In recent weeks, I’ve been watching the buzz of activity about large language models and generative AI. So I decided to see what would happen if I asked Open AI’s ChatGPT to write a blog post for me. I gave it the following prompt:
Write a blog post of up to 800 words that discusses the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT to automate human activities Use writing a blog post as an example. Include some commentary about the potential social impacts of using AI to generate content. Also discuss whether there are any concerns that need to be considered - such as whether AI-generated content is accurate.
“Generative AI tools like ChatGPT have been making waves in the field of automation and artificial intelligence. These tools have the ability to generate human-like text, helping to automate certain human activities such as writing, customer service, and more. While the potential benefits of these tools are clear, there are also concerns about their impact on society and the accuracy of the content they produce.
One of the most significant benefits of generative AI tools like ChatGPT is their ability to automate repetitive or time-consuming tasks. For example, a blogger who regularly posts new content may use ChatGPT to generate article outlines, saving time and effort. Customer service teams can use generative AI tools to provide quick and accurate responses to frequently asked questions, improving the overall customer experience.
Another benefit of generative AI tools is their ability to create content in multiple languages, allowing businesses to expand their reach into new markets. These tools can also be used to generate personalized content for individuals, such as email newsletters or social media posts, which can improve engagement and lead to higher conversions.
However, the use of generative AI tools also raises concerns about the potential social impacts of using AI to generate content. One concern is that these tools could lead to a loss of jobs, particularly in industries where writing and content creation are essential. While automation has always been a part of technological progress, there is a risk that AI could replace more jobs than it creates.
Another concern is that AI-generated content could be used to spread misinformation and propaganda. With the ability to create convincing, human-like text, there is a risk that malicious actors could use these tools to create fake news stories or manipulate public opinion. This could have serious consequences for democracy and social stability.
Accuracy is another concern when it comes to generative AI tools. While these tools are designed to create human-like text, they may not always produce accurate or reliable information. This could be particularly problematic in fields like journalism or science, where accuracy is essential. As AI tools become more sophisticated, it will be important to ensure that the content they produce is factually correct and trustworthy.
Despite these concerns, generative AI tools like ChatGPT have the potential to revolutionize the way we create and consume content. As with any new technology, it is important to approach these tools with caution and to carefully consider their potential impact on society. However, if used responsibly, these tools could improve efficiency, accuracy, and creativity in a variety of industries.
In the case of writing blog posts, for example, using ChatGPT to generate outlines or ideas could be a useful starting point, but it is important to remember that these tools are not a substitute for human creativity and expertise. While AI-generated content may be faster and more efficient, it may lack the nuance and personality that comes from a human writer.
To ensure that AI-generated content is accurate and reliable, it is important to use reliable sources of information and to fact-check any content that is produced. This is particularly important when it comes to sensitive or controversial topics, where misinformation can have serious consequences.
Overall, the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT to automate human activities is a promising development that has the potential to improve efficiency and creativity in a variety of fields. However, it is important to approach these tools with caution and to carefully consider their potential impact on society. With responsible use and careful oversight, generative AI tools could become an important part of our technological landscape, helping us to achieve more than we ever thought possible.”
Is it good enough?
As it happens, the resulting text is quite believable, but it’s not actually a very good post. A different AI, the one from Yoast SEO that helps with the readability of my content, highlighted that there aren’t enough subheadings. Also, more than half the sentences are a bit long (more than 20 words). And it’s using too much passive voice (I do that too, so I guess it could be considered authentic!).
Garbage In Garbage Out (GIBO)
I tried asking ChatCPT to improve its writing, based on the points above but I didn’t get far:
Re-write the above with shorter sentences to make it easier to read, and use sub-headings.
And then:
Try again, and this time use try to use active voice instead of passive voice... and make the subheadings a bit snappier!
It made some changes, but really the way I see tools like this working is as a very quick first draft for review and update by a human writer. We just have to be careful not to let those who don’t understand or who don’t value writing say “just get an AI to write it in a few seconds”.
