Digital by Default

Digital by Default

Leave those piñatas alone

It has been a tough couple of weeks for public service digital teams. First there was the PHE/NHS ‘test and trace’ Excel crisis and now there is the ‘National Careers Service’ assessment tool becoming a Twitter piñata. In both cases armies of ‘experts’ have had their say with everything from constructive criticism to conspiracy theories…

October 8, 2020
Remembering Pete Ferne – 10 years on

One of those Facebook ‘memories’ reminded me that today was the 10 year anniversary of Pete passing. Can it really have been that long? That feels crazy to me. So much of my career since has been influenced by what I learned from Pete. So many of my professional principles copied wholesale from his approach.…

October 7, 2020
Clueless about Codeless

In the past I’ve been a bit dismissive of no/low code solutions – the examples I saw in the past seemed fraught with problems and just seemed to be storing up more problems for the future than they were solving in the present. I always saw the appeal though and it is no surprise that…

October 4, 2020
Not Not Binary No More

I have finished my interim role at Essex CC – which led to a lot of people thinking I’d left Notbinary – just in time for Notbinary to disappear and for me to once again change my LinkedIn details which should further muddy the waters. The company has gone full Megazord and combined with Disruption,…

October 2, 2020
September 2020

Today is my final day as interim Head of Product Management at Essex County Council. Sort of. I’m tapering off a little by doing five days across October to sweep a few things up but those are specific tasks and my day to day responsibilities finish today. I’ve really enjoyed my time there – a…

September 30, 2020