cplysy

Jan 27 2022

Third Position Strategy

When we are in a complex situation with much going on dividing our experience into halves is not often useful. How often have you encountered an either/or situation where neither option is particularly attractive?

Thinking in triads is far more useful for understanding complex situations. One of the simplest ways to do this is to adopt a Third Position. The third position is meant to create a simulated space for generating new insights and observations that are taken from a third-person perspective, that is not your own. Nor, is it of the competing party or those looking to take a contrary position.

The Third Position is not to be confused with the political movement of the same name, rather it is a means of framing negotiations and for scenario development.

How to take the Third Position

The strategy works in three steps.

Recognize a context where you can observe something as a third party that you are / or were involved in. This could be some kind of interaction or a decision context. Create a vivid recollection or even write down what this scenario looks like and note what you are thinking, observing, and feeling. Also note what contrary or challenging positions there are to the one you are stepping away from.
Next, try to step away from this position and shed any sensations you might have from the first scenario and bring in a curious attitude by asking questions about what you see, feel, sense, and experience from that first step. What does this look like and feel?
The third step is to evaluate what you perceive from this ‘third position.’ Note where there are points of agreement, disagreement and where there are new insights that are not explored by either of the two sides. This allows you to see things from a dispassionate perspective and notice things that might influence how either of the two parties might be making a decision. This could include things like understanding the role of stress, situational factors like time pressures, or information and knowledge gaps that are previously unrecognized.

The Third Position is away of gaining alternative perspectives on a situation when there is no reliable third party to observe. It’s a means of doing checks on your thinking and actions as well as anticipating or hypothesizing what others might be doing. It’s useful for checking assumptions and recognizing where there are gaps in our understanding and knowledge.

By learning these and becoming aware of them we can better avoid the problems they create and take advantage of the benefits they offer.

Photo by Joshua Hanks on Unsplash

The post Third Position Strategy appeared first on Cense Ltd. .

Jan 26 2022

How to fall into evaluation – a cartoon post.

So what does it mean to “fall into evaluation?”

That’s today’s cartoon post inspiration from Ann Price via Twitter.

@clysy Hey Chris, have you created a cartoon for the often used phrase, “I just kind of fell into evaluation?”

— Ann Price (she, her, hers) (@annwprice) January 21, 2022

There are lots of social scientists working as evaluators.

Unless you’re in academia it’s hard to be something like a Sociologist professionally. Practical fields like program evaluation and contract research offer a good career path for social science grads.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy. One person talking to another, "So yea, I went to school for social science, and, yada, yada, yada, now I'm a program evaluator."

Professional Sidetracker

If you ask the right question at the right time, you can totally sidetrack a meeting. But if it’s a critical question, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy.
Three people at a table.
Person 1 says, "Amara, you keep sidetracking our meetings with important but hard to answer questions. Have you ever considered becoming an evaluator?"
Person 2 just stare at person 3.
Person 3 responds, "That's a job?"

The tools make the evaluator.

I see a lot of people with certain skillsets get funneled into evaluation or quasi-evaluation roles. Especially those who fall into evaluation from specific roles in non-profits or government agencies.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy.
Written across the top, "What it means to "fall into" evaluation."
Person standing but speaking to another person sitting at a desk, "Our grant application requires an evaluation plan. You're good with Excel and Power Point right?"

Sometimes it’s just about filling a need.

People who become evaluators are usually pretty self-aware and good at noticing things other people tend not to see. So sometimes becoming an evaluator is just a response to an existing societal need.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy.
Two people talking.
Person 1, "So you just fell into evaluation?"
Person 2, "I considered starting my own nonprofit. But then I thought, we don't need more nonprofits. We need the one's we have to be more effective."

Falling into evaluation is not without its risks.

Some pursuits and programs just don’t make a ton of rational sense. At least rational sense that we can see and measure.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy.
One person stopping a second person from falling into a hole labeled "Evaluation."
Person 1 says, "Careful! You fall into that and you'll never see our program in the same light again."

Are you an evaluator? How did you fall into evaluation?

Seriously, I want to know. Do any of these cartoons strike a chord? Let me know in the comments.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy,
Two people talking.
Person 1, "Oh, I just kind of fell into evaluation."
Person 2, "What does that mean? Did you trip on a logic model or something?"

Jan 25 2022

Dashboard Don’ts: My 10 Worst Mistakes from Past Projects

Are you working on a dashboard at your workplace?

Maybe you’re making a brand-new dashboard?

Maybe you’re revamping an existing dashboard to bring it up to speed?

Maybe you don’t have a dashboard yet, and you’re wondering if you need one?

In this article, you’ll see my 10 worst mistakes from past dashboards.

I’ve made all these mistakes (and more…) over the past 15 years. Let’s fast-forward your project and make sure you’re not doomed to run into the same issues I did.

Learn from my mistakes. Don’t let your dashboards suffer.

10 Worst Dashboard Mistakes

You can watch the video or read about the top 10 dashboard mistakes.

Mistake #1: Not Having a Dashboard 

Fifteen years ago, I assumed that a single technical report was enough.  

I started my career by working on university-based research centers. Peer-reviewed articles were the norm. 

When I transitioned into contracting for Federal government agencies, 100-page technical reports were the norm.

Nowadays, I know better.

Dashboards used to seem like extras.

But they’re not extras. They’re essential. 

Mistake #1: not having a dashboard. Instead of a single technical report, aim for a dashboard.

Mistake #2: Not Having Multiple Dashboards 

After I realized that every project could benefit from a dashboard, I realized that every project needs multiple dashboards. 

In the past, I’d make a single dashboard. All the information was crammed in. I was trying to meet every audience’s needs.

It was destined to fail.

Now, I have multiple dashboards so that each audience gets their own individualized dashboard.

Audience A gets the information they need.

Audience B gets the information they need.

Audience C gets the information they need. And so on.

By providing each audience the exact information they need, the data is much more likely to be understood and used.

Mistake #2: not having multiple dashboards. Each audience should have their own dashboard.

Mistake #3: Copying and Pasting from Excel into Word or PowerPoint

Here’s what I used to do.

I would make my graphs in Excel and then I would past them into Word or PowerPoint.

I found workarounds to make sure the formatting was identical in both Excel and Word/PowerPoint (e.g., by setting up Themes and a standard text hierarchy in advance).

I found workarounds to avoid copying and pasting (e.g., by writing VBA code).

But the transfer process was still time-consuming and prone to errors.

Nowadays, I just keep everything in the same software program.

I’m a big fan of everyday software so I usually just use Excel for everything. You could use PowerBI or Tableau. Whatever software program you like.

Less copying and pasting between programs is a major time saver.

Mistake #3: copying and pasting between programs. Save yourself time and just do everything in one program.

Mistake #4: Getting Distracted by Sparkly Interactivity

It’s easy to get caught up in all the cool things interactive dashboards can do, like adding drop-down menus or checkboxes. Interactivity lets the user explore the data further.

In hindsight, I wish that some of my interactive dashboards were actually static dashboards.

Yes, I admit it–I wish some of my interactive dashboards were static instead.

I wish I would have used static dashboards for the high-level executives who don’t have extra time to explore data.

Or, for the non-technical audiences who just want the key takeaways.

Sometimes your audience would really just prefer a PDF’d one-pager.

Mistake #4: getting distracted by interactivity. Sometimes your audience really just wants a static dashboard.

Mistake #5: Placing Drop-Drops or Checkboxes Wherever There Was Space

I used to just place drop-downs and checkboxes wherever there was space.

At the bottom of a page? Sure.

On the right-hand side of a page? Sure.

In this teeny tiny white space that’s leftover? Sure!

Now, I aim for consistency.

That means usually placing them in the upper left corner.

It’s the most valuable real estate on our screen because our eyes are naturally drawn there.

Intentional placement helps your audience know where to start.

Mistake #5: placing drop-downs wherever they fit. Be intentional with placement.

Mistake #6: Shoving Everything onto a Single Screen

I used to think that a dashboard had to fit onto a single screen or page.

That’s false.

People can easily click to the next window or flip to the next page.

There’s no reason to cram all the information into one page. Especially if you have to resort to using size 6 font with no white space left.

A good rule of thumb is literally a thumb: Make sure you have about a half inch to an inch of white space between your graphs and text boxes.

Give the dashboard some room to breathe so your audience doesn’t feel overwhelmed by the sheer density of the data.

Mistake #6: shoving everything onto a single screen. Leave some room to breathe.

Mistake #7: Only Showing the Latest Data

Here’s the most common mistake I see: Only showing the latest data.

Let’s pretend there’s a big meeting in March. I used to just show March’s numbers.

But what about February? Or January? Or earlier dates? My poor audience would have to hunt down the previous month’s dashboard, flip back and forth between screens, and try to make comparisons. Our audience should never have to flip between screens or flip between pages to make comparisons!

By only showing the most current data, we’re not allowing our viewers to see the bigger picture.

Nowadays, I use lots more line graphs so that my viewers can see whether there are fluctuations over time.

Mistake #7: only showing the latest data. Show more information allows your audience to see fluctuations over time.

Mistake #8: Losing Time on Colors and Fonts

Wasting time looking for color palettes or fancy fonts is so common.

I used to just use whatever colors and fonts I felt like. Or, I used the software defaults..

I would think, “Ooh, I heard this font is really popular right now!” or “I love this shade of blue!”

Being guided by personal preferences means your work isn’t as professional as it could be. Especially if you’re working in a group.

If everyone picks their favorite colors or fonts, nothing is cohesive or branded.