In recent days, I’ve been thinking about tech that has become ubiquitous. Like the IBM Personal Computer – which is now well over 40 years old and I still use a derivative of it every day. But then I started to think about tech that’s no longer in daily use but yet which still seems modern and futuristic…
…like Concorde
Concorde may not have become as world-dominant was originally intended but, for a while, the concept of supersonic flying was the height (pun absolutely intended) of luxury air travel. Sadly, changing market demands, soaring costs, environmental impacts, and the Paris crash of AF4590 in 2000 sealed its fate. The plane’s operators (British Airways and Air France) agreed to end commercial flights of the jet from 2003.
British Rail’s Advanced Passenger Train (Experimental) – or APT-E – of 1972 is like a silver dart. Just as you don’t have to be a plane-spotter to appreciate Concorde, the APT-E’ is ‘s sleek lines scream “fast” and in 1975 it set a new British speed record of just over 150 miles an hour.
The APT project was troublesome but the technology it developed lived on in other forms. The idea of a High Speed Train (HST) developed into the famous Inter-City 125. That was introduced in 1976 and is only now being withdrawn from service. Meanwhile, tilting train technology is used for high speed trains on traditional lines – most notably the Pendolinos on the UK’s West Coast Main Line.
…and Oxygène
Last night, I was relaxing by idly flicking through YouTube recommendations and it showed me this:
It’s an amazing view of the early-mid 1970s electronic instruments that Jean-Michel Jarre used to create his breakthrough album: Oxygène. And, as I found earlier this evening, it’s still a great soundtrack to go for a run. Listening on my earphones made me feel like I was in a science fiction film!
Modern electronic artists may use different synthesizers and keyboards but the technology Jean-Michel Jarre used smashed down doors. Oxygène was initially rejected by record companies and, in this Guardian Article, Jarre says:
“Oxygène was initially rejected by record company after record company. They all said: ‘You have no singles, no drummer, no singer, the tracks last 10 minutes and it’s French!’ Even my mother said: ‘Why did you name your album after a gas and put a skull on the cover?’”
Nowadays, electronic music – often instrumental – is huge. After playing the whole Oxygène album on my run, Spotify followed up with yet more great tracks. Visage (Fade to Grey), Moby (Go), OMD (Joan of Arc)… let’s see where it goes next!
What other timeless tech is out there?
I’ve written about three technologies that are around 50 years old now. Each one has lived on in a new form whilst remaining a timeless classic. What else have I missed? And what technology from today will we look back on so favourably in the future?
Featured images: British Airways Concorde G-BOAC by Eduard Marmet CC BY-SA 3.0 and The British Rail APT-E in the RTC sidings between tests in 1972 by Dave Coxon Public Domain.
He had a list of potential sales opportunities and wanted to highlight any cells in the column of client names that matched a list of primary accounts on another sheet. It sounded “do-able”, with some conditional formatting and a formula.
I like a challenge – and it’s as close to any development work as I get these days – so I got stuck in.
It seems the function I needed was =MATCH() although now I’m wondering if =VLOOKUP() might have been more appropriate.
The actual formula used in my conditional formatting rule (applied to data in column E) was this:
=MATCH($E2,'Primary Account List'!$A$4:$A$34,0)
Basically, it’s saying, for the value in this cell, have a look at the data in the Primary Account List sheet, cells A4-A34 and if there’s a match, apply the formatting (bold, orange). I did put $E1 in at first, and the lookup was one cell out… (row 1 is the column headers). E2 is the start of my list but the same formula is used in the conditional formatting rule that covers all the cells.
Over the years, I’ve looked at a variety of approaches to mapping technology development, often aligned to strategy.
I’m a visual person – definitely working with maps, not lists. This means I am attracted to models that help to visualise the direction in which things are headed.
