Concepts on Avanceé.Agency

Frame 👓 as Concierge alongside Noa LLM

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:00:20 -0400

Collaborative Notebook for Hands-On Workshop

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 14:00:00 -0400

ICAM Future Services Scoping Database

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0400

From Scope to Strategy to Tactics

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 08:00:00 -0400

One of the more challenging aspects of this Avanceé initiative has been in taking some/most of the insights from engagements and distilling them into more widely understood content. Journaling from past experiences can be a heuristic to leverage.

Without giving away any proprietary information, can speak of an attempt to shift an executive view from day-to-day reactions, to scoping industry verticals/trends, towards proposing tactics shaped by known constraints and future trends. The following keeps pertinent details.

Creating A Scoped View

After some time analyzing the day to day functions of the primary company operations around ICAM (identity, credentialing, and access management), we focused on a dozen high-level topics as a topical umbrella to key projects and sales operations. These were compiled on a SharePoint list. This list was architected to connect to a few other SharePoint list to connect to context which might better shape strategy and illustrate tactical gaps.

A few more notes about this scoped list:

a cursory definition and URL to each item as they were added
they were mapped to five identified “services/products” indicative of the major project work within the company
another column was mapped four distinct outcomes (internal R&D, marketing/thought leadership, service offering, and/or product offering)
another linked column - called Methods, Tools, Deliverables, and Resources - knit another knowledge repository to this
more columns included links to other lists (associated roles, company partners, and marketing assets
Finally, another column cross-referenced and linked to an extracted list of one month of the company’s sales funnel (and later 3-month). Each of the items in the sales funnel were assessed for their connection to the scoped item, and relationally linked.

This resulting list - with no other initial analysis - quickly identified the positives and negatives of day-to-day activity against sales activity, against the ability of the company to adjust to business challenges outside of known work.

With later analysis, gaps in product/service knowledge, timeliness of sales funnel items, and lack of understanding of current/future technologies stood out prominently.

Ripples of Scoped Activity

However, important seeing this was, it needed to inform the next shapes of executive activity: creating a vision and strategy for responding to technology and market challenges. So, how did this go?

It did not. The accidental ripple of just putting this mapping together was an indication of a larger gap in vision and execution, caused by mistakes in operations and business development. For example, less than 15% of the items found in the sales funnel (investigated artifacts for eventual proposal/sales pursuit) were applicable to the technologies noted on the scoping list. And while the existing work could map to the scoping list, there was a larger gap between the products and (in this case) the FICAM model used to shape the known products. If you will, one part of executive management ran a product but it wasn’t clearly linked to sales and business development activity - a lack of cohesive knowledge.

What could have been done?

prioritizing the scoped items based on market conditions and business capability
leveraging the marketing/thought-leadership items for quick content activities spread out across multiple persons
refining the product listing to clarify pure product, versus co-opted product, versus service, versus desired product/service
refining the sales/business development funnel to conform first to the product focuses, then to the scoped items, and finally to the adjacent roles identified

We identified a few other items specific to executive coaching, operational improvements, and program management maturity. Because of this and other lists/maps, much was heard (and will leave that there).

Reclaiming Some Gains

But, it was not all a loss. There were parts of the main projects which benefited from linking of obscure product/service lines and louder topics heard beyond the project space. Experienced persons took the framing and tuned their tactics to acclimating the language of the future-scoped topics, and then pulled those into their tasked work relevant research, analysis, or tweaks to implantations. This also led to improved documentation for some mid/large scale operations, and identified other role-gaps with team construction.

As this list was generated and branched from a few other frameworks, it allowed for more direct professional development discussions - some of which were challenging due to a wider technical knowledge gap than noted in an initial organizational analysis.

An accidental ripple unveiled major improvement needed for data coming from the sales/business development team. The data shared was an extract of another data product, and therefore missed notable features such as summaries of the content of the RFPs/RFIs, association to partners and competitors, and timeliness of the content (from addition into the data set to when it was last reviewed). If you will, this list exposed the siloed shape of business development, and answering quickly about specific and desired outcomes.

Avanceé Lessons

And for Avanceé, what did we learn? One of the most challenging aspects of strategy is shifting up to scoping, while also shifting down to tactics. Not being responsible for scope or tactics puts leadership in a challenging place when there is little understanding of the environment. Strategy - while valuable and what many might want - comes after clarity, not before.

