Category: Work
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User Centred Success Measures
When starting a new project or picking up a piece of work, we may have a project brief or kick-off meeting. We do this to frame the problem we’re trying to solve, understand some user needs, clarify some constraints, discuss opportunities and define some success metrics. I’ve watched teams work together for the last 5-6…
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The one that didn’t get away
Backstory: It was December 2015, and I was on a flight to Montreal. A few weeks earlier, I’d begun chatting to the folks at Shopify, and they wanted to interview me. A day-long experience which didn’t feel like an interview at all. Much more chatting with people I liked. A few days later, I was…
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Managers and leaders
I want to share my thoughts on managers and leaders who can’t or won’t manage and or lead. I’ll explain the effect this can have on people, teams and organisations. TLDR; Managers and leaders who are unable to manage or lead (for lots of reasons) can break delivery, momentum and morale and therefore render people,…
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Measuring effectiveness
I’ve been thinking about being effective a lot lately. Just so we’re clear, the definition of effective is; successful in producing a desired or intended result Regardless of where you are in your professional journey or what role you have, it’s absolutely normal and right to want to feel like you’re achieving something. Being effective…
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The first days
The first days of any new role are always a bit of a whirlwind. The change in my role within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over the last few weeks was one I needed. As I’ve mentioned, the role I started wasn’t the role that it ended up being. There is more to…
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Professional progression
I recently gave a talk at Camp Digital on professional progression. I took the attendees through multiple aspects of what they should be doing in their careers in order to progress. A section of the talk is dedicated to my own working theory about time, skill levels and focus. This theory depends on a few…
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2-years-ago
2 years ago I started my first day working at the Department for Work and Pensions. It’s been a wild ride with no sign it’s slowing down. I’m enjoying every minute. For the first 10 days of my time in the department, I made a point of posting some thoughts and observations in the form…
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Service goals
A little under two years ago, I joined Government at the Department for Work and Pensions and began work on the Get your State Pension service. The team had just finished their discovery work. Anna had done some excellent user research and clearly presented the user needs for the service. Based on the user needs…
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What is the hardest part of running a design team?
Answering the question of What is the hardest part of running a design team? excerpt: I don’t think anything is ‘hard’ per sè. There are various challenges of running large teams and then even more for running large teams in different locations.
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It’s time for something new
On Thursday I’ll be walking out of the traveljunction.com office for the last time to have a long awaited week off before starting afresh elsewhere. 2 years ago I knew absolutely nothing about travel, although it was one of the verticals I’d identified that I’d like to work in. When the opportunity came knocking I…
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How to move into a more senior role
When I was younger I was always fairly independent, head strong and forthright. I’m glad I still am. It set me up for where I am today and I’d say it has definitely contributed to how I’ve moved into more senior roles throughout the years. Over time you look back and see the things you’ve…