Many people will be familiar with models like Gartner’s Magic Quadrants, or Forrester Waves. I was intrigued today when I joined a webcast about the Thoughtworks Technology Radar. Unlike the models I mentioned from the big analyst firms, the Thoughtworks model is not “pay to play”. It’s purely based on the experiences of the people working at Thoughtworks (“the Thoughtworkers”). There are no partnerships to influence – just product/service experience.
How is does this model work?
Thoughtworkers propose “blips”, and these are assessed by a Technical Advisory Board before being placed (or not) on the Radar.
The Radar itself is split into quadrants. These relate to techniques, platforms, tools, and languages and frameworks. There are also four concentric rings for hold, assess, trial and adopt.
Each blip is assigned to a quadrant. It will then move through the rings as Thoughtworkers gain experience and form a view on the application of the technology or service.
Only around a third of proposed blips make it to the published volume (currently volume 27).
I asked about technologies that are reaching the end of their life and need to be sunsetted or retired. That’s not something Thoughtworks currently has the resources to manage. Blips are not maintained – they are a point in time view (like a blog post!). If a technology becomes harmful or problematic it may move back to the assess ring or be called out in hold.
But what if I could come up with something like the Technology Radar for the technologies that we my employer uses in solutions? Maybe with Principal Consultants and Architects as gatekeepers? I initially thought that the Radar is Thoughtworks’ intellectual property, used as a marketing tool. Then I discovered it’s also available on an open-source basis to “Bring Your Own Radar” to allow Thoughtworks clients to visualise their technologies.
I probably need to think this through a little more and clarify the value I’m looking to gain. Right now, it’s just a collection of thoughts bouncing around my head but I’m sure it will form some order soon!
My work involves a lot of writing. And document editing. Mostly in Microsoft Word. I’m a heavy user of our corporate template and, over the years, I’ve worked with colleagues to iron out issues in the built in styles.
If you’re not familiar with styles, they are a method to apply standardised formatting to a block of text. Instead of selecting the font, size, colour, indentation, bold, italic, etc. just select a style. The style groups together all of the associated formatting so you can pick Normal text, Heading 1, Heading 2, Bullets 1, Bullets 2, Subtitle, Quote, Emphasis, etc.
if you’ve ever created a website using HTML and CSS, you’ll be familiar with separating the content from the presentation. This is a similar concept.
I sometimes find that the styles in a Word document get corrupted when I’m working collaboratively. Common things I’ve learned to spot are that indentation is wrong on bulleted text, or that headings lose their numbering. I haven’t found the cause but I suspect it’s text copied from incorrectly-formatted documents with similar style names. I did find a fix though!
As a parent, I should never live my dreams through my children, but I will do everything within my power to let my children live their dreams.
It’s no secret (on this blog and elsewhere on social media) that I have two sporty teenagers. My youngest loves his team sports. He runs and cycles too, but he lives for his football and hockey. My eldest is a cyclist. No question of that. His bio says it all: “Matt Wilson. 17. Cyclist.”. Discovering cycling has changed him. Not just the self-taught bike maintenance or his athletic performance, but his social life and his general confidence too.
Self-development
Matt came to the sport quite late (he was about 13 when I took him to a Team MK Youth Coaching session) but quickly took to racing cyclo-cross. He missed out on British Cycling Regional Schools of Racing (RSRs) because of Covid-19 restrictions, but he took advantage of the extra training time whilst school was home-based. He worked hard. He started to win some races.
Last summer he tried his hand at cross country mountain bike (MTB XC) racing. This summer he has focused on the road. He gained his 2nd category race licence after early season success at Deux Jours de Cyclopark (2nd on the podium). He raced some more road races to get experience of riding in the bunch. He rode E12 mid-week crit races at our local circuit (Milton Keynes Bowl). And he “nearly” scored a national point at the Bath Road Club Junior Road Race (came in 23rd, but needed top 20). The culmination of his final season as a Junior rider was to be the Junior Tour of Wales.
