps employees achieve better results by supporting their efforts.

Photos of China in 1982

Sun, 20 Sep 2020

My father, Bill Hunter, taught summer courses on statistics and industrial engineering in China when China was still mostly closed to foreigners. After the courses he took a week or two vacation to visit a China few foreigners had seen to that point. See photos of China in 1982.

Finding Great Investments Keeps Getting Harder

Wed, 12 Aug 2020

In some ways investing recently has been pretty easy, anything you have bought (almost) goes up – and usually goes up a lot. But when looking for bargains to invest in, it just keeps getting more and more difficult in my opinion.

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Overall I am going much more into cash as a safe haven than I have before. Normally I am extremely overweight stocks. Even today I am still overweight stocks compared to the conventional wisdom

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While the markets are giving investors great returns finding good buys is becoming more and more difficult (at least for me). For example, my 10 Stocks for 10 Years (2018 version) has done very well. But several of those stocks are much less a bargain today that they were. Apple is up from $225 to $450. Danaher from $103 to $206. Amazon from $2,000 to $3,150. Tencent from $43 to $68...

I Have Published an Update to Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability

Tue, 2 Jun 2020

I have published some edits and additional content for my book – Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability.

One of the things I really like about how I have published the book (with Leanpub) is that anyone that has previously purchased the book gets these, and all future, updates for free. So if you have purchased it, go get your free update. If you haven’t purchased it, please consider buying a copy...

US Savings Bonds – Actually a Good Investment Option

Sun, 15 Mar 2020

I will admit I have only recently looked at US Savings Bonds as an investment option. Series I USA savings bonds are based on the inflation rate and given how strongly the Fed has been surpassing interest rates this offers an option to get a higher rate of interest. The rate is calculated as follows:

Composite rate = [fixed rate + (2 x semiannual inflation rate) + (fixed rate x semiannual inflation rate)]

2.22% = [0.0020 + (2 x 0.0101) + (0.0020 x 0.0101)]

This is calculated based on a fixed rate of .2% (showing how depressed interest rates are) and 1.01% inflation rate for a 6 month period (which also is low but compared to interest rates pretty high).

You may buy series I US savings bonds online via TreasuryDirect. In a calendar year, you can acquire up to $10,000 in electronic I bonds.

Huge Growth in USA Corporate Debt from 2005 to 2020

Mon, 9 Mar 2020

There are many problems with the extremely low interest rates available in decade since the too-big-to-fail financial crisis. The interest rates seem to me to be artificially sustained by massive central bank actions for 12 years now.

Extraordinarily low rates encourage businesses to borrow money, after all how hard is it to invest in something that will return the business more than a few percent a year (that they can borrow at). Along with the continued efforts by the central banks to flood the economy with money any time there is even a slowdown in growth teaches companies to not worry about building a business that can survive bad times. Just borrow and if necessary borrow more if you are having trouble then just borrow more.

Retirement Portfolio Allocation for 2020

Tue, 18 Feb 2020

The markets continue to provide difficult options to investors. In the typical market conditions of the last 50 years I think a sensible portfolio allocation was not that challenging to pick. I would choose a bit more in stocks than bonds than the commonly accepted strategy. And I would choose to put a bit more overseas and in real estate.

But if that wasn’t done and even something like 60% stocks and 40% bonds were chosen it would seem reasonable (or 60% stocks 25% bonds and 15% money market – I really prefer a substantial cushion in cash in retirement). Retirement planning is fairly complex and many adjustments are wise for an individual’s particular situation (so keep in mind this post is meant to discuss general conditions today and not suggest what is right for any specific person).

This post was written before #covid19 became the enormous economic clamity it has become. Based on the poor preparation to fight Covid19 by the USA and Europe I sold some stocks and reduced global exposure and emeriging market exposure. I didn't reduce it to zero or anything close to that, but as I say I am usually overweight stocks and I had reduced how much I was overweight due to high stock valuations and with the likely Covid 19 problems I further reduced stocks to make my portfolio probably even a little bit underweight stocks (but still over 50% stocks).

I am more active than most people should be with their investments (I think it works for me but maybe I should be less active too, I just pay much more attention than most people and feel I can make some adjustments that are sensible.).

Tencent Gaming

Sat, 25 Jan 2020

Tencent is one of the stocks in my 10 stocks for 10 years portfolio. In fact it is my largest holding (when you consider that Tencent shares owned by Naspers. Some others have performed better since my reboot of the portfolio in August of 2018: Apple (from 225 to 318) and Danaher (from 103 to 162) and Naspers (33 to 34, which might not seem so great but 2 spinoffs provide another 15) but I still like Tencent a great deal for the next 8 to 10 years.

Tencent has quite a few huge global businesses. One of the most promising areas is Tencent Gaming. Tencent has ownership in many of the largest computer gaming companies globally...

Hey Siri, You Can Do Better

Tue, 21 Jan 2020

Software testing is more than just automated testing. While checking that specific details work as expected in specific situations with automated testing is very useful it is far from sufficient way to test if software will delight users.

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software testing also requires thoughtful analysis of the experience of the user and how that is at risk with the current iteration of the software (Software Testers Are Test Pilots). Automated testing is critical as you can create checks for thousands of situations to run extremely quickly each time any changes are made to the software. But it is not sufficient. Many situations can only be explored and experienced by a thinking software tester that uses the software and thinks about how a user might react and how that user could be confused or disappointed by the existing user experience.

Management Improvement System Flavors

Fri, 27 Sep 2019

There are many useful concepts, tools and practices within what people refer to as agile software development. And the same can be said for lean. But they are distinct approaches (the links in this post flush out this idea more for those interested in learning more on that topic). That isn’t to say an organization cannot design their own solution that adopts ideas found in each approach. In fact doing so for software development makes sense in my opinion.

The World’s Smallest Mobile Color Printer

Wed, 4 Sep 2019

Cool gadget: PrinCube is a tiny handheld, portable printer: it fits in the palm of your hand. It works over wifi with your phone to easily upload any text, image, or design and instantly print onto virtually any object or surface at the touch of a button.

It makes precise prints on virtually any materials including paper, metal, textiles, plastics, wood, leather and other building and artistic materials.