Half - 6 to 17 July
Busy times ahead of holiday for the rest of July from next week, so here’s one note for the month.
What was good
Because I’m only around for half of our 4-week sprint cycle, I was able to be quite focused during planning last Tuesday.
I had 2 main goals:
- Get draft content for 4 changes scheduled for August out to their respective communities for feedback.
- Publish the first public versions of content outlining upcoming changes and proposals for changes.
Happy to say that goal 1 was achieved. Despite some tricky questions and decisions in each bit of work, thanks to engaged subject experts in each group we got there just in time.
This work is always ‘side of desk’ for the experts I get to work with. So I really appreciate the time and energy people put in to getting involved and tending their part of the garden.
Goal 2 was also achieved, sort of. This week I took time to test prototype versions of 3 new page types with a couple of users (a head of profession and a capability lead).
As usual this rapidly helped spot issues in understanding and structure. I also decided to hold off publishing the ‘upcoming proposals’ content so I could find a better way of framing the different stages they go through.
The ‘upcoming changes’ page is now live, along with 3 more detailed ‘project pages’, such as this one for the new role of information architect.
This marks the second stage of showing people what’s going on under the surface using the website itself - just under 2 months since we first started looking at it seriously. I expect the proposals content can be up in early August and then I need to run some proper training with colleagues to fold it in to our team processes.
At the start of this week, the team did a show and tell to the wider unit on some of the firebreak projects, such as designing scenarios. While I helped plan the session, I intentionally held back from presenting. Although my goal this year has been to ‘get myself out there’, I’ve done plenty now and I need to let newer members of the team get out there too. Their stuff was really well received, and I think helped people get a better understanding of how we work.
We also had some interesting feedback at the end from a new starter in another team (paraphrasing: you’ve only shown us work in progress - what did you want us to take away from this?). This reminded us it’s never wasted time to clearly frame the purpose of a show and tell, up front and at the end.
What was challenging
Fitting in everything, and leaving work in a good place, before going on hols.
For example, there was lots of HR-related stuff over this period (onboarding, reviews, objectives, recruitment, tricky conversations), and it has felt a bit like finding 10 mins between calls to do the ‘actual work’ described above. I even broke my no-work Wednesdays for a couple of hours to stay afloat.
Of course helping the team work is part of the work. But it is tough some weeks to get the proper balance. Too much glue work makes Tony a dull boy, who doesn’t move design work on enough.
In one of said tricky conversations I was at least able to practise my diagram learning gleaned from Abby Covert’s fantastic book. I was genuinely surprised at how helpful “shall we try making a diagram of all the things?” was for moving the conversation to a more positive place. I’ll be on the look out for more non-obvious chances to crack out the ol’ shapes and lines.
As I finish these notes up, there seems to be some pretty seismic organisational news imminent for GDS. I think I’ll have to take the ‘Winchester’ approach, have a few nice cold Spanish pints, and wait for all this to blow over.
Other things
Caught up with my fellow X-Gov Sheffield schemers to plan the next breakfast meetup ‘for some point in August’ at a new venue. Look out for a sign up form near you soon.
Updated my Now page for July, and the Links page for June.
Squeezed in a tiny trip up to the Lakes to see family and check out the local housing market. Hopes, fears, dreams?
Kid A has had both an end of nursery party and two school transition days ahead of September. Unbelievable.
And I finally got to watch an World Cup match in a social, pub-like setting. Unfortunately, it was that England semi-final. At least now I can get back to worrying about real football issues, like who will be Leeds’ third choice keeper come first day of the season.
Reading
Stuck? Diagrams help by Abby Covert
How to grow tomorrows - James Plunkett
The portal trap - Cathy Dutton
How to build a design system strategy you’ll actually deliver - Amy Hupe
Plans vs roadmaps - Jamie Arnold
Keep your designs low fidelity until thinking done - Ray Newman