Why Wales? Well, there are only two multi-day stage races for Juniors in the UK: the Tours of Mendips and Wales. We were on holiday when the Mendips took place. And Wales is our spiritual home (my father was and my wife’s father is Welsh), even if we were unable to click the “Welsh Rider” box on the entry form because Matt was born in Milton Keynes.
The SD Sealants Junior Tour of Wales
Back to its full format for 2022, the SD Sealants Junior Tour of Wales (@juniortourwales) is a four-day, five-race road cycling event which features time trial, road and criterium stages. Run mostly on public roads, it has the full experience of a major multi-stage event. That means the rolling road blocks, race convoy, medical backup – the full works. Basically as close to the pro peloton as a Junior rider can get. I’ve also seen it referred to as “the hardest Junior race in the UK”. Regardless, I can now say that it’s an awesome experience for around a hundred 16-18 year-olds each year. (Because of the way British Cycling age groups work, this year’s “Juniors” were those born in 2004 and 2005.)
Initially, it didn’t look like Matt had got in, and then, a few days before the race, I got a call from Richard Hopkins, the race organiser. Matt was on the reserve list, there had been some cancellations – did he want a place? Yes please!!! Even as he was resting, recovering from a stomach bug, there was no question – he would be on that start line on Friday!
Preparation
Bike preparation started. More spare parts were purchased. Two cyclo-cross bikes were set up for road, with another spare set of wheels taken from my road bike, just in case.
For those wondering about why he was using cyclocross bikes – that’s all Matt has, apart from his mountain bike. As it happens, 40×11 is perfect gearing for junior restrictions. Next year those restrictions are going away so 53×11 will be the norm and race speeds will go up.
I already mentioned that Matt does his own bike maintenance. It’s not that I can’t – it’s just that he’s faster than me and it’s good experience. My role for this race was to be Driver (to/from the race start/finish) and Soigneur.
I’d already booked hotels “just in case”, so my attention turned to what we would eat. Carbs. Lots of them. We quickly increased our supplies of Matt’s preferred in-race nutrition (McVitie’s Hobnob’s snack bars, Clif Bloks and Torq gels). Pre/post race there’s also High 5 Zero Electrolyte tablets and an SIS Rego Rapid Recovery drink that he decided to try. Then there was the supermarket visit: Weetabix; fresh pasta; malt loaf; scones; hot-cross buns; Eccles cakes; milk; and fruit. We would be eating from a cool box in my car for a few days (with a frozen home-made Bolognaise slowly defrosting) and we had plenty to keep us stocked. I also bought some spare water bottles because they always get lost on races.
Looking forward to performing my #CyclistsDad duties this weekend, though always anxious when Matt is racing. This weekend sees us returning to South Wales for the @juniortourwales (5 stages over 4 days – TT, road and crit). Just been to the supermarket to load up on carbs! #JToWpic.twitter.com/KLqLzgItIE
I’d really love a campervan but… they are very expensive (as are children with a serious cycling “habit”). So, I’m compromising, with an estate car and a camping stove! Saving a few £s too… pic.twitter.com/hvcWtrXha7
Of course, there was a minor hiccup with the bike prep. The night before we left, Matt test rode his preferred bike, with a new chain. And then we found we needed a new cassette too (that’s not unusual but it wasn’t long since we’d changed the small cogs). Luckily a local independent bike shop had one and would be open for us to collect on our way to Wales the next morning. Competitive cycling is not an inexpensive hobby.
I always over-prepare. There was no way I would allow Late Summer Bank Holiday weekend traffic on the drive to Wales make us miss the event. So we were there hours early. No bother. Plenty of time to recce the route, check into the hotel, and head over to race HQ to sign on.
And then it hit me. Most of the riders were on teams. Matt was one of the individual riders. I’d seen that in the race manual the night before but that meant most riders had support cars with Team Managers (Directeurs Sportif), mechanics, spare bikes and wheels. We needed to find the neutral service car and – because Matt’s on 40×11 gearing – make sure they had a wheel for him because a Junior (14 tooth) cassette would be a major handicap!
