Weeknotes E08
Hi, I’m Colin a product manager working at the Department of Health and Social Care. Each week I’m going to keep a running update of the work I’ve done & things I’ve learned along the way.
P. S. Job alert for product managers & user researchers. Come join the gang! Deadlines are the 24th and 27th of July.
My current priority:
Helping to procure a team capable of delivering the Healthy Start private beta.
Wednesday
- in a minor bike accident as a young girl ran out into the road. Shoes flew off but thankfully all limbs kept in place. Had a bruise on my thigh all week. Close shave.
- video game themed retro. I had lots of positives and thanks to share. Happy gang.
- planning for firebreak week. I am taking ownership of the Service Register for our department. Going to see if we can have an authoritative list of services delivered within our department. Already emailed the GDS Registers team. Not dissimilar to this.
- Chat with Healthy Start Service Manager. Embedding into the team.
- got a new laptop. Snap review - battery is poo but it is much sleeker.
- gave advice about the alpha phase and what a team could do.
- gave advice on a procurement doc for the Healthy Start team.
- gave advice to a team who report on projects to senior management about a workshop they want to run. Gave lots of examples and encouraging they are talking to users.
Thursday
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY NHS. 70 years old. I tweeted from the office and got a tiny bit emotional thinking about all the lives the organisation has affected.
- NHS app keyholder review first draft
- appear.in chat with the new Healthy Start crew and finding out about procurement deadlines!
- left early so I could make a flight
Friday
- annual leave day. Off to Estonia! Snap review: it’s amazing you should go.
- another blog published! This one about our most recent Health Product People event.
- Also saw this call for help around evidence of effectiveness for digital health interventions. Relevant to the work I was doing helping the team in PHE.
Monday
- after chatting to a colleague in a recent away day, I sent more guidance about testing content with users. Saw the thing and shared a few other approaches they could take.
- read about Canada’s approach to digital health
- wrote/edited my objectives for the next quarter
- quarter 3 objectives with the team
- final NHS app review work done. Re-writes and additions. Much kudos to Hilary for all the help!
Tuesday
- new minister time!
- student loan related gubbins and pension questions.
- Jeremy hunt goodbyes as he spoke to all the staff in the canteen
- chats about the future with a new minister
- assurance assistance with a spend control form for an alpha
- team planning
- listening to Dharmesh about his great policy/digital work and set up a future workshop
- 1:1 with the boss.
What I’ve been reading
- Looking at NHS leaflets and booklets from 1948 - really interesting and fascinating how the challenges remain so similar.
- Ministers back new govtech accelerator programme. It includes a secure messaging app for those working in hospitals. Maybe our team should replace slack. Also includes a flexible working app for clinicians & a social care helper.
- Like these posters from the cross-Government content conference. Worth printing if you ever need to highlight the importance of content to any sort of service or product.
- Review of Parliament restaurant. Get down to the canteen and you can get a roast for a fiver.
- Beautiful video on US wealth distribution and inequality. Don’t focus on the 1% vs 99%.
- Fascinating read on the end of the nation state and ideas on what we must build next.
- Staff shortages in nursing one of the biggest causes why nurses leave. Vicious cycle.
- Local gov digital vs central gov digital. Informative reminder of the challenges in local gov. Lots of services they deliver!!
Shout out to others doing great stuff
Former colleagues in Parliament write updates on the work they are doing. They are fantastic and if you are interested in anything democracy related then check them out: