One twit can make a service a dodo
I have complicated feelings about the apparent imminent demise of Twitter in the hands of a reckless owner.
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12 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.
Nudge 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.
From 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.
How often do you buy Valentine’s Day gifts? More often than once a week? Less often than once a month?
Stop making people complete terrible surveys that you won’t even be able to interpret the results of!
Could 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.
UX 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.
Practitioner Stories — A self-initiated research project exploring service design practice
For the past two years, a group of service designers have been researching and understanding the state of service design practice in Scotland. Angela F Orviz, Serena Nüsing, Stéphanie Krus and Vinishree Verma have been doing this in their spare time and with no funding.
Their insights are fascinating reading. The study shows how far service design has come in Scotland over a few short years. But it also outlines a series of challenges the discipline faces for the future.
I recommend you read the blog posts to get a sense of the depth of the findings. They are a must-read for anyone interested in human-centred approaches, and making positive change within organisations and society.
To the team behind Practitioner Stories, thank you for your hard work on this. 🙏
Awooga! The metaverse was better 29 years ago
What’s most surprising about the metaverse is just how lacking in ambition it is. This is a half-hearted rehash of a 30-year-old idea.
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.