In addition, I would need to stay at the start of each race stage until the last possible moment and then drive to the feed zone, be ready to pass a bottle or provide technical support, and then drive to the finish.
Not only was Matt getting a taste of life in the peloton, but I was getting a taste of life as a Soigneur. With the added stress of being a parent thrown in!
The racing community
Of course, I’m wasn’t alone as a parent of an individual rider. 98 riders started this year’s Junior Tour of Wales. Even if they were on a team, most had parents/guardians/family friends to help them. Over the years, I’ve got to know many of those people too – it’s always good to say hello as we’re waiting for our children to race past. Some have kindly provided Matt with technical support at times too.
And then there’s the race organisation. The team running the event were, without exception, friendly and helpful at all times. Rich Hopkins responded to emails in record time when we needed to know if Matt had made the cut-off after the disastrous stage 4. And there’s a huge team behind Rich too: Commissaires; Drivers; Motorcycle Safety Officers (from the National Escort Group Wales); Timekeepers; Judges; Race Director; Neutral Service; Safety Officer; Marshalls; Route Managers; Stage Preparation; First Aid/Ambulance; HQ Management; Gear Check; Registration Team and – my favourite job title – the Director of Things. The SD Sealants Junior Tour of Wales is a pretty big undertaking! There were also four official photographers and I highly recommend checking out David Partridge’s stunning event photos (a couple of which I’ve embedded in this post from the British Cycling Photographers Flickr Photostream).
Brilliant few days at the @JuniorTourWales. Huge thanks to Richard Hopkins, and to all the many, many people who made this event happen. A full multi-day stage race experience for junior riders – some of whom will go on to ride in the pro peloton #CyclistsDad#JToW#JTW22pic.twitter.com/2fp10DE6gl
“A great experience for my last race as a Junior and if it hadn’t been for one shocking stage a Top 40 would have been possible. Instead, [I] came away with the Lanterne Rouge“
He’s right in everything he says there, but I’ll throw in some more details. This blog post is mostly about this marvellous event for young cyclists – some of whom will go on to ride in the pro peloton. But it’s also, like everything else on this blog, an aide memoire for me to remember the highs and lows. Because, for me, Matt’s 2022 Junior Tour of Wales was an emotional rollercoaster.
Stage 1: Brynmawr-The Tumble (Individual Time Trial)
Matt’s verdict: “My first ever time trial. When I saw the result thought I’d messed it up but no – I rode my best ever 15 min power and just was completely outclassed.”
Lesson learned: believe in yourself. A good chunk of the competition were on TT bikes. Matt was on a cyclo-cross bike with road wheels and clip-on TT bars. [Don’t subject Dad to a mardy teenager all evening until you look at your power numbers on Strava/Garmin Connect.]
General Classification (GC): 57/97 (+1’52”)
Stage 2: Abergavenny-The Black Mountain (Road Race)
Matt’s verdict: “Hit the mountains, felt comfortable in the group all race but hadn’t taken on enough salts and cramped badly on the last climb but held on all be it in the saddle up the Black Mountain”.
Lesson learned: take the electrolyte drink on hot/hilly races!
GC: 61/95 (+5’48”)
Stage 3: Pembrey National Closed Road Circuit (Criterium)
Matt’s verdict: “Eventful stage. Caught in a early crash then chased hard. Then the race was neutralised and when we went off it was so fast and spat me out the back. Finished but lost 30 mins”
Matt’s being very matter-of-fact about this but the stage was a disaster (for his overall results). Despite getting caught up in the crash shortly after the race was de-neutralised, he wasn’t badly hurt but he did lose his water (sadly at least one rider ended up in hospital and several had major mechanical issues, including at least one broken frame). He rode hard to catch the race only to learn that it had been neutralised. Later, when the race was stopped, another rider spotted that Matt had worn his tyre down to the beading (when skidding into the crash) so he switched wheels, and then had problems with skipping gears. Next day, we learned that was due to chain damage in the crash. Once Matt had lost the bunch and dropped out of the race convoy he was caught up in normal traffic/road conditions and was losing time. He showed tremendous mental fortitude and made it across the line with seconds to spare before he would have been lapped by the winners!
