Why Does AI Have to Look Like a Person?
My first job involved making brochures you could turn the pages of. Twenty years on I still think they were a bit of a gimmick, and I have started wondering whether we are doing the same thing again.
Every Link You Put in a PDF Is Permanent
I spotted a link in a brochure last month and it set off a slightly uncomfortable train of thought. You can't recall a PDF.
Automating This Blog Was the Easy Bit. Proving It Worked Wasn't.
I built a routine that publishes posts for me. Then I spent longer on the validation workflow than I did on the routine itself, which felt like a bit of a waste of time...but doesn't now.
Your Prompts Aren't the Problem. Your Context Is.
After fifteen years of writing development tickets, the craft of distilling requirements turns out to be exactly what AI needs to work on real, legacy codebases.
Your SaaS Product Isn't the Destination Anymore
I ditched my CMS, replaced it with an AI coding tool, and accidentally stumbled into an argument about the future of software.
Human in the Loop: Safety Net or Ticking Time Bomb?
It's the answer everyone gives to 'how do you keep AI safe?' But what happens when the safety net becomes the single point of failure?
The Real Cost of Running a Business: A 20-Year Tool Explosion
We hear that running a business is getting more expensive. But strip away rates and tax, and the real story is hiding in your subscriptions tab.
The Age of Made-to-Order Software
Enterprise platforms promise scale. DIY tools promise freedom. Neither tells the whole story.
Making It Easier to See What Matters: A Design System Refresh
How a screenshot and a simple question led to a complete visual overhaul of our school holiday planner.
When AI Does the Thinking: Are We Trading Skills for Speed?
New research confirms what many of us suspected: AI assistance comes at a cost. The question is whether that cost matters.
Automating Value-Share Billing: Because We Refuse to Spend Time on Invoices
Building billing automation into our services from day one, so we never have to think about it.
Automating Global Retail Marketing Delivery: 5,000 Assets in 7 Days
Automating the allocation and delivery of in-store marketing materials across 4,000+ locations worldwide for a global fashion brand.
Building a School Holiday Planner: The Hidden Complexity of Family Logistics
A personal project: How I tackled the chaos of coordinating childcare across working parents, grandparents, and paid carers.
Planning a House Renovation: Why I'm Building My Own Project Management Tool
A personal project: After years of managing complex business programmes, I'm applying the same discipline to our home renovation. Here's why off-the-shelf tools aren't cutting it.
Voice-Controlled Grocery Shopping: Because Life's Too Short to Search for Bread
A personal project: How I built an Alexa skill that actually adds items to my Tesco basket, instead of just making a list I have to process later.
Building an AI-Powered Lead Generation Newsletter: Finding Signals in the Noise
Spotting buying signals buried in hundreds of news articles each week, without reading any of them.