Repeating the message & wrangling data.
I’ve been working on…
- This week I’ve been reminded of the importance of consistently repeating the same message, over and over. It’s useful to remember that when introducing new concepts, my mental model is going to be markedly different from that of other people. Even when they nod and smile, the picture in their mind could be totally different. They think it’s like this other thing from their personal frame of reference.. except it’s not. I need to keep repeating the message until our mental pictures match… even if it does feel like I’m a broken record.
- Our digital transformation principles have been doing the rounds this week. I’ve had some positive early conversations with a few people, but related to the point above, I think we’ll have to go and find ways to provoke discussion about it in different parts of the organisation. I’ve often thought that it’s attention not time that’s the precious workplace commodity.
- Had a good chat with a colleague regarding data. Like most organisations that have been going for a while, our data is distributed across a number of different systems (and very occasionally the odd spreadsheet). Trying to wrestle it into something useful for decision making can be a bit of a mission. Particularly where it looks like there’s some inconsistency around how things are collected & entered. It got me wondering about how we raise the profile of data. Is it a collective responsibility or do you employ someone to move the organisation along the data maturity scale? As we march ever more into the digital realm, being able to put your own data to work becomes increasingly vital.
I’ve been reading…
- Can you start with user needs to improve the internal tools that staff use? That’s exactly what Citizens Advice are doing in this post.
https://medium.com/citizens-advice/moving-beyond-the-intranet-30419a2e39dd#.dacwpdqkm - Trust is shifting to the network (and away from institutions).
http://gerrymcgovern.com/trust-is-shifting-to-the-network/ - Being engaged at work is not the same as being productive.
https://hbr.org/2017/02/being-engaged-at-work-is-not-the-same-as-being-productive - Blockchain : A new hope, or just hype?
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/blockchain-a-new-hope-or-just-hype - Why do we solve the wrong problems?
https://medium.com/@PaulBromford/why-we-solve-the-wrong-problems-c452fce3800b#.z2n9yezfy - The battle for consumers attention.
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21716460-forget-long-tail-battle-consumers-attention - Mapping benefit changes. How GIS can help Housing Associations.
https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/feb/20/mapping-changes-benefits-gis-housing-associations-tenants-rent - Scottish Government on Pop-Up User Research. Taking research to where the users are.
https://blogs.gov.scot/digital/2017/01/26/pop-up-study-taking-research-to-where-our-users-are/ - User research is overrated.
https://medium.muz.li/user-research-is-overrated-6b0fe101d41#.3flxt7vay - Could Whatsapp make your community a better place to live?
https://medium.com/@DyfrigWilliams/whatsapp-could-it-help-you-make-your-community-a-better-place-to-live-f97c6da36f70#.c10s6o50p - How hot-deskers are made to feel like the homeless of the office world.
http://theconversation.com/how-hot-deskers-are-made-to-feel-like-the-homeless-people-of-the-office-world-72628 - How IDEO use data to inspire design.
https://medium.com/design-x-data/how-we-use-data-to-inspire-design-ccc51327e904#.z15z25k03 - The comprehensive rebuttal to ‘User research is overrated’.
https://blog.prototypr.io/against-shoot-first-ask-questions-later-my-response-to-user-research-is-overrated-5389f21fb20#.ik8c93flb
I’ve been listening to…
- Desolation Radio : Branding Wales featuring Syd Morgan
http://pca.st/a65o - Guardian Tech Weekly : How do you build a self-repairing city?
http://pca.st/tWU3