Luckily, the race jury extended the cut-off time (he was only just outside) but this stage effectively finished any chances of a good place on the GC.
Matt’s verdict: “All I can say is the Tumble wasn’t that bad – the earlier climbs however were pain!”
I was worried about how this race was going to go with tired legs, a warm-up interrupted by the need to change a chain, and then an exploding inner tube on the rollers (after last night’s tyre swap). Matt was concerned that the fast roll down the A465 dual carriageway could easily end up in a crash. Luckily, neither of our fears were realised.
Actually, he looked pretty comfortable at the feed zone, and I think he paced this race well. He also got a buzz from managing to keep pace with some of the faster and more experienced riders.
Finishing 39th and only 3’39” down on Josh Tarling, was a pretty impressive result after the previous day. Yes, the Lanterne Rouge was disappointing, but completing the Tour was an incredible achievement.
Bank Holiday Monday means a few things. Among them a new crop of dragon keepers. Look after them well guys, and never give them too much protein. ?#JTW22#worthy ?Dave Partridge pic.twitter.com/HIMBl50TFz
There are a lot of posts on my Twitter (and Instagram) feeds about this year’s Junior Tour of Wales #JToW #JTW22, including one where I post how proud I am about Matt’s performance to even finish the race, regardless of position. It may seem a bit narcissistic, but it’s not meant to be – it really is my way of sharing my excitement, sorrow, joy, pride and host of other emotions. A place to ride this year’s tour meant a huge amount to us both and to be given that chance as an individual rider on a reserve list place was really special. It’s great to see other parents of some really successful riders liking my posts because we’ve all had a shared experience too. (Even if their kids are at another level and winning stages, and even landing pro contracts!)
Special mention here to Kate Cole (@KKPreserves) who saw me at the feed zone on stage 5 and said “are you the #CyclistsDad?”. It’s nice to hear that someone likes my posts to hear what’s going on!
And, if you’re reading this and you’re the chap who came up to Matt by my car at Race HQ after stage 5 and said “That was an incredible ride today – especially after yesterday” – thank you. I don’t know who you were (It would be good to know!) but that comment was lovely to hear. I really appreciated it (as did Matt). Actually, it made my day.
So I’m afraid I’ll keep on posting pictures and unofficial commentary, until he says “Dad, stop it, you’re embarrassing me”.
The water was swirling in front of me… I wanted to jump in but I couldn’t. “Come on”, said a little lad as he leapt off the cliff with no fear at all. But fifty years of experience told me not to. I really, really wanted to do this. My teenagers had done it a couple of days’ previously and this was my last chance. It had to be at high tide and tomorrow I wouldn’t be in the village at the right time; then the day after we’d be driving home…
It took me 30 minutes of standing there and repeated attempts walking or running to the edge and then stopping. My eldest son was giving his “support” (“come on Dad, you’re over thinking this – you can do it!”) and my youngest was waiting in the water to assist me after the jump. But, however grown up our teenagers are, they are still children. They don’t have responsibilities (yet). Or fear.
I had fear. Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). But also fear of that water. I’ve never been happy swimming at sea. Ever since a wave knocked me over as a small child. Even at school, I learned to swim two years after the others. I was seven and learning to swim a width, then a length, with the five year-olds. Later, as a teenager, I was strong enough in races but in a pool. Taking my dive mask off at the bottom of Sydney Harbour for my PADI certificate was terrifying. And that was over twenty years ago.
We’d started out by swimming to the base of the point, but the waves and the depth (the same depth that made it safe for me to jump from above) scared me. I swam back to shore and walked out to the headland. And all the support from my family (who, let’s be honest, were probably quite tired of waiting whilst I repeatedly failed to jump) was not quite enough. In the end it was my sister-in-law’s quiet words from behind me (I wish I could remember what they were) that flipped a switch and I finally made that leap.
