Mark Bower

Taking a risk

2009-01-02T20:02:00Z

For around the last year I have been really annoyed with myself for not living up to my full potential. Know the feeling? Perhaps the worst part about achieving some level of success in your chosen career, is that once you have something to lose you are hesitant to gamble it all.

Towards the end of last year though, some things happened in my life that now mean that just being ‘comfortable’ is no longer an option that I can live with.

Today is my last day at Microsoft. Thank you to everyone I have worked with over the past eight years. I have loved working with the all the smart, passionate and hardworking people here.

If you are interested in what I am up to next, I’ll be blogging over here from now on.

Mark.

You can’t please all the people all of the time

2008-07-09T19:22:54Z

Or maybe you can if you want to be bland, boring and unremarkable. Seth Godin has been rallying for some time against focus groups and design by committee. Today he has this gem:

If you are willing to satisfy people with good enough, you can make just about everybody happy. If you delight people and create change that lasts, you're going to offend those that hate change in all its forms. Your choice.

Reminds me of the Office Ribbon. Some people love it. Some people hate it. Everybody notices it.

Announcing: The Knowledge Worker Tools Early Adopter Programme

2008-06-30T15:24:15Z

This week we are kicking off the KWT Early Adopter Programme. If you work in NHS IM&T and you are about to begin a SharePoint 2007 or Office 2007 deployment then read on...

What is KWT exactly?

The Knowledge Worker Tools (KWT) project is part of the NHS CUI Programme. Our aim is to enable improved personal productivity, team work, and effective decision making by connecting the NHS worker with people, processes, information and expertise. The project is based around the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Office SharePoint Server 2007, for which client licences are available to NHS organisations in England as part of the 2007 NHS Enterprise Agreement.

And the KWT Early Adopter Programme...?

This is a structured programme of activities to assist in an initial deployment of Office 2007, SharePoint Server 2007 and the NHS KWT software based on the best-practice NHS KWT guidance.

When does it start?

Nominations are being accepted between 30-Jun-2008 and 17-Jul-2008. The programme of activities for successful applicants begins from 5-Aug.

So far, so good. Tell me more...

Here’s how it works:

First, identify a project that you are planning, or have just started, that you believe will benefit from involvement in the Early Adopter Programme
Complete the short application form attached in the briefing pack
We notify successful candidates by 23-Jul, and arrange a date for an Architecture and Design Session (ADS). This is a day-long workshop used to accelerate the project kick-off and allow guidance from an experienced consultant to be provided early in the project
We lead the ADS with business and technical leaders from your organisation, and where applicable, with technical leads from your chosen implementation partner
We write-up the ADS findings as a Vision and Scope document including the agreed project objectives, core scenarios, and a high-level conceptual architecture for the proposed solution
You, or your chosen partner, write the detailed technical design document(s)
We review the design and provide written review comments
You, or your chosen partner, build, test and deploy the solution
We host a weekly conference call to discuss progress, risks and issues, and provide ongoing technical guidance

What’s in it for me?

Early access to the KWT software and guidance deliverables
Advice from the NHS CUI KWT team on the best way to apply their software and guidance in your environment
Reviews and guidance from Microsoft Consulting Services
Telephone-based implementation and deployment support from Microsoft Consulting Services
Be promoted as a leading-edge Trust in NHS IT

What will I need to do to take part?

You will need to have the business need, benefits and high-level solution concept defined, with a business case written and approved
You must be planning to deploy Office 2007 and/or SharePoint 2007 between now and Dec-2008
You will need to agree to take part in customer evidence activities such as participating in case studies and agreeing to act as a reference site

What do I do next?

Email mscui@microsoft.com for a briefing pack and application form.

Thanks for reading this, and we look forward to working with you on the KWT Early Adopter Programme.

Technorati Tags: NHS,KWT,CUI,SharePoint,Office 2007,Early Adopter Programme

What does an information worker do all day?

2008-06-24T20:11:37Z

Interesting piece in the New York Times on the effect of interruptions caused by email, IM etc.

28% of the day handling non-urgent unimportant things, and 15% of the day spent searching for information. Some time ago I started switching off email during particularly busy times, like when I have a deadline to meet. No need to close Outlook, just disconnect from the server:

It is interesting to see how many threads that I would normally have leapt straight into resolve themselves satisfactorily without any input from me. And it has helped me learn where I can actually add most value to my team, versus where I can step back and delegate a bit more.

Go ahead, give it a try, but at the end of it all do remember to reconnect again though!

Technorati Tags: Outllook,email overload,information worker,Office

The Future of Groove and SharePoint

2008-04-22T18:22:32Z

Some hints from Ray Ozzie this week on the future overlap between Groove and SharePoint:

"You asked if Groove is the future UI of SharePoint. I might ask the same thing, is SharePoint the future UI of Groove"
Microsoft will increase the connections between SharePoint and Groove by tying together specific functions of the user interface in the two products that are designed to work seamlessly with one another, Ozzie said.
"[SharePoint and Groove] are very, very complementary, and you will see in [Office] 14 and beyond increasing association with the things that you can do in SharePoint, and the things that you can do with Groove and the client"

I am a Technology Omnivore

2008-04-20T21:48:05Z

The quiz: http://www.pewinternet.org/quiz/quiz.asp

My results:

Based on your answers to the questionnaire, you most closely resemble survey respondents within the Omnivores typology group. This does not mean that you necessarily fit every group characteristic.

