Strategies to Be an Effective Researcher

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Strategies to Be an Effective Researcher

• Jay F. Nunamaker, Jr.
• Regents and Soldwedel Professor of MIS,
  Communications, Computer Science
• Director, Center for the Management of
  Information
• Eller Graduate School of Management University
  of Arizona
• jnunamaker_at_cmi.arizona.edu

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Tomorrow

• The focus will be on creating value from
• Data
• Information
• Knowledge
• Wisdom

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Image of the New AcademicTheoretical AND
Practical

• Rewarded for making things happen
• Solves real problems with practitioners
• Provides useful advice for practitioners
• Builds useful theories and lessons learned from
  practical experience

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The New AcademicCritical Success Factors

• Know your research, methodology practice trends
• Know your research domain (VERY well)
• Effectively describe your research area
• Change with the times
• Be flexible
• Work as a team player

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Explain the Concept from Multiple Perspectives

• Have presentations from
• The 50,000-foot level
• ground-level

to
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DOSOMETHINGUSEFUL
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Critical Skill forAcademic Success

• Selling and marketing your ideas

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Critical Skill forAcademic Success

• You are ALWAYS selling to
• College Dean
• Department Head
• Journal Editors
• Colleagues
• Students
• NSF
• Military
• Et cetera

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Get FocusedStay Focused

• Decide on a BROAD research umbrella
• Relate everything you do to a single overall
  concept
• Dont work on unrelated topics

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Sell YourOverall Concept

• But address solving a piece of the problem at a
  time

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Make It Easy for EVERYONE to Understand Your
Research

• Department Head
• College Dean
• Colleagues in other departments
• Colleagues in MIS
• University President Provost
• Funding Agency Directors
• Managers
• CEOs and CIOs

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Make It Easy for EVERYONE to Understand Your Area
of Expertise

• How
• Develop an easy-to-understand explanation of your
  research (something to carry away)
• For example
• I do collaboration and knowledge management.

Collaboration Knowledge Management
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Get Real

• We could not explain our concept to executives
  from IBM, DEC, NCR, etc.
• We had to build electronic meeting rooms to
  illustrate our concepts

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Demos or Real Sessions?

• Convince sponsors your research is real
• It exists and can be used
• Use realistic, nontrivial examples
• Its not vapor or hype

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Be Vigilant and Persistent

• Believe in your ideas
• Talk to people continually
• Use language acceptable to your audience
• Be concrete
• Be explicit
• Explain in terms of tangible benefits

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Maintain Academic Focus

• Be academic for academic audiences
• Publish scholarly work
• Obtain NSF and other agency support

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Examples ofHands-on Problem Solving

• Reinventing government
• CMI created an ad-hoc electronic meeting room for
  70 executives at the Hotel Del Coronado (San
  Diego, CA)
• 45 CIOs used a network of laptops to generate a
  white paper on their recommendations for VP Al
  Gore

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Examples ofHands-on Problem Solving

• RIMPAC 1998 Exercise
• CMI designed, developed and helped deploy the
  systems to support collaboration and coordination
  among coalition forces
• 6 nations
• 50 ships
• 200 aircraft
• 25,000 U.S. military personnel

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Explain your researchin a simple way

• Site visits
• Demonstrations
• PowerPoint shows
• Storyboards
• Trade publications
• White papers
• Proposals

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Make it a Habit to

• Discuss both pros cons of your work
• Explain advantages disadvantages
• DO NOT OVERSELL!
• Make sure you can deliver what you promise!

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Develop Metrics

• Outcomes
• Benefits
• Objectives
• Performance
• Et cetera

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Prepare Customized VersionsFor

• Industry
• Military
• Academia

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Clearly Measure Benefits

• Industry wants to know if its BETTER
• and exactly HOW MUCH BETTER!
• Dollars Time

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13 guideposts for the last mile
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DO SOMETHING REAL!
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SELECT A REAL PROBLEM
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13 - The Reality Principle Solve a Real Problem
for People with a Real Need
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GETTING STARTED
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12 The Initiative Principle
Until you get the approval, the ball is always
in your court. The sponsor will give you
every chance to fail. Stay on top of things to
win.
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11 The Positive Principle
Never ask a question that can be answered No.
How can I change this proposal to better suit
your needs?
Build Pyramids
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10 The Modularity Principle
See the Grand Vision solve one small piece at a
time
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9 The Team Principle
Share Your Resources With Others.
Youll learn more from sharing than from holding.
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ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY
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ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY
8 The Champion Principle
Build Pyramids
Find a Champion to open doors.
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ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY
7 The Pain principle
Find their pain, Relieve their pain
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ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY
6 The One-Ahead Principle Sell something that
you are 50 done with.
Kitty Hawk
You will be perceived as an expert!
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ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY
5 The leverage principle
Obtain multiple sponsors to share expenses.
Tough Problem
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ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY
4 The Credibility Principle
The Roughest Demo is more convincing than the
best lecture
Blah, Blah, Blah!
Yeah, Right!
Wow!
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ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY
3 The Visibility Principle
Obtain well known sponsors
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ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY
2 The Publicity Principle
Think big Visibility translates into
credibility. (Fortune/Forbes/WSJ)
New York Times
Five Cents
Final Edition
All the news thats fit to print
Stunning Success in MIS for Arizona Researchers
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Arizona Researcher Looking very cool
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PERSISTENCE
PERSITENCE THROUGH THAT LAST MILE
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1 The Persistence Principle Never Quit, Keep
Trying, Keep Exploring, Overcome
Obstacles. There is No Finish Line.
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1 The Persistence Principle The Pot of
Gold May be hidden just a few steps ahead.
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Methodologies for the Last Mile
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A Research Cycle
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Research Road Map Through the Last Mile

• Proof-of-concept prototype
• Proof-of-value prototype
• Proof of self-sustaining use

3. POU
2. POV
Real Problem
1. POC