Done. Ticked off the list. Easily the most frightening thing I’ve ever done. And all for FOMO.
I’m entering a new phase of life as my children are growing up. My eldest son has passed his driving test, and now we’re touring university open days. He’s looking to become an engineer (as was I, before I failed my A levels and fell into computing, but that’s another story).
Last weekend, we visited the University of Bath, to learn about their Structural and Architectural Engineering course. In his introductory presentation, Senior Lecturer Dr Chris Blenkinsopp was talking about the relationship between engineers and architects, and it really struck a chord with me.
Dr Blenkinsopp was speaking about engineers as “born problem solvers”. Engineers focus on design – following guidelines and using their problem-solving skills. The architect does the big picture “drawing”, the engineer makes it work. Whilst a computer might be able to solve the maths, the engineer needs an ability to use a range of skills in an imaginative way.
Successful projects need collaboration between engineers and a variety of stakeholders. Critically, it’s vital that architects and engineers work together closely. And, for that reason, the University of Bath’s Design Projects involve both engineers and architects – collaborating at university as they will in their professional careers.
Whilst Dr Blenkinsopp was talking about civil/structural engineers and architects who work in the built environment, there are strong parallels with my world of information technology (IT).
Architects and IT architects
I have to be careful here, because I’ve been called out previously for calling myself an architect, which is a protected title:
“The title ‘architect’ is protected by law in the UK, under Section 20 of the Architects Act 1997. It can only be used in business or practice by someone who has had the education, training and experience needed to join the Architects Register and become an architect.”
The relationship between IT engineers and IT architects
Unfortunately, in IT, the term “architect” is also abused. It’s become common as a term to imply some seniority in the technical space. As a result, it’s lost some of its meaning. Even so, my role as an architect is less and less about technology and more and more about solving business challenges. In the course of that work, I work with lots of subject matter experts – the engineers of the IT world – who solve the problems that I give to them. My role is to draw the big pictures and join everything together. [Often, my tools are some whiteboard pens…]
Where I work, at risual, we run Consulting Skills Workshops, to help our subject matter experts develop the soft skills that are required to be a successful consultant. In reality, our consultants are on the first step towards IT architecture (whether they know it or not). Consulting is an engagement model and a set of soft skills. In terms of career progression, our consultants are no longer engineers – they are often required to work as technical architects.
But there is absolutely nothing wrong with being an IT engineer. We need those problem solvers – the people who know how to bring technology together and use it in imaginative ways. Just as much as we need the people who can take those technology building blocks and use them to solve business challenges.
Conclusion
As a result of taking my son to Bath and sitting in Dr Blenkinsopp’s presentation, my mission has changed. The work I’m doing at risual to develop and grow our Architecture practice needs to be tweaked. I need a slightly different focus. I still need to create great architects. But I also need to up the emphasis on constant collaboration with great engineers.
Because, to take a quote from Dr Blenkinsopp’s talk:
“The best […] engineering solutions require engineers and architects to work together from the outset.”
For decades, the paperless office has been a panacea, sought out by businesses far and wide. Ever since computers became a part of our daily work, there have been those who have prophesised on how we will no longer need to use paper.
And yet, I still receive so much of the stuff. Sure, I can receive most of my invoices and statements electronically – and we all know how print newspapers and magazines are in a state of decline – but paper is still used extensively. Some people just prefer to interact with analogue media – my wife likes a paper book, for example, and never got on with a Kindle. And some business models rely on shoving pieces of paper through the letter box (try opting out of Royal Mail’s “junk mail” deliveries and you’ll find it’s a lot harder than it should be).
Digitising my life
Several years ago, I started to scan important documents at home. The theory was that everything gets scanned, and only the really important papers got filed in paper form – generally those that related to the house (mortgage, building works) or to me as a person (passport, certificates, medical, etc.).