What can Avanceé offer to companies who might be in a similar situation of needing/wanting a clearer strategy or tactics which better align with market scope company talent? That’s worth a conversation… but, it won’t be too dissimilar from the image noted on this post, or a similar map. After that, it will be up to your leadership team to execute based on re-engineering that vision.

CIAMS Concept

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 11:00:00 -0400

Developing ICAM Experiences As A Learning Canvas

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0400

Learning and implementing a better and more secure experience pertaining to identity, credentialing, and access management has been something of a mild adventure. From reviewing the specifics of FIDO2, to attending a few security and identity workshops/conferences, there’s this sense I’m one part behind the ball in learning. And yet while looking at the pace of practice/implementation/policy, there feels like a sense of being ahead. This felt crystallized best when asking around the question: “what’s the difference between security and a secure experience?”

People way more qualified than I have answered, broken, and re-answered this question many times. Attention on “experience” by the FIDO Alliance has stuck out most notably. 🙌🏽 The mathematical models aren’t the issue (usually) - it is about what people do or don’t do which starts and caps what’s perceived as security. Digging into a bag of conceptual scribbles, I started looking first at simpler actions (logging in, continual auth, reporting, etc.), and then later into fuller concepts (“you do this action, what are you expected to do/decide”).

This led to a working-concept exploring front-end interactions - instigating questions to drive user, developmental, and business decisions - called the CIAMS Concept. The CIAMS Concept was kept simple with plain HTML, CSS, and JS preventing abstractions caused by various libraries from impacting my learning. Obviously, this caused some unique problems such as: “how do you solve for a dynamically generated QR code for passkey demos” or, “what shouldn’t be answered by here but should be shown to ensure it happens in a backstage action?” Each iteration of the concept led to some targeted learning through platforms like Radiant Logic, ForgeRock, Login.gov, Okta, and more. It opened questions similar to what FIDO Alliance answers in their assortment of case studies. And eventually expressed answers in rough, yet convincing terms.

It also had the impact of shifting how operationally to think about the impact of developing an ICAM (identity, credentialing, and access management) platform or following thru on its implementation. Change management comes very close to the desk of UX solution architects (or should I use the newer term “design engineers”). How people observe what will change and what is profitable to communicate or train, versus what should become a delightful revelation is part of the mapping of a security experience in ways which seem different from older conversations. Designers I work alongside are embracing service design just as much as they are design systems because the interactions are where security is judged - not necessarily the inputs or outputs. This adds to the plate of what’s important to know - and even more to what’s important to implement. Great quote on Twitter/X recently to this last bit: “…Your designs are only as good as their implementations.”

Driving on that road between concept and implementation has been the summary-lesson of this effort as well. As much as it has been a beautiful exercise to create this ICAM concept, putting it in such a posture where it could aptly demonstrate ICAM principles while simultaneously providing guidance to requirements or implementation has been (insert whew emoji). You find the layers of what’s understand about the tooling but not about the usage. Or, what might be conceptually clearer on one platform/modality than another. Given my penchant for jumping into some modalities well-before others conceive them outside of their imaginations, it is even more insightful to what feels like it should be a solved problem.

Some other conclusions from this experiment/exercise:

the pace of passkey implementations really has been helped by coordination between Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc.
some of what’s coming down the pipe in hardware (especially “AI Hardware”) breaks previous conventions (see “how to enter a WiFi password on the Humane AiPin” as one clear example)
the enterprise shift towards data visualizations can sharpen some security contexts, but the nuances of how to create and understand dynamic thresholds for various policies will be more of a challenge
there are so, so many parameters, protocols, certifications, to keep up with that it might actually be smarter to keep up with identified behaviors and filter the other bits from there
as an industry, ICAM seems to be commoditized; but the pace of implementations makes that harder to see in some contexts more than others

And probably my favorite lesson - curiosity seems to be where the canvas answers the difference between security and secure experiences. Not just one answer, but many, each with advantages and trade-offs. Will be very interesting to see how this evolves as JSON .canvas and spatial computing appliances approach wider usage. Some of those newer modalities enabling secure expressions for the kind of usage we desire from productive and secure computing practices. Maybe federation moves from the niche to the norm. Or maybe the negative hand of surveillance becomes the hoodie we cannot help but to adorn ourselves in.

Feels ahead and behind at the same time to be back at exploring like this. I’m scribbling to push even further.

🖋 Speculative Fiction: OIF Agent

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 07:45:00 -0400

Elements in this come from an existing project; however, nothing from said project or persons involved is directly mentioned or implied to within this story. This is (mostly) a design exercise.

The agent takes a seat near what was once a lake you could barely see the far edge of. You can see all of the shorelines now. Today looks like it’s going to be hot, just like previous days. And with the diminished quality of water in the region, it’s going to be more important they are able to connect their clients with the new state mandated resource measures in addition to the usual check-ins. As the agent puts themself in position to receive updates to the new mandates, their communicator signals another change in policy.

“Those who were previously vaccinated against the 2020/21 strains of the corona virus must revalidate their vaccination status with their closest insurance carrier.”

Since the nationalization of medical insurance, it has been a pretty common occurrence that those persons who have previously had checkups, vaccinations, or even a change of family status, have had to re-validate in order to continue receiving national and state support for medical needs. CMS has become a challenging, but fruitful partner with these endeavors. Often, their agent’s ability to not only navigate the regional policy changes, but also quickly identify and connect with those to whom those policies would have negative consequences has been a beacon in these challenging times. For example, national and state measures such as the recently updated license for manual control of automated driving and transport vehicles have made it difficult for some of CMS’s clients to meet with the best insurance carrier for their needs. CMS agents have become threads to these benefits for many, especially those in aging and recently-isolated communities.

The agent finishes the mandated 10 minute meditation session before reviewing the days client itinerary:

Lucy S, 64 with family threads of circulatory issues
Haurmi H, age unknown, recent refugee, needs medical profile
Damion A, age restricted, veteran
Clark K., 90 and looking to move into assisted living
Clark S., 60 and looking at wellness options now that Clark K. will be moving out

The good thing about this list, the agent knows only two of these will be long conversations - likely the Clarks. But, they have to travel to some of the most extreme ends of the region. This state in particular has recently enacted travel and automated speed restrictions. The agent usually doesn’t have to worry about the tolls, but the speed restrictions do hinder timeliness. At least one of these meetings might slip in the recommended appointment window. There’s also a potential for electrical outages. The last time they traveled across this region, they were in the middle of a data transfer when an electrical storm stifled connections. It took four hours, plus a few quick classes in SQL-for-Gov to work out a solution with OIF (the Office of Information Facilitation). The agent checks their communicator for the backup readiness, and sets up an additional battery bank, just in case they need to “go manual” and connect using the less secure cellular option.

The OIF has been looking forward to getting more reports from agents. Since the major reorg a few decades ago, an increase in the ability for agents to address issues in the field has led to a total reshaping of how CMS measures success. Before, there was a harder line of operation between departments. Groups such as CMMI, OEDA, and OIT knew there needed to be more connective measures between their groups, but the shape of the org made that difficult. A radical idea - an adaptation of Rendanheyi - changed not only how CMS worked, but how CMS shaped Medicare and Medicaid as a necessary and fulfilling part of the nation’s new definition of wellness. On a day like today, the OIF is getting a chance to see yet another agent be a manifestation of this new posture.

The agent is part of OIF’s class number three. What OIT used to called NEO, the OIF has resorted to a simple numbering system. They are running concurrent tests of a few proposed career tracks, alongside a new distributed communicator. This communicator combines the security of the gov ID card, along with a feature adapted from Estonia’s cephalopod framework. Essentially, each time the agent passes thru certain frequencies of light, it squirts “ink” into that frequency. That “ink” validates the agent’s status, traces their location, and also ignites a bilateral org skeleton - one half which manages client data and interactions, the other half which manages the agent’s employee information. Neither of these halves touch. The “ink” is the only tonal record and that too is temporary. Much like any radio frequency, it dulls over time, can be mixed with others, etc. OIF believes they have developed a means to capture the most important tones of an agent’s ink, and is able to use this within the bilateral-like platform to learn and improve operations at nearly the speed of the agent making connections with clients.

The agent has made it to the first client. The weather is still holding well, but the time it took to get to this client is concerning. The communicator is already showing recommended movement for the upcoming appointments. One of them is already blinking, indicating that the appointment window is not favorable. This might not look good to their management profile. But, this is the human side of what’s been automated. perhaps the agent will have a few minutes to call that client and maybe they can quickly find another window before the day closes.

The OIF has been working hard on understanding these scenarios. The software has been restricted from making too many decisions for the agents (it has been described as “aggressive” by several information officers). There has been some early data from class number one towards the empowerment of agency when needing to reschedule or adjust appointment windows. However, this change in the analysis of “ink” has been a hard one for some of the contacting groups to adopt. When OIT broached being human-centered in the early 2020s, it was these kinds of revelations which opened CMS’s eyes to what cannot be so easily programmed. Since the inception of OIF, the philosophy of being life-centered has taken this approach to levels not previously dreamt. Contractors working with “ink” not only need to consider the wants of policy, but also the wants of the agents, clients, and even client’s living arrangements. The amount of data is enough to make anyone’s head spin. Procuring the services of contractors who don’t just understand being life-centered, but actively do it themselves (this is a contract requirement for both primes and subs, which must be proved by “ink” of their own), has been a tough adjustment for an industry which has also had to learn how to lean on technologies and services no longer sparked by Silicon Valley and MIT - now it’s Nairobi, Singapore, and LaPaz showing embedded systems which live with humans, not dictate them.

The communicator buzzes again. Another policy change. This one effects the agent’s family directly. A new enhancement to the message allows the agent to forward this change to the affected family member, but not in the same language they are reading it. Along with the OIF’s knitting information and operations, there’s also been a significant upgrade to communication practices. Policy notifications to agents are immediately ready for multiple audiences outside of CMS to read, hear, view, and touch (smell-based messaging was used for a while, but the use of some scents created undesired side effects for some population groups). An impressive adaptation of what is left from Facebook’s messaging API, CMS is able to take a policy, and have it transliterated in real time for agents (including their recommended actions), insurers (along with APIs for near-immediate integration), and citizens (across 60 languages and dialects). CMS, as with other resilient government programs, moved slowly-then-quickly to pick up the pieces from the past years of regulatory changes to many of the vendors they utilized. Probably more luck than talent, CMS didn’t just pick up people, but also learned new skills. Rendanheyi showed CMS how to be a different organization, and every level rose to the occasion to become it.

The agent’s heart rate rises, this isn’t good news. Their communicator signals that it’s time for another meditation session. However, a 10min session isn’t in the cards with the movement of appointment windows. They opt for the 2min session (a 6-count in/out versus the 10min visualization session). While their heart rate doesn’t return to normal, it does come closer to CMS’s range for agent work allowing them to continue with client appointments. CMS is trusted by these clients, not making a best effort to meet with them would betray that hard-won trust. The agent understands this. While also noting the serious conversation which awaits them once their workday ends.

Project: Masala.AI Branding Exploration

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 09:01:00 -0400

Project: [Masala.AI Branding Exploration](https://masala.ai)

Deep Thought Paradigm: Workspace

Mon, 11 Mar 2019 12:56:00 -0400

Further ruminations on the specifics of “deep thought” paradigms in a workspace

Weird the things which cause a rekindling of former thoughts. In a recent tweet, having nothing to do with the topic of interfaces or work, there was a spark rekindling the previous discussion of deep thought UI paradigms. How does that post about the placement of a connected speaker spark such a thought? It has to do with what we see about our spaces in their ability to be conductive to particular kinds of work. When looked at from that perspective, such a graphic doesn’t merely show what we interact with, but how we have designed our spaces around particular interactions.

To recap, here’s where we lent some shape to the paradigm of deep thought:

Deep work is transactional primarily for the individual doing it, not for the entities the individual is supporting.

Deep work UI paradigm (thoughts based around my iOS-as-workstation self): - goals: immersion, flow, focus - analogy: Etch-A-Sketch controls, not Photoshop’s - behaviors: liberty inside frame (create, cut, mix/remix, etc), structured export to outside (validate, handoff, etc.)

In the space of “deep thought” we often hear about unbroken states of work. But, what else is there? What are these other characteristics? Not because they can be measured, but becuae they do sit in a space to be enjoyed. A space to be productive.

Deep thought can probably then be affixed to an acknowledgement of a specific shape of iteration. It might be a framework initially, but then builds/falls into a skeleton where building certain frames of activity are able to blossom. Deep thought as a room? The den, contemplative space, or work-corner. If in this space, the intentionality drives the productity and outcomes.

Going down this line probably describes why open office concepts are so disruptive, but why cafes might not be. The intentionality of the space for collaboration shapes it one way. The intentionality for production shapes it another way. The way we setup our workspace has to be responsive to the output, but probably even more to the production. This nuance might be what is missed, probably because the value in the process is no longer a part of what makes for present economic conversations.

Concept: On-Demand Disability Transit App

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 10:04:11 -0400

Concept: On-Demand Disability Transit App

Reviewing Concepts

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 11:08:00 -0400

Taking some time today to review a few past concepts. The ideation that led to these (and a few others) could use some refreshing.

