No Virginia… you are NOT the user

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As individuals, we have many user experiences over the course of a day. Certainly over the course of a week, month, year… indeed a lifetime. In a sense, we become experienced users over time of many things, and remain inexperienced users of many other things. In some instances we feel we can extrapolate the experience… Continue reading No Virginia… you are NOT the user

Tim Brown on Creativity and play – oldie but goodie

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I came across this again the other day. I’d forgotten about it – which in its own way is one of the lessons of the video. Every time we stop to play, and allow ourselves to be creative in our thinking, we all too quickly become adults in implementing it. This is a reminder not… Continue reading Tim Brown on Creativity and play – oldie but goodie

Pervasive UX – Who is Responsible?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the ‘edges’ of user experience lately. Most projects demand tactical UX – a bit of research, some wireframes, perhaps a prototype, and some annotation. It slots neatly into place in a project process. But ‘User’ experience isn’t quite so tidy. Actual user experience is ubiquitous, pervasive. It doesn’t have… Continue reading Pervasive UX – Who is Responsible?

Alphagov musings

A few weeks before it launched, Tom Loosemore kindly invited me over for a preview of the Alphagov prototype. I was given a whirlwind tour of their agile process and some of the thinking behind their work. Not to mention a very dark – and thick – cup of coffee. Hey, I’m not complaining. I… Continue reading Alphagov musings

Walking the line between Skunkworks and Business as Usual

Several times recently I’ve heard the word ‘skunkworks‘ mentioned. Most recently it was in a Guardian interview with Mark O’neill, the ‘leader of the government’s IT ‘skunkworks’ team – as well as CIO of two prominent UK Government departments. I have to admit to being fascinated by the idea of a skunkworks capability in Government.… Continue reading Walking the line between Skunkworks and Business as Usual