We are now fully in the swing of things here, the design process is happening and even the prototype kit is finally out of the box.

Fewer workshop adventures and more time spent in Visual Studio Code.

Time in York was fun, a full day of walking, eating, talking, laughing and even learning (thanks to Jorvik Viking Centre) was a timely reminder of why I contract, and why I should take more time away from work to look around and hang with my kids during teachers training days!

What did I enjoy:
Working with a team of designers (and I often include BA’s etc in this, UX is a team sport) is bloody great, those who say working silo is better and quicker just are lying.

Dusting down my brain for the prototype kit, it’s been a while but I am hoping you never lose it, as it may get complex later on…

We may have invented something within the Government around mapping, it’s a wait-and-see moment, all fed from last week’s workshop.

I have a day off to take my beautiful daughter to York for the day, we have arranged to go to Yorvik Viking Center, eat whatever and everything and just have fun and chill together - cannot wait!

What challenged me:
Personally, it’s been a tough week, one I won’t forget and barely even want to talk about - so I won’t.

Work-wise, cramming in as much as possible within a week for the prototype is a little heavy, but also realising that you do not need to over-engineer something is easier.

What am I looking forward to next week?
We are finally talking to “external” users, or users - depending on how you wish to prioritise, I tend to go default and assume all other users have different titles.

We are down to about 10-12 weeks left now, so it’s all happening - whilst I feel we are way on track, always that little doubt at the back of your mind!

Best news of the week:
Not a watch of the week, but I’m delighted to read that Hype Park Cinema is back in action, it’s one of my favourite cinemas ever and it is back

Podcast of the week:
I am a huge fan of Matthew Syed, I even own one of his books which I plan to read with my daughter very soon called You Are Awesome, so of course, I would recommend you listen to his time on the Performance Podcast, as usual, it was full of great insights and examples of, I guess high performance.

Tune of the week:
A bit of a change of pace this week, naming artists that are not screaming down a mic - this time it’s the smoother tones of Sam Tompkins, guessing many might not know about him yet, but if you do not.. he’s on his way up. Great singer and song writer, great on Instagram too.

Watch of the week:
BBC iPlayer is great, but it’s even better with shows such as The Diary of of a CEO, and this week’s turn is Gary Neville’s turn.

---