Weeknotes 4th November 2022

Once upon a time there was a user researcher in an organisation with low user research maturity. They admired from afar the UR capability a Head of UR had delivered in another organisation and had a vision for similar in their own. They didn’t know this person personally but thought ‘what’s to lose’ and contacted them, asking them to be their mentor. Fast forward several years to this week and that user researcher is now Head of UR and are contacted by a user researcher in an organisation with low user research maturity. That user researcher has admired the work of that now Head of UR and the capability that has now been built in their organisation. They have a vision for similar in their own and ask the Head of UR to mentor them.

What goes around comes around. This isn’t a work of fiction. It is a true story. I am incredibly thankful to Katy Arnold for responding to my email all those years ago and saying yes. I am now paying it forward and have said yes to the person that has approached me. Building UR capability helps everyone. We are all trying to do the same thing wherever we work cross gov — support people to get access to things that they need. The more quality user research that happens and the more quality user researchers we develop, the better. Admittedly, it’s also not a selfless act. I get just as much out of mentoring people as the mentee. I find it a really good way to reflect on what I do, how I approach things and what I have learnt. I would thoroughly recommend it. For anyone thinking about approaching someone to be their mentor, do it. It is a huge compliment to be asked and for me a great reminder of how far we’ve come — something it is helpful to be reminded of in the tough times.

Also this week, I have continued to input to organisation design work including team archetypes and capability work streams. I’ve advised a number of different teams on their assurance board submissions. I also inputted to a cross org portfolio of workstreams to look at how we can ease NHS workforce management burden.

I had a really good day in the office with Pete on Wednesday, catching up, familiarising ourselves with our new UR lab and generally just enjoying working in the office with a colleague. I also had the opportunity to catch up with lots of other colleagues whilst I was there and arrived home tired but invigorated. It was also easier to switch off from work and focus on home life when I arrived. Working in the office gives me a boost and triggers my brain to think more creatively so I plan to do more of it.

James and Steve gave a presentation this week to the product community about working in the open where they used my weeknotes as one of the examples. At times it can be challenging to work in the open and particularly when circumstances are sensitive, but we need to keep on doing it. It helps us all learn from each other, collaborate and creates connections that wouldn’t be there otherwise (and just as I was about to published my weeknotes Audrey helpfully posted this for those considering working in the open but aren’t sure if they can https://avfletcher.medium.com/yeah-but-this-place-doesnt-want-to-work-in-the-open-f12aa930f064 ).

Some of the things I will be working on next week:

• main focus: inputting to the various re-organisation workstreams
• planning the official launch of our long-awaited dedicated user research lab
• collaborating on cross-org digital inclusion framework development
• procurement stuff