Instead, save yourself some time and boost the professionalism by using the recipient’s brand fonts and colors.

You don’t even have to think about it. It’ll just be done. Save your precious mental space for something else.

Mistake #9: Wasting Money by Outsourcing Too Much

There’s a time and place for outsourcing work.

But dashboard design is not one of them.

It shouldn’t cost tens of thousands of dollars to develop a dashboard.

Nor should it take weeks or months.

Don’t hire somebody else to make your dashboard.

Keep it in-house.

You’ll be able to maintain it more easily and will have full control whenever changes or updates need to be made.

Mistake #9: wasting money by outsourcing too much. Keep dashboard design in-house.

Mistake #10: Assuming It Was Finished

Dashboards are never finished.

Ever.

They’re not supposed to be.

Dashboards should be updated over time.

Dashboards should evolve as the information needs evolve.

And not just once a year.

You should be making ongoing edits, adjustments, and improvements all the time.

As needs change, the dashboard changes.

Which is another reason why keeping it in-house is so much better.

Mistake #10: assuming it's finished. Dashboards should be updated indefinitely.

Your Turn

Those were my top 10 worst mistakes from my past projects.

Now, it’s your turn.

What are your worst mistakes from your past dashboard projects? Share so we can learn from one another and avoid some of the headaches before they start.

Jan 19 2022

Try This: Check In on Your Strategic Plan

Try this out and let me know how it goes for you. On the road to becoming more data driven, and making sense of stakeholder data, organizations use the data to inform their strategic planning process. A strategic plan, in short, is a written document that outlines an organization’s mission, vision, the context the plan […]

The post Try This: Check In on Your Strategic Plan appeared first on Nicole Clark Consulting.

Jan 19 2022

UX Evaluation and Creative Reporting Webinars [Free Replays]

In early December I was given the opportunity to join The Youth Research and Evaluation eXchange (YouthREX) for a couple of Zoom webinars.

And, if you’re interested, the replays for both are now live and free to watch.

freshspectrum cartoon by Chris Lysy.

Person talking while holding paper. "Not sure how they did it. It's only a 3 page executive summary but it reads like a 50 page report.

A screenshot of the YouthREX webinars page, showing two webinars. User Experience Evaluation and Creative Reporting in Evaluation. — Both webinars are currently available on the YouthREX Webinars page.

User Experience (UX) Evaluation

I’ve embedded below, but you can also watch/download the slides for this webinar by following this link.

How can evaluations of youth programs be enhanced by User Experience Design?
What are emerging UX Design methods and tools for better understanding participants of youth programs?

An effective program evaluation ensures that the data collected, interpreted, and shared are relevant to program stakeholders.

We explored ways that UX strategies can improve the design of the process evaluation component of an evaluation of a youth program.

This webinar paid attention to recent innovations in online platforms and software tools that enhance youth participation in a program evaluation.

freshspectrum cartoon by Chris Lysy
Two people talking. Person one says,
"Why are we spending time on evaluation? We already know what's working and not working."
Person 2 replies, "Because if we want to succeed, we need to prove that to others."

Creative Reporting in Evaluation

I’ve embedded below, but you can also watch/download the slides for this webinar by following this link.

How can we share our evaluation findings in more creative, accessible, and engaging ways?
What tools can we start using today to enhance our reports and presentations?

Sharing evaluation insights can be fun and rewarding. This webinar challenged us to revisit the common ways we share evaluation findings and presented a number of creative solutions for keeping stakeholders engaged and informed.

Participants explored practical ways (infographic design, cartoon illustration, meme design, and social media reporting strategy) to mobilize knowledge and examined how Slidedoc Reporting can offer unique advantages to youth programs who are looking to create exciting and professional presentations through everyday software tools.

cplysy

How to take the Third Position

There are lots of social scientists working as evaluators.

Professional Sidetracker

The tools make the evaluator.

Sometimes it’s just about filling a need.

Falling into evaluation is not without its risks.

Are you an evaluator? How did you fall into evaluation?

10 Worst Dashboard Mistakes

Mistake #1: Not Having a Dashboard

Mistake #2: Not Having Multiple Dashboards

Mistake #3: Copying and Pasting from Excel into Word or PowerPoint

Mistake #4: Getting Distracted by Sparkly Interactivity

Mistake #5: Placing Drop-Drops or Checkboxes Wherever There Was Space

Mistake #6: Shoving Everything onto a Single Screen

Mistake #7: Only Showing the Latest Data

Mistake #8: Losing Time on Colors and Fonts

Mistake #9: Wasting Money by Outsourcing Too Much

Mistake #10: Assuming It Was Finished

Your Turn

User Experience (UX) Evaluation

Creative Reporting in Evaluation

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Mistake #1: Not Having a Dashboard 

Mistake #2: Not Having Multiple Dashboards 