sprintnotes.people

Sprint 42

Hi, I’m Colin a product manager working on beta.parliament.uk. Each sprint I’m going to keep a running update of the work we’ve done & things I’ve learned along the way.

The team’s current focus remains on helping users to:

• find a MP or Lord
• contact a MP or Lord
• understand how a MP or Lord represent citizens

What we’ve done

Lots of time was dedicated to wrapping up the ‘Members Activity’ discovery. With some provisional looks to the future and what alpha could have in store for us.

What we achieved this sprint;

• we followed this practice to wrap-up our discovery phase
• the discussions were intense and necessary
• in truth to improve we should have added more days as it might of been too mentally taxing to squeeze so much analysis into such a tight timeframe
• we also probably could tweak one or two things in how we framed the analysis - things to consider next time
• we shared findings with our snrs - Emma and the ever delightful David Natzler - was a great end to the week, all very positive
• there was some call listening also arranged to hear what people call Parliament about and the questions they ask
• there was an ideation day for alpha - some really interesting things, we’ve got a very creative bunch - lots of potential to do something unique!!
• hosted the team xmas dinner. 3 courses - including a popular West African peanut soup, 8 guests. Games, secret Santa, karaoke and frivolity. I will say again that the team have been wonderful and it’s a great gang of people
• a little writing up of the discovery report for our stakeholders and wider business

Wider team work;

• show and tell happened - i didn’t speak but our work was mentioned - others were also great explaining wider PDS work
• opposition roles! - Callum deserves credit
• House of Lords member photos are underway!
• chat with the House of Commons library about some future work

Random things I’ve learned or have been reading

• predicting the way you vote by the cars parked on your street
• emotive storytelling into the plight of the young in the U.S. Also chilling and inspiring. Not too dissimilar piece here about why we feel unhappy.
• fascinating insight into Chinese social credit system. What it offers and takes away depending on what you do or don’t do enough & the friends you keep. “Gamifying good behavior”
• Thomas Friedman mentions in the article “…always be in beta. Always think of yourself as if you need to be re-engineered, retooled, relearned, and retaught constantly. Never think of yourself as finished—otherwise, you really will be finished.” > is he really saying don’t be bitter, be beta. - sorry i’ll get my coat.
• when neo-feudal giants begin to exert more control over their vast empires.
• must visit Estonia in 2018
• fake news in the Soviet Union
• embrace uncertainty, learn about what to do then go and do it