Focus groups are probably the user research method that most non-specialists are familiar with. They are also still among the most common user research methods used. This, despite their many flaws. Read full article
CommentIt’s time to lose focus
Archive — Article
Does Hamilton’s target-based approach mean 2019 is his year off?
Four races into the Formula 1 season, patterns are being set. For instance, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix continued the trend of Valtteri Bottas turning up the heat on Lewis Hamilton. Read full article
CommentBuilding bridges, not boundaries
Two things this week have given me a big reminder of why I'm a Liberal Democrat. Read full article
CommentComing face to face with real life at the Service Design Academy user research bootcamp
I've had a great time over the past two days on the Service Design Academy's user research bootcamp. These bootcamps are truly intensive. We were working with a live brief in a serious problem space. Read full article
CommentFormula E’s unpredictability is becoming a double-edged sword
At this weekend’s Rome E-Prix, Formula E saw its seventh different driver, for a seventh different team, win the seventh race of the season. While on paper this sort of unpredictability is a good thing, there comes a point where it lacks credibility. Formula E is reaching that point. Read full article
1 commentAre users rational? It depends on what you mean by rational
It’s fashionable to dismiss rational choice theory out of hand. But contrary to what you may have been told, aspects of rational choice theory can still be helpful in understanding the world. And I find it a useful way to think about user experience. Read full article
CommentBarcelona
This time last year, Alex and I went on holiday with our friends Louise and Jamie to Barcelona. Read full article
CommentWhat does Charles Leclerc’s success tell us about Daniel Ricciardo?
Formula 1 has its new wunderkind in Charles Leclerc. His performance has immediately raised questions about Sebastian Vettel. Should this in turn make us ask questions about Daniel Ricciardo. Read full article
CommentDuncan Stephen .net
Welcome to my new home. Read full article
2 commentsScott Walker
Every so often I hear a piece of music that turns my understanding of music upside down. Scott Walker made one of those tracks. I knew I had to investigate further. Read full article
CommentThe more things change, the more they stay the same — Why power units don’t have too much influence in F1
For all the intrigue, the evidence of winter testing and the first race of the season actually suggests that not much has changed in F1’s pecking order. This shows how the influence of power units over a team’s performance has been grossly overstated. Read full article
2 comments30 years of the world wide web
Today the world marks the 30th birthday of the web. I could have said ‘celebrates’ instead of ‘marks’. But despite — or perhaps because of — the fact that it’s the most revolutionary advance in communications of our lifetime, the mood seems reflective rather than celebratory. Read full article
CommentWilliams have hit a new Lowe
It would have been an embarrassing start to the year by anyone’s standards. But for a team like Williams, it has been utterly mortifying. Formerly known as Williams Grand Prix Engineering, this team has always taken a great pride in its engineering excellence. In the past couple of years, that reputation has been shattered. Read full article
6 commentsAlex and I are now married!
Last Saturday, 16 February 2019, Alex and I got married. Read full article
3 commentsGetting married
Alex and I are getting married this weekend, so the blog is going on the back burner for now. I'll be back later in February. Read full article
2 commentsWhy emails and meetings are good
I’m tired with arguments that email is a productivity destroyer, and meetings are a waste of time. Or that they somehow prevent you from doing your “real work”. Read full article
2 commentsStag weekend
A couple of weekends ago I had my stag weekend in Aviemore. Read full article
CommentThe limitations of the phrase user experience
The meaning of user experience has changed over time. While it can still be a useful phrase, its limitations are becoming problematic. Read full article
CommentNew year in Marstrand, Sweden
Alex and I took a short break over new year to Marstrand in Sweden. Read full article
CommentHard breakfast
The cards are up in the air in the competition to wake up the nation. Seemingly every major station has seen its breakfast line-up change in the past few months. Read full article
CommentFour perspectives on Brexit wrongness
Here are some recent thought-provoking blog posts about Brexit I’ve seen. The first two particularly relate to the damage being caused by Jeremy Corbyn’s approach. The other two are different perspectives from Liberal Democrats. Read full article
CommentA year of blogging daily
Last year I began a routine of publishing shorter posts on an almost-daily basis. Today marks a full year of blogging on a daily basis. It's also the day I'll stop posting each day. Read full article
4 commentsWe would mourn the loss of HMV
There has been some snooty commentary surrounding the potential loss of HMV. But it is sad news that it is once again in trouble. Read full article
1 commentMerry Christmas — reflecting on 2018 and looking forward to 2019
Thinking about it, 2018 hasn't been a particularly notable year. Then again, in 2017 I got a new job, and I got engaged. So that was always going to be a tough act to follow. Read full article
CommentThe last Christmas Eve at Woolworths
