Archive for November, 2008

Is There an Emerging Semantic Architecture? And Why Does it Matter?

Published by lynda on November 23, 2008 in Thursday Afternoon Meetings. 0 Comments

Thursday, December 18, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m, Microsoft, 201 Jones Rd., Sixth Floor, Waltham, MA 02451 , Waltham. Directions. [NOTE: New Location!]

SPEAKER: Tom Bigda-Peyton, President, Center for Semantic Excellence

TOPIC: The recent Boston KM Forum Symposium at Bentley College on semantics featured several ideas on semantic architectures and applications.  In this session, Tom Bigda-Peyton will pick up on the threads of this discussion and lead us in examining where “semantics” is going, from the perspectives of technology, methodology, architecture, and applications.

BIOGRAPHY: Tom Bigda-Peyton is an organizational consultant, researcher, and educator who has spent more than twenty years working with managers, teams, and organizations. Tom is the founder of Action Learning Systems, a research and consulting practice started in 1992 to help teams and organizations improve the quality and pace of on-the-job learning, recognize and manage transitions together, and create environments of shared leadership and accountability. He is also President of the Center for Semantic Excellence, a multi-disciplinary research organization that addresses problems such as healthcare system redesign, regional economic development, and social problem-solving (also known as “wicked” problems).

PLEASE Register even if you are not certain you can attend so we have an accurate estimate of attendees for handouts.

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What Media Publishing Models Are Succeeding in Spreading Knowledge?

Published by lynda on November 23, 2008 in Friday Breakfast Meetings. 0 Comments

Friday, Dec. 5, 2008 at 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. Rebecca’s at Reservoir Place, Trapelo Road, Waltham.

Our discussion on enterprise intranets and portals on Nov. 7th began with an update on the evolution of a number of company portal projects among our members. It began to sound like the presence of the company portal or intranet home page (and there was not much distinction made between the two) is often the default display when an employee boots up the computer or opens a browser. However, the lack of compelling and current content can turn it into a real snoozer.

The discussion roamed into the metaphor of a newspaper’s home page and its high level of currency as a model that works because it pushes the most important and highly relevant content out to its audience on a steady basis. If a news audience wants to know the “latest,” “hottest,” and “most important” events that are breaking, it becomes captive to checking out that page on a regular basis. We’ll discuss what the daily press home page can teach us about design and content potential for better company intranet home pages. Is this a better way to spread knowledge and stimulate collaboration?

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Data Requirements: Your Eight Step Process for Success!

Published by lynda on November 11, 2008 in Other Organizations Meetings. 0 Comments

Speaker: Norman Daoust

Thursday, November 13, 2008, 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. (networking and light dinner 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., presentation 6:45 - 7:45 p.m.) FOR: business analysts, project managers, quality assurance and testing personnel.

Description: How do you document your data requirements? In a list somewhere in one of your requirements documents, in your glossary, somewhere in your use cases, in your data dictionary, in your metadata catalog, in a logical data model?

Learn a systematic eight step process for eliciting, analyzing, and documenting your data requirements. The process is applicable to both enhancement and new development projects and scales to projects of all sizes.

Attendees will learn:

  • the value of each of the eight steps in the process
  • what information is need to document your data requirements
  • how to capture and document data requirements
  • how to organize your data requirements

Sponsor: International Institute for Business Analysis (IIBA): Greater Boston Chapter

Admission: open to the public; IIBA chapter members: no charge; non-members: $10 prepay, $15 at the door; preregistration is requested by sending an email message with your full name, company name, job title, and email address to events@boston.theiiba.org.

Location: Microsoft Corporation, 201 Jones Road, 6th Floor, Waltham, MA 02451

Details, including a map, are available at: www.DaoustAssociates.com/news.htm#20081113

The Walls Came Tumbling Down—Librarians & Social YES-Working!

Published by lynda on November 7, 2008 in Thursday Afternoon Meetings. 0 Comments

Thursday, November 20, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m, Microsoft, 201 Jones Rd., Sixth Floor, Waltham, MA 02451 , Waltham. Directions. [NOTE: New Location!]

SPEAKER: Elaine Alligood, MLS,   Informationista,  VA Technology Assessment Program

TOPIC: Web 2.0, Web 3.0, or the Semantic Web; whatever you call it, is changing the way librarians work.  Is it about attitudes or technologies?  This presentation will show examples of resources re-shaping the notion of traditional librarianship along with examples of some technologies, decision support tools, information dissemination strategies, and a new thing or two emerging on the digital horizon; all shifting the way librarians work and communicate in specialized environments like the VA. [Presentation]

BIOGRAPHY:Elaine Alligood has worked at the National Library of Medicine, NCI, Johns Hopkins, University of Virginia, Elsevier, Harvard, and the VA. She joined the VA Technology Assessment Program in March 1995 where she’s information support on all VATAP projects and works closely with the Health Technology Assessment International Society (HTAi).  A Past Chair of the HTAi Information Resources Group (IRG), Elaine has authored a chapter on reference management software in an HTA E-text, delivered search/Web 2.0 updates at the annual meeting, and developed of a portal of HTA resources, the HTAi Vortal.  Keenly interested in clinical applications of computer technology for decision support, Elaine is a Fellow of the Woods Hole Biomedical Informatics Workshop (May 2006) and serves on the VA Workgroup for clinical decision support where she’s developed a VA Intranet clinical evidence portal.

PLEASE Register even if you are not certain you can attend so we have an accurate estimate of attendees for handouts.

Registration Form for Thursday

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