There's a weird set of paradoxes that appear to be opening up in the realm of technology management in business at the moment; on the one hand technology is becoming increasingly commoditized so that the needs for running technical stuff - servers, email systems and so on - in house is diminishing. At the same … Continue reading Keeping people API
Category: Technology
In my time working at the Government Digital Service I have to admit I got a bit weirded out by the relentless focus on User Needs. It felt cultish. To an extent it still does. But having had some time to reflect, and having spent some time working in different environments in the past six … Continue reading Business needs, user needs, theory x and theory y
During my recent research project, which I continue to write up into a coherent report for the lovely people at the LEF, one of the conversations that appeared to happen again and again with my interviewees went along the lines of: Me: "Would I be able to attribute this conversation to you?" Them: "I'd love … Continue reading Uncommunicative
I spent a bit of time last week with a couple of salespeople from one of the big PC manufacturers. It was an eye-opening experience. It's been awhile since I've looked at that end of the devices business. When I was at Microsoft in those heady days in the lead up to and release of … Continue reading The point of no differentiation
A new week, a new adventure. On Monday I started a new professional challenge, at the heart of professional services organization, heading their digital initiatives. What does digital even mean these days? Well, it's everything and nothing, but for my own sanity I see it as a way of describing the ways in which technology … Continue reading Digital professional services
The recent hubbub about Google's Go-Playing Artificial intelligence beating one of the world's finest human players got me thinking myself. Firstly, one of the interesting reflections on the tournament was that the machine was playing moves that a human just wouldn't have thought appropriate (or even thought of). What this seems to belie is that … Continue reading OK, Go
We aren't the sort of family that has much in the way of heirlooms passed from generation to generation. In fact I think that the only thing that I have inherited (other than my wit and dashing good looks, naturally) is a bound edition of a volume of the satirical magazine Punch from around 1918. … Continue reading Advertorial
Earlier this week I ordered a new pair of glasses. I did it online. Last summer I was looking for a new pair of prescription sunglasses. After getting my eyes tested, and selecting some frames, the high street optician I was using (one of the chains) came up with a number in excess of £500 … Continue reading The first time…
I've said it before, and no doubt I'll say it again: technology projects in the public sector are subject to a level of transparent scrutiny the likes of which would make most people in the private sector turn into gibbering wrecks. If it's not the National Audit Office raking over the coals, it's Parliament's Public … Continue reading When digital isn’t the answer
I've always found the telephone a stressful device. For as long as I have remembered I've generally found the idea of calling someone - particularly someone I don't know - a bit daunting. I know I'm not alone in this. On the other hand, for the most part, the written word - whether in the … Continue reading The spoken word
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