There is a stereotype about mildly panicking male shoppers wandering around shops at the last minute on Christmas Eve, not quite knowing what to buy. I learnt that such people were not always male, and some of them were rather old enough to know better than to leave things at the last minute. Read full article
CommentWe don’t need a second referendum
We need to stop Brexit now. Read full article
1 commentWhy a bad algorithm is like a bad magic trick
About 20 years ago I watched a TV programme featuring the magician Paul Zenon. He invited the viewers to think of a card, and he said he could guess the card you were thinking of. Read full article
1 commentBelgian Grand Prix race day — Trip to Belgium part 3
This year's Belgian Grand Prix may have been a damp squib, but we still had a great time on race day. Read full article
3 commentsTrip to Belgium part 2 — Belgian Grand Prix qualifying day, and F1 Vision reviewed
The on-track action ramped up on Saturday, with the the first races of the weekend — and F1 qualifying. But the handheld F1 Vision device could have done with some improvements. Read full article
CommentResources for becoming a better speaker
I already thought I was quite good at presenting, but recently I've had to up my game. These two resources have helped me do that. Read full article
CommentOur first grand prix experience — Trip to Belgium part 1 — Arrival and Friday practice
Even though both Gordon and I have been avid Formula 1 fans since we were kids, we have never made it to a grand prix. That changed when we went with Alex on a road trip to see the Belgian Grand Prix. Read full article
3 commentsWhen individual experience isn’t enough — what shared spaces teach us about the challenge and opportunity for user experience
There is a problem with user experience. But if we're smart, it's also an opportunity to become more relevant, and solve some of society's biggest problems. Read full article
7 commentsLost week
I've been hit with a nasty cold-or-flu-like virus. Read full article
1 commentRe-appraising Drukqs by Aphex Twin
When it came out in 2001, Drukqs divided critics. But for me, it's still the most important Aphex Twin album. Read full article
2 comments“Do you have any questions for us?”
Whether I’m the interviewee or an interviewer, I find this section of a job interview one of the most interesting and telling moments. Read full article
1 commentWhy make the BBC and Channel 4 fix the problem that ITV created?
Lots of expensive schemes have forced the BBC and Channel 4 to make TV less London-centric. But why has ITV been allowed to continue centralising? Read full article
CommentParallels with Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari career are bad news for Sebastian Vettel
There were four stages of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari career. Sebastian Vettel has so far matched the first three stages. The fourth stage is one he'll want to avoid. Read full article
1 commentShifting focus
When it came to blogging, the tail was wagging the dog. So I have changed my routine. Read full article
1 commentHow to get results in the ultimate agile environment
How lessons from how Formula 1 teams are managed could apply to other businesses. Read full article
CommentOn my podcast playlists right now
I have listened to podcasts on an almost daily basis for well over 10 years now. Here is a selection of my current podcast recommendations. Read full article
2 commentsA weekend at Inver, a Fyne restaurant with rooms
A couple of months ago Alex and I went with our friends Louise and Jamie for a weekend at Inver, a restaurant with rooms on Loch Fyne, on the west coast of Scotland. Read full article
CommentBBC Radio 2’s impossible position is of its own doing
BBC Radio 2 will see its two most important programmes losing its presenters in quick succession. Regulations put it in an impossible position. Yet the BBC still brought this situation on itself. Read full article
1 commentWhy Google’s feed succeeds when Facebook’s fails
With Google adding its Discover feed to its famously minimalist homepage, what will stop them repeating Facebook’s mistakes? Read full article
4 commentsSo it happened — Flickr has got rid of almost-unlimited storage
This week, Flickr announced that free accounts will be limited to only 1,000 photos. It's another warning that we can't rely on externally-run content silos. Read full article
CommentAutumn dip
Over the past few years I have noticed that I always have a distinct dip in the autumn. I feel more tired, I feel less happy, and I think less clearly. Read full article
5 comments13 years too late, the BBC’s classical music back catalogue is being made available
Once in a while, when listening to music on shuffle, a Beethoven symphony plays. The MP3 files came from the BBC. It was an experiment never to be repeated. Read full article
CommentVettel’s fight for five became Seb’s soggy squib
This was meant to be the year. 2018 was supposed to be the time Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari took the fight to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Read full article
3 commentsLiberty Media need to learn that you can’t polish a turd
Two years ago I wrote about how I felt motorsport is in an inevitable decline. F1 may have undergone a change of ownership since then, but the problems are, if anything, greater now. Read full article
2 commentsURLs aren’t good enough
I am a web enthusiast, but I think we need to find a better way to navigate the web than URLs. Read full article
1 commentHow Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman has supported my career
Last week I attended the Public Sector Design Community Meet-up. Attendees were invited to share a book, podcast or talk that has influenced or supported their career. Read full article
2 comments