I have recently completed my 50th parkrun. Read full article
CommentArchive — Personal
An addition and a loss
Alex and I are expecting a second baby! Read full article
4 comments20 years of blogging
Today marks the 20th anniversary of my first blog post. Blogging is important to me, but it has seen many changes. The online publishing ecosystem is having a moment right now. So what's next? Read full article
10 comments12 years in higher education web and user experience management
Today I have started a new job. But while I'm looking forward, I have also been reflecting, as this moment marks my first real move away from higher education. Despite the differing natures of the three organisations I worked for, there were many parallels across them. Read full article
4 commentsNudge in user experience — Website and Communications Blog
Over the summer my user experience team at the University of Edinburgh had the wonderful opportunity to work with a Behavioural Insights (Nudge) Intern. There are lots of parallels between behavioural science and human-centred approaches. Nudge models give us the opportunity to bring an extra level of formality to our approaches.
Working with a behavioural science specialist has brought things full circle for me. My first association with the University of Edinburgh was when I studied economics here for my undergraduate degree.
And it really is full circle, because this was my last blog post as an employee of the University of Edinburgh. I’ll publish more about that news shortly.
Ouch to 5k
Yesterday I completed my first 5k run since I broke my ankle exactly one year ago. It was on the first ever Holyrood parkrun. Read full article
1 commentFrom personas to behaviour modes — Website and Communications Blog
This post on my team’s blog outlines why and how we have moved away from using personas to behavioural archetypes.
Existing personas had served the team well for over 10 years. But with our work to reimagine the future of our web services, and our attention turning to the development of a new Web Publishing Platform, we recognised that these old personas needed to evolve.
Now, our archetypes focus on people’s behaviours — who does what, how they do it, and why.
Half a year on parental leave with a broken ankle
Becoming a parent is a huge privilege. But it’s no secret that it’s also hard work. You don’t plan to break your ankle during the first year of your child’s life. Read full article
1 commentCould you be our nudge intern?
We have a fascinating opportunity for a University of Edinburgh undergraduate student to join our team as an intern this summer. The job has a cool title: nudge intern. Read full article
CommentUX in universities — UX Soup
I have been interviewed for the podcast UX Soup. The host Chris Schreiner was interested in the User Experience Service’s work at the University of Edinburgh. He spoke with me about:
- how the consultancy model works in a higher education context
- the history of our service
- the projects we get involved with
- the methodologies we follow
- the specific challenges we face working in higher education
It was good fun being interviewed. Please have a listen if you have the time. Thank you to Chris for the opportunity.
Note — 2022-01-05
I return to work regularly today for the first time in almost 25 weeks.
This was longer than anticipated. My planned parental leave was forcibly extended due to my ankle injury. It was further complicated by my tricky recovery. I have more to say about all of that another day.
I approach today with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. Balancing work with looking after a one-year-old is a whole new normal. For me at least, it makes the changes in working practices due to coronavirus seem small.
I’ve broken my ankle
At the weekend I broke my ankle while playing bubble football on a stag do. Read full article
4 commentsHow to avoid common mistakes in user engagement — Website and Communications Blog
Have you ever participated in a user engagement session designed for you to share your views, but felt that you weren’t properly included, or that your views wouldn’t be acted on? Fed up with bad surveys and poorly planned focus groups?
Most of us want to engage with our users and stakeholders. We all want to make sure our users have a voice in projects that will affect them. But the approach you take can have a major effect on the success or failure of your engagement.
There are some basic truths about human behaviour that we know from psychology and other social sciences. But in many projects, these basic truths tend to be ignored.
Read this post on my team’s blog for tips on how to avoid the pitfalls of poorly planned user engagement, and how to make user research effective.
Demonstrating the impact of human-centred approaches — Further reflections from the UCD Gathering conference — Website and Communications Blog
The second of my two posts on my work team’s blog about UCD Gathering, the remote conference I attended in October.
