Happy Easter everyone. This week...
Clearleft folk were in a pickle. All around them chaos was threatening to loom, as their awesome project manager Jess was pulled in more directions than humanly possible to be pulled. Then, in the distance, a form appeared. As it came closer, they saw a new project manager come into view. Could this be the answer to their prayers? And so, at the start of Spring, Clare Kirkland joined the team, spreading calm, sharing the load and bringing joyful brownies to all.
Ben Sauer went headlong into an interesting IA challenge at the beginning of the week, and hit a pit of despair on Wednesday as he realized he didn’t have the data he needed. Lo! The world was saved when the client provided an amazing analysis of the taxonomy.
Anna had a varied week, exploring new opportunities with clients, getting her head into the world of agile / flexible contracting and delivering lambs.
Bolstered by their previous week’s victories, the John Lewis team divided into three packs, each setting out to pursue new ground and acquire new knowledge. In the Forest of Interface, Paul and Charlotte guided their team through uncharted territory, emerging with new tools and technique. In the Desert of UX, James B and James M worked with their new comrades to discover customer hypotheses. And in the swamp of Technology, Andy dug deep into the stack to find new and baffling challenges. As the week ends, the team will reconvene at the Victoria Inn to drink Butterbeer and share their tales.
The time had come for Jeremy to leave Brighton. He was being called away to the far shores of the Pacific Northwest. What would have once been a sea voyage and overland trek lasting for weeks and months took him just nine hours in the belly of a flying machine. Having made landfall in Seattle he then had to stand in front of a room full of his peers at An Event Apart and speak to them about progressive enhancement. Jeremy tries to remain humble but as he stepped off that stage, two words went through his mind: "Nailed. It!"
Days of drive time had been logged in the simulator. A twitch of Andy Parker's ankle and he knew he could put the rear axle into a contorted mess pushing the rear of the car to the side bringing the vehicle into a perfect single fluid movement around the corner. Now, with the harness pushing his chest backward, feeling the compression of the worn foam cheek pads in his helmet, the real thing felt completely alien. He accepted where he was on the learning curve moving from a state of unconsciously incompetent to consciously incompetent as he looked around at the controls that he'd seen thousands of times but never touched with his own hands. Turning the key there was the sound of a servo clicking and chirping and something spinning faster and faster as a controlled explosion let out a growl. Let's push things forward?