The trouble was, that I got behind on my scanning. Years behind. Boxes of “to be scanned” and boxes of “might have been scanned – who knows”. And my old Canon scanner was not up to the task – too slow and with an unreliable document feeder. It was also connected to an old (slow) PC, and needed two powered USB ports to drive it (which was a problem on any of the newer devices that I had access to). Added to which, there’s still all the pre-scanning regime files that were stored in the loft until we converted that to living space (4 years ago…).
So, whilst I took a few days off over half term, I bought a new scanner. A 35 pages a minute super-duper Wi-Fi connected paper-eating monster from Brother… and I reworked my document scanning workflow. I’m now scanning through the backlog and thousands of pages of paper are being shredded and recycled each week. So much that I keep overheating the shredder!
What’s the point?
All of this is good – it’s making me feel good about the progress I’m making and my family will be pleased to have fewer boxes of paper in the spare room.
But then my friend Matt Ballantine (@Ballantine70) remarked that he didn’t understand – what did I need to scan? The only paper he gets in junk! And I started to wonder if I’m somehow unusual?
Not all of my tax paperwork is digital. Increasingly it is, but not all.
I keep a copy of the latest Council Tax bill, and at least one set of recent bank statements for identity purposes. (Some organisations still won’t accept digital versions!)
DBS certificates, vehicle “log book” (V5), etc. are all paper documents (and odd sizes too).
Add to that the letters relating to investments, pensions, banking, etc. that don’t arrive digitally.
It’s still quite a lot.
Then there’s the backlog. Maybe I should have a big bonfire and be done with it. Except that my mental makeup won’t allow that. I need to sort through it and find *the important bits* and scan it all *just in case*. (I know. It’s just the way I am. Try living with me!). And, anyway, paper doesn’t burn very well, as I found a few years ago when I got rid of 20+ years’ worth of work notebooks that were a potential GDPR nightmare and just gathering dust.
A digital dilemma…
So, now my “paperless office” is getting closer. And I almost never print anything at work. But I create lots. Lots of documents that I write. Lots of photos that I create. Lots of digital files I download (instead of receiving printed copies) or scan (see above).
The trick is to make sure I don’t replace boxes and boxes of paper files with digital mayhem. A digital mess that’s spread across a variety of online services from Microsoft, Amazon, Dropbox, Google and Apple!
Advice and guidance is welcomed… comments are open below!
I’m going to share a secret with you all, dear readers. I really like Microsoft Excel.
There, I’ve said it. Excel may not be the perfect tool in some scenarios (take my example last year, which should almost certainly have used Power BI) but it is the “Swiss Army Knife” of the IT world. End users and IT admins alike have taken the humble spreadsheet programme and twisted it to suit their purposes. I can do so many things with it.
The problem – a table of names in Word
Like a few weeks ago, when I was reviewing a document. The document contained a table with a list of stakeholders. So as not to offend (in a very hierarchical organisation), it had been decided that the names should be in alphabetical order. Except the author had done that by first (given) name, not by last (family/surname) name. Rather than going back and asking them to fix it, I decided I would do so – as it should only take a few minutes.
Word tables are not always that easy to work with, but copying the data into a spreadsheet would let me mangle it, and then paste it back again. Incidentally, Visual Studio Code is also a fantastic text editor and I often use it for complex search and replace operations.
Moving the data to Excel for processing
In this case, I took the two columns from Word (Name, Job Title) and pasted them into Excel. That gives me something like this (massively simplified for the purposes of this blog post – I wouldn’t really go to this much effort for a three-line table! I also made up the names for this example…):
Mark Wilson
Principal Architect
Brendan Clarke
Director
Roger Quinn
Manager
Splitting first and last names
Next, I added a column to the right of Name, and split the Name column, using Excel’s Text to Column wizard and a space as a delimiter. That gave me separate columns for First Name and Last Name.