This blog post covers the third theme I wanted to highlight: how we can better demonstrate the business impact of human-centred approaches.
Service design special — UX Glasgow
I will be speaking at next week’s UX Glasgow meetup. This month it is a service design special, coinciding with Services Week.
My presentation will be based on my blog post Service design and the Mario complex, exploring the similarities and differences between user experience and service design.
It’s part of a bumper line-up of speakers, including sessions about the Scottish Approach to Service Design, some excellent research into the service design community in Scotland, and a student project imagining the future of Glasgow.
It’s a ticketed virtual event, so sign up to be part of what should be a brilliant session.
Two months of parenthood
Isobel is our first baby, so it’s difficult to compare having a baby during coronavirus to other times. But it does seem like a strange time to have a baby. There are many disadvantages to the current situation. But there are also some interesting advantages, particularly for me as a father. Read full article
3 commentsIsobel Skye Oliver Stephen
Two weeks ago our daughter Isobel was born. Read full article
10 commentsPhoto — 2020-11-16
Month 9
Photo — 2020-11-07
Carrying out a pen audit
From 40 sets of ideas to one in 20 minutes — A collaboration experiment with the Web Publishing Community — Website and Communications Blog
Here’s another post I published to my team’s blog over the summer and forgot to link to from here.
Back in June, I ran an experiment in mass remote collaboration at our Web Publishing Community. This was, of course, at the height of lockdown, as we were adapting to the new reality of a prolonged period of working from home.
I’d come away from the Service Design in Government conference in March really keen to try out liberating structures, following an excellent session run by Open Change.
Liberating structures is a set of workshop tools designed to include everyone and generate innovative ideas. These are ideally carried out with people who are physically together, so it was a little awkward when I wanted to try them out just at the moment everyone was required to be physically apart.
But some liberating structures are possible to run remotely, so I decided to introduce a large number of colleagues to a foundational liberating structure — 1-2-4-all.
Through this session, we collaboratively sifted through ideas generated by over 40 participants, before coming to a consensus on the one strongest idea.
Read the blog post for the full details of how it worked — and what went wrong.
Sushi School
One year ago today, Alex and I went with our friends Lucy and Richard to a sushi-making class at Yo. Trigger warning: This blog post describes events preceding the coronavirus outbreak. Read full article
CommentA service design approach to improving student experience
Slides from my UCD Gathering talk on Thursday 15 October 2020, about the work we’ve been doing at the University of Edinburgh to improve the experience of students and staff working with course materials digitally. Read full article
1 commentJames Middlemass & Co — Boys’ Outfitters — found under the floorboards
During our kitchen renovation, we found this under the floorboards. It is a “Boys’ Outfitters” catalogue for James Middlemass & Co. We think it dates from around the 1880s. Read full article
CommentMeeting the challenges of collaborating remotely — Website and Communications Blog
I realised that while the summer got pretty busy for us, there are a few work blog posts that I haven’t cross-posted here yet. So I will drip-feed them here over the next little while.
This first one is from July, where I outlined some of the lessons we have been learning from getting collaborative activities done remotely. This post also highlights some of the work my colleagues have been doing to continue our user experience work despite the challenges presented by the coronavirus outbreak.
This was a follow-up to an earlier blog post, Meeting the challenges of conducting user research remotely.
Speaking at UCD Gathering
I’m pleased to be speaking at UCD Gathering, a new virtual conference taking place on 15 and 16 October, about my team’s service design approach to improving the way staff use our virtual learning environment to better meet students’ needs. Read full article
1 commentGetting a kitchen and study renovation done during lockdown
As lockdown eased slightly during the summer, our flat became busy with our delayed renovation. Read full article
3 commentsPhoto — 2020-09-13
Alex and I are expecting a baby!
Arriving December 2020.
Jupiter Artland 2020
Jupiter Artland has reopened to local members, so last weekend we visited with our friends Louise, Jamie and Elena. Read full article
CommentPhoto — 2020-06-27
It’s a Tactical Nuclear Penguin kind of evening.