And at the same time, looking back at these causes a flurry of questions about the greater role contemplation plays in the space between the idea and the work.

Concept: IoT Diagnostic App

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 15:40:06 -0400

Bonus Notes from 18 Jan

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 10:47:00 -0400

Concept: Library Card Watch App (iteration)

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 13:45:21 -0400

Concept: Olelo eBike Branding

Wed, 05 Dec 2018 09:29:55 -0400

Updete: This was a missed submission for the GM eBike Challenge

Concept: Library Card Watch App

Wed, 28 Nov 2018 12:20:50 -0400

Concept: 1847 Philanthropic Side Deck

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 12:52:25 -0400

Created using Paper by WeTransfer Visit 1847 Philanthropic

Wireframing: Portal Layout Concepts

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 15:13:00 -0400

Concept: Sunday Thought Continued

Wed, 24 Oct 2018 06:33:57 -0400

Sunday Thought via Twitter

Revisualized: MDOT Transit Ticket App

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 09:13:00 -0400

#inktober - Case Management Flow

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 09:19:00 -0400

Drawn using Paper by 53 on iPad Pro.

Concept: SmartTrip for Apple Watch

Wed, 03 Oct 2018 09:31:00 -0400

View entire concept on Paste

Concept: Shortcuts/Workflow Idea

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 16:46:58 -0400

Concept: PhD Search Notebook

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 10:30:17 -0400

Concept: PhD Search Notebook - made with Paper for iOS

Concept: Interaction Design App

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:38:34 -0400

Concept: Limited, Interactive Dashboard

Wed, 25 Jul 2018 16:42:36 -0400

Concept: Limited, Interactive Dashboard App (for Tablets First); made with Paper for iOS

Project Idea: Wellness Enabler

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 01:03:00 -0400

Had an idea earlier this year about purchasing a health company (I Should buy A Digital Health Company); haven’t really moved from it, but have put some work into sculpting what exactly about a health company enables Avanceé’s vision…

…it’s deeper than organic. Wellness as enabler 🤔

Concept: Podcast UI

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 12:30:27 -0400

Concept: Podcast UI

Past Project: All Books UI (Aged UI)

Wed, 20 Jun 2018 11:21:00 -0400

Past Project: All Books UI (Aged UI) See this project on Github

Concept: Mentor Tracker App

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 11:29:21 -0400

Concept: Mentor Tracker App (sketched with Paper for iOS)

Concept: Hiking Workout for Apple Watch

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 10:29:48 -0400

Concept: Hiking Workout for Apple Watch (before it was annoucned for watchOS 5)

Concept: Tymbals Risk Assessment Tool

Wed, 30 May 2018 13:46:16 -0400

Concept: Tymbals Risk Assessment Tool; made with Paper by FiftyThree

Concept: SmartTrip Transit App for Apple Watch

Wed, 23 May 2018 08:24:56 -0400

Concepts on Avanceé.Agency

Frame 👓 as Concierge alongside Noa LLM

Collaborative Notebook for Hands-On Workshop

ICAM Future Services Scoping Database

From Scope to Strategy to Tactics

Creating A Scoped View

Ripples of Scoped Activity

Reclaiming Some Gains

Avanceé Lessons

CIAMS Concept

Developing ICAM Experiences As A Learning Canvas

Related Articles

🖋 Speculative Fiction: OIF Agent

Project: Masala.AI Branding Exploration

Deep Thought Paradigm: Workspace

Concept: On-Demand Disability Transit App

Reviewing Concepts

Concept: IoT Diagnostic App

Bonus Notes from 18 Jan

Concept: Library Card Watch App (iteration)

Concept: Olelo eBike Branding

Concept: Library Card Watch App

Concept: 1847 Philanthropic Side Deck

Wireframing: Portal Layout Concepts

Concept: Sunday Thought Continued

Revisualized: MDOT Transit Ticket App

#inktober - Case Management Flow

Concept: SmartTrip for Apple Watch

Concept: Shortcuts/Workflow Idea

Concept: PhD Search Notebook

Concept: Interaction Design App

Concept: Limited, Interactive Dashboard

Project Idea: Wellness Enabler

Concept: Podcast UI

Past Project: All Books UI (Aged UI)

Concept: Mentor Tracker App

Concept: Hiking Workout for Apple Watch

Concept: Tymbals Risk Assessment Tool

Concept: SmartTrip Transit App for Apple Watch