Post on 06-Apr-2017
Harvest Time in the Information Garden
Expanding the definition of information and keeping the
promises we’ve made
Background – What’s in a Title?
Programmer Analyst – Methods Analyst – Project Manager –
Consultant – Manager – Director – VP
What’s in a Job?Programmer Analyst – Methods
Analyst – Project Manager – Consultant – Manager – Director – VP• I managed people• I made processes more efficient• I brokered information• I helped people do their job!
What would you say…you do here? (1)
What’s in a Descriptor?• Development – SDM/70, Structured
Analysis, JAD, RAD, Scrum, Agile, Object-Oriented, Waterfall, Spiral, Rapid Prototyping, Extreme Programming…
• Data – Flat, Hierarchical, Network, Relational, Object-Oriented…
• Languages – Too many to list at 28 pt“Modern” is fleeting
And Yet…
We agonize over whether ECM is still a thing
Systems Development and
ECM – Not so different
What Did I Do?
Systems Development / ECM Design• Follow agreed upon best practices• Use best-of-breed technology• Teach people how to use the system• Drive (mandate) adoption• Focus on security• Monitor compliance
In an Ideal World
Business Process Technology Stack
(2)
In the Real World
Business Process Technology Stack
As a Result?• Data processing systems saved time & money• Reporting systems facilitated communication• Content management systems aided in
communication, compliance and governance, but…– Eye-roll-inducing terms abounded– We created better silos
However…
We did put stuff in those silos
Eureka
What if…
We reach inside the silos and give people the information they need to do their jobs?
A little bit of information about two solutions we’ve
built and one we’re building
Examples
Our approach to organizing and delivering information
for Emergency Response
Stuff We Have to Know
Emergency Response• It’s what we do• We have all the information we
need– It’s not enough to have it– It’s not enough to be able to find it
• We need to deliver “Situationally-Relevant Information”(3) It’s Thornton’s fault
SharePoint On-Prem• Everything we have• A place for everything• Everything in its place
• Everything you would expect from SharePoint
SharePoint Online• Everything we might need• A place for everything• Everything in its place
• Still, everything you would expect from SharePoint
iPad App• Everything we need• Everything where we want
it to be
• (Almost) Everything you would expect from an iPad app
iPad App
Build with and hosted on Seattle Cloud
SharePoint vs. SharePoint
“This is so much better than going into SharePoint”
Learn Through UsageiPad – user comment: “we had a lot of documents available at the drill, but there were no copiers. Is there any way I can capture this stuff through this app?”
– Yes, yes there is
It’s Not Pretty…But it Works
“If only HP knew what HP knows, we would be three times
more productive” (4)
Lew Platt
Stuff We Do Know
What ANI Knows (well, one thing, we know more than this)
• Entity relationships – Who owns what sites?• Site relationships – How many units?• Premium data – How much do we charge?• Rating information – Why do we charge
that?• Inspection & Recommendations – The story.• FMMR(5) – Can we mitigate the risk?
Delivering What We Know• Data created / imported
to SQL Server• Documents & metrics in
SharePoint• Collected by PowerBI• Delivered to SPO &
mobile devices
Delivering What We Know• Data created / imported
to SQL Server• Documents & metrics in
SharePoint• Collected by PowerBI• Delivered to SPO &
mobile devices
In a small organization, you never know who will have to
answer a question
What We Should Know
Stuff We Should Know (SWsK)• After Fukushima – required
reading list on SharePoint– Worked well, but most people
printed articles to read later– Lots of information like that – more
paper? No!• ANI sourced and curated
SWsK - Content• Attributes of:– Our business– Our members– The industry we insure
• Interesting items in the news– About the above and in general
SWsK – Implementation • Recommended articles
• RSS feeds
• Custom searchAutomated and manually fed
SWsK – Implementation • Prepared by Subject Matter Expert
• Curated news
• Driven by database systemsMostly static but news and analysis mixed in
SWsK – Implementation • Driven by user experience
• SharePoint Online and In-App
• Crowdsourcing Manual process up front but automatic from arrival in the app
SWsK – Process• Submit• Recommend• Archive• Share• * Veto *
10 Minutes (max) invested per article
Nothing earth-shattering, this stuff just makes sense
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned• Don’t agonize over terms– They don’t matter!– Nobody wants to hear them
• Adapt faster– Keep an open mind and keep plans flexible– Roadmaps are so 1990
Lessons Learned• Technology only matters when it doesn’t work– People don’t care how cars, ATMs, Mass Transit,
Major Appliances (…) and the Internet work– Give them what they want and be happy
• Process doesn’t have to be permanent– An interim solution is acceptable to most people– Change as the technology involved changes
Lessons Learned• Level of detail should scale– Drill-down / Summarize options are important
• Sooner is better than perfect (in most cases)
– People appreciate having something– People like to influence the ongoing design– Maybe you never need the perfect thing
Lessons Learned• Focus on what they need – When they need it
– The device they want to use– We started with the stuff we already had– Added the stuff we could easily replicate into an
accessible form– Only then talked about what we had to add
It’s coming faster than you think with very little warning
Future
Expand Sources & Capabilities• Build on success to date• Replicate additional data sources
into web-accessible platforms• Add GIS capability to Emergency
Response• Continue to explore Power BI and
Seattle Cloud capabilitiesThis does nothing but grow going forward
Daniel Antion Vice President Information ServicesAmerican Nuclear Insurers
dantion@nuclearinsurance.comhttp://noFacilities.com
Attributions1. Bob – From Office Space – Best IT movie ever
(this is a official review, I get to use photo)2. Noun Project (we subscribe)3. Situationally-Relevant Information – Thornton
May case study on ANI4. I heard Andrew McAfee (MIT) quote Lew Pratt
during a keynote address at the old Enterprise 2.0 conference.
5. Ed Everett VP Engineering, ANI – Find – Measure – Mitigate – Respond