Lockdown projects — Month 3
As lockdown eased, small craft projects made way for some much larger home improvement projects. Read full article
CommentStruggling with vision loss — — Interactive Content
My colleague Stewart Lamb Cromar has written about how a recent deterioration in his vision has impacted his work, and highlights the importance of our ongoing work around accessibility.
Photo — 2020-06-07
Colour picker
Lockdown projects — Month 2
As the lockdown continues, we’re continuing to find ways to keep ourselves busy. Read full article
2 commentsPhoto — 2020-05-18
Testing, testing
We’re hiring a Senior Content Designer — Website and Communications Blog
The University of Edinburgh Website and Communications team is hiring a Senior Content Designer. Come and join my team!
If you’re passionate about using evidence-based approaches to create great content that meets users’ needs, we want to hear from you.
Read the blog post to learn more about the position and how to apply.
Lockdown projects — Month 1
Each weekend during lockdown, we’re trying to make at least one new thing. These are the little projects giving us a reason to get up at the weekends. Read full article
1 commentPhoto — 2020-04-10
We have reached this stage of the lockdown
Understanding what students really need from a virtual learning environment — presented at UX Glasgow virtual meetup
This week I presented to the UX Glasgow community about our user research into the needs of students and staff working with course materials digitally at the University of Edinburgh. It was my first real experience of presenting to a live audience remotely. Read full article
CommentAdapting to the new normal
One of the (many) strange features of the coronavirus outbreak is that in many ways I feel busier than I have ever been. It is almost three weeks since I was last in my office, yet I haven’t had the time to commit my thoughts to writing. Read full article
1 commentNote — 2020-03-20
Virtual birthday party — 9pm tonight
It’s my birthday today. But I couldn’t really be bothered to organise a physical get-together. Instead, I thought it would be fun to imagine there was some horrific virus that meant we couldn’t really leave the house much, and I had to celebrate it remotely.
Update: This will now take place at 9pm, not 7pm as before.
Join us at 9pm for 40 minutes of free Zoom-based party times.
Bring your own Corona.
Photo — 2020-03-15
We spent this afternoon doing something nice. Katie Paterson exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
View from Service Design in Government 2020
Last week I attended the Service Design in Government conference, held here in Edinburgh. It was a hugely thought-provoking event. Almost every session I attended was excellent, sparking new ideas and thoughts that I am still getting to grips with almost a week on. Read full article
4 commentsHey Presto
Sometimes, when I think about my earliest days, I remember Presto. Even as a very young child, in the very early 90s, Presto seemed like a supermarket from a bygone age. Read full article
CommentOur honeymoon in Mauritius (part 2)
After spending a few days in Réunion, the second part of our honeymoon saw us staying in Mauritius. Read full article
CommentPhoto — 2020-02-16
Our first wedding anniversary.
Our honeymoon in Mauritius and Réunion (part 1)
In September, Alex and I had our “big” honeymoon, in Mauritius and Réunion. It was a holiday that perfectly balanced adventure and chill. Read full article
1 commentPhoto — 2020-02-08
Sushi time! 🍣 Thanks Mr Waitrose.
Photo — 2020-02-07
Perks of the job. Today I had a short impromptu tour of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh on a crisp sunny winter’s morning.
Join our team as a Content Designer — Website and Communications Blog
Come and work with our team!
We are looking for three experienced Content Designers to join the University of Edinburgh’s Website and Communications team as we embark on major projects to launch our new web publishing platform and services.
If you’re passionate about using evidence-based approaches to create great content that meets users’ needs, we want to hear from you.
There are three positions available. Find out more in the blog post. If you have any questions, just get in touch with me.
For my personal view on what it’s like working with the University of Edinburgh, check out my previous blog post: Why I value working in user experience in higher education.
Photo — 2020-01-24
Doing some very important A/B testing.