Omnivores make up 8% of the American public.
Basic Description
Members of this group use their extensive suite of technology tools to do an enormous range of things online, on the go, and with their cell phones. Omnivores are highly engaged with video online and digital content. Between blogging, maintaining their Web pages, remixing digital content, or posting their creations to their websites, they are creative participants in cyberspace.
Defining Characteristics
You might see them watching video on an iPod. They might talk about their video games or their participation in virtual worlds the way their parents talked about their favorite TV episode a generation ago. Much of this chatter will take place via instant messages, texting on a cell phone, or on personal blogs. Omnivores are particularly active in dealing with video content. Most have video or digital cameras, and most have tried watching TV on a non-television device, such as a laptop or a cell phone.
Omnivores embrace all this connectivity, feeling confident in how they manage information and their many devices. This puts information technology at the center of how they express themselves, do their jobs, and connect to their friends.
Who They Are
They are young, ethnically diverse, and mostly male (70%). The median age is 28; just more than half of them are under age 30, versus one in five in the general population. Over half are white (64%) and 11% are black (compared to 12% in the general population). English-speaking Hispanics make up 18% of this group. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many (42% versus the 13% average) of Omnivores are students.

I have a feeling the majority of people here at Microsoft would fall into this category. And that of course makes it all the more important for those of us designing solutions for the NHS to understand the technology usage characteristics that typify the NHS worker. Take the test, and share your results here. Ask your friends and colleagues to take the test, and summarise those results back here too. It only takes 2 minutes.

Electronic Forms in the NHS

2008-04-16T18:58:12Z

Today we held a workshop with some NHS folk on the topic of electronic forms. The KWT team are planning on putting together an Electronic Forms Resource Kit - a set of tools a guidance for forms authors in the NHS. I'll share some thoughts from the workshop later, but in the meantime what do you think? What are the key scenarios where simple electronic forms could add value over paper forms? What are the blockers that stop you moving to paper forms? What would you want in a Resource Kit?

Slides from NHS CIO Summit

2008-01-15T19:01:00Z

Thanks to everyone who attended the CIO Summit today. Everyone I spoke to provided positive feedback. The real challenge was squeezing a summary into a 15 minute slot. If you missed the session I have made the slides available here:

| View | Upload your own

There are some screenshots of the software we are working on in the deck. In future posts I'll start to write more about those solutions and what we are trying to achieve with them. As always, feedback welcome.

Technorati tags: NHS, Microsoft, CIO Summit, KWT, Knowledge Worker Tools

Help the NHS get the software YOU need

2008-01-14T15:13:41Z

My name is Hilary Palmén, I work for Microsoft UK planning and conducting research with NHS professionals that for the NHS Common User Interface (CUI) project. More information about the CUI project is available on: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/nhs/content/articles/an-introduction-to-the-nhs-cui-programme.aspx.

In February we are planning research to build descriptions of non-clinical NHS employee’s jobs, their work goals, the challenges they encounter and the types of tasks they regularly undertake. These descriptions will be used to help the Microsoft CUI team identify opportunities to help these people achieve their goals. We are seeking non-clinical NHS employees in either secondary care trusts, primary care trusts, or general practice that are prepared to give us 2-3hrs of their time to describe their job role at their normal place of work? Below is a short description of what the research will involve.

Benefits of volunteering:

You can influence software development to make sure it supports what you, and people like you, actually need to be able to do for your job.

Microsoft is looking for volunteers who:

Work in primarily non-clinical roles including, but not limited to: Estates, Human resources, Finance, Catering, Domestic, Health education/promotion officer, Medical secretary/personal assistant, Health records staff, Housekeeper, Clinical support staff.
Are enthusiastic about communicating the challenges they encounter in their daily job.
Currently use a PC as part of their work on a daily basis. Volunteers do not have to be confident or advanced computer users.
Are not working in IT related roles.
Are willing to have a Microsoft researcher spend 1-2hrs interviewing them about their job the spend approximately 1 hour shadowing them at their normal place of work.
Are available between January 28^th and February 15^th 2008.
Work for NHS Trusts based in Southern England or the Midlands.

How to find out more and volunteer?

Contact me to find out more or to arrange a suitable time, date and place for the interview and shadowing.

NHS CIO Summit

2008-01-13T22:38:59Z

I'll be speaking this week at the NHS CIO Summit that Microsoft are hosting at Thames Valley Park, Reading. I only have a 15 minute slot and I am currently trying to figure out the best way to make use of the time available. Would it be better to talk specifics and show concrete examples of what we are delivering, or would you prefer a more strategic look at the course we are plotting over the next 18 months. Let me know.