IT Heroics Kept Us Working Through the Last 6 Months. Now We Must Deal with the Technical Debt.
Whenever you move quickly to solve problems and deliver changes you risk the chance that you will introduce errors due to omission, ineffective testing, and lack of time to deepen your understanding of the real needs. This challenge is well known in software development and is usually known as “technical debt“. Designing and building complex […]
Using and Abusing Data in Times of Crisis
Data, data everywhere…but what does it all mean? As digital technologies drive new ways to generate, manage, and share data, the search is on for innovative approaches to use it to improve decision making. This has never been more true than in the midst of the volatility and uncertainty we face today as the world […]
The Future of Work: Reflections on 3 Panel discussions during July 2020
A range of fascinating topics During the last few weeks, I was fortunate to be asked to speak and participate in a series of events with Leaders groups (including the Councils, Chamber of Commerce, professional organisations) in the South West discussing evidence-based practice and policy on the Future of Work is Now. Topics covered four […]
The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of EdTech
Perhaps no surprise to many of you, but one area receiving a big boost over the past few months has been online education tools. The EdTech sector has been building for over 2 decades. Remember a few years ago when MOOCs were going to be the death of universities? That didn’t happen….and in retrospect, for […]
Turning the Spotlight on Mental Health during a Global Pandemic
Mental health during COVID-19. Well, there’s a topic I didn’t anticipate writing about this year. The current global atmosphere may feel like the opening credits of an apocalyptic thriller, however despite ‘Contagion’, and ‘I am Legend’ trending on Netflix, there is one storyline Hollywood forgot to narrate. The unscripted little brother to any global health crisis; its […]
Technology to tackle online harms: addressing the urgent need for kinder online communities
As a society, we love social media – it’s the perfect way to fill a dull moment. But we’re becoming increasingly uncomfortable about the lack of emotional safety. Social media can be a cruel playground. The anonymity and ease-of-use allow impulsive emotional outbursts, as well as targeted attacks. Harassment, bullying and intimidation cause serious harm […]
Patterns and insights for distributed design teams
Paper by Philip Cash, Elies Dekoninck, and Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen Distributed design teams are commonplace, with globalisation, where parts of the value chain are offshored or outsourced. Today, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-co-located design teams are everywhere. Shared understanding is central to a design team’s performance and to the success of distributed development […]
Empowering key workers in the NHS
What do frontline NHS workers need to use their time more effectively – especially in this COVID-19 crisis? A way to cut through red-tape and quickly communicate their needs to those who can help. In partnership with Ropes & Gray and Methods Analytics, we have built a prototype for a simple communication tool: a survey […]
Digital Transformation – Time to burn the boats?
In a new blog article published at Digital Leaders, Professor Alan Brown asks whether the recent acceleration in digital transformation is a significant permanent step forward or a temporary blip. Here is a short introduction: ——————– The global economy is struggling to cope with the unprecedented challenges of the last few weeks as we proceed […]
Presentations for The Oxford Group
Recently, our Professor Alan Brown presented a series of short lectures for The Oxford Group. These videos are now available online, covering a range of topics from sustainable recovery to digital transformation. Five dilemmas Risk, trust, value Digital Transformation directions Sustainable recovery