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Nick Smith

@skynick.bsky.social
260 followers 433 following 185 posts

I'm not new here anymore. I do agile-ish things for government.

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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Trying to do the right thing and trade in my old phone. Currently 👀 at likewize.com, who've reduced my quoted value from £390 to £0 with no stated reason for a relatively recent, *fully working* iPhone. Now on my second emailed request to them to explain said reason. Hmmm.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Is it possible to standardise what we mean when we say things like: lead, principal, head of, programme, director? Or just stop using those terms? Local job title inflation is hurting my brain. When you say you're one of these things be sure there's a part of my brain validating your statement.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
My favourite MS365 feature is how it's training me not to trust _anything_ I see in email, calendar or chat. I assume there's content in there... I've just gotta find it. it's OK tho, because I can set up an AI agent to help me find most of it and only hallucinate some of it
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The School of Good Services @theschoolofgood.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
At the Bad Services Corporation we have 15 principles of Bad Service Design We’re rolling out our training today over the next few months, principle by principle Take a seat, grab a pen+paper Principle #1: A bad service is hard to find good.services/writing/a-ba...
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
> Matrix management blows peoples minds 🤯 Is a thing I just wrote. But it shouldn't and there are lots of benefits to it. It's 2026 and I thought this would be fixed by now
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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Someone had just emailed me on a Friday night to ask if I have any thoughts to share on AI in digital govt and I think my answer is that we should focus on making basic services work for everyone and stop worrying about AI
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Going to rebadge everything I do as “AI” and see if anyone spots the grift
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
2 yrs ago when I left Virgin Media to switch to full fibre the call handler tried to convince me I already had it. No amount of ‘I can see the coax coming into my house’ would convince them. We agreed to disagree. Back then I wondered how many people would fall for it… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Virgin Media fined £28m for preventing customers from cancelling contracts
Millions of phone calls from customers were "likely mishandled" over nearly a three-year period, the regulator says.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Talking about things that matter: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfKv... #bikeshedding by @undermanager.bsky.social
youtube.com
This one simple trick will rid your meetings of blather #bikeshedding
YouTube video by Russell Davies
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
I reckon traditional project risk management disempowers teams. Because it usually: silos risk information away from delivery; assumes leadership will solve problems; emphasises reporting, not mitigation; assumes reporting IS mitigation (my biggest bugbear); takes time away from actual delivery
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
It‘s like DVD extras, but for the new Silo season 3: howdidwelosethisworld.com
howdidwelosethisworld.com
SILO – How Did We Lose This World?
Uncover the origins of the Silo.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Admittedly I got there an hour late but... I've just spend 5 hours in the online queue for tickets to the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum. Only 3,229 people in front of me.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
“Victorian-level body objectification” could easily be a new favourite phrase bsky.app/profile/sach...
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Good ideas have a life of their own. When I joined GDS in 2013 I inherited The Mazz Scale. I've referenced it periodically ever since, including today. It works with Fibonacci numbers, but I've also used t-shirt sizes. Here's the accompanying blog post: www.annashipman.co.uk/jfdi/how-to-...
annashipman.co.uk
Anna Shipman
Strategic technology leader
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
I’m still doing this. I’ve continued to make tweaks to what I eat, I’m also tracking my alcohol intake more. I’ve lost 6kg since January 🎉 #marginalGains bsky.app/profile/skyn...
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
My favourite MS365 feature is having to go hunting for the corresponding video of a presenter on a Teams call with over 100 people. I found them nestled helpfully on page 3 of 14.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Absence of explicit process is not lack of maturity. In many cases it’s more mature to have less process. Measure on what’s actually achieved. What supports the better outcome?
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Today I mentioned 'Schrödinger's update' to mean when management want, in the same update, the two states of: a high level overview; but also all of the detail
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
My favourite MS365 feature is when it sends reminder notifications for meetings that have already happened. Oh, also when the calendar hasn't synced properly and meetings just drop out of my celandar. These things really spice up my day, keeping things fresh
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Chief Digital Officer for London @ldncdo.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
False narratives about London are being manufactured by state-backed actors, extremist groups and profit-driven content farms. Different motivations, same effect. Last night Mayor of London @london.gov.uk published new GLA research into who's doing it and why www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🧵 1/3
bbc.co.uk
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Last night I reviewed our numbers adjusting for the 3 monthly change in avg cost per kWh in the UK. Our saving for 2025 was just over £1,200 (+£100 on last guess), still not including what we're selling back to the grid. On that, we'd make our install cost back in 7.6 years bsky.app/profile/skyn...
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Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 02/04/2026
NEW ANALYSIS: Record wind and solar generation saved UK from gas imports worth £1bn in March 2026 📈Wind+solar were up 22% year-on-year in March to a record high for the month ⛴️This avoided the need for gas imports worth £1bn at current high prices www.carbonbrief.org/...
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Watched the #ArtemisII launch with my cat, who mostly wants to sleep but looked up when the crowd cheered. Also, wow
TV image close up of Artemis 2 rocket engine with flames and huge exhaust plume.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Greenwich Council "No response": www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Hmm. A quick search of the Greenwich website would have shown they collect biodegradable waste: www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/recycling-an... In fact, they've been collecting it since at least 2004 (which is the age of our green top bin).
bbc.co.uk
Food waste collection deadline missed by one in four councils
Local authorities blame the delays on a lack of funding and a shortage of bin lorries.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Consumers, users, people, mammals. Reminding myself of this joy-of-a-piece-of-writing, and what a joy it is to read Russell's writing. It makes so much sense. www.russelldavies.com/typepad/russ...
russelldavies.com
Consumers, users, people, mammals
I'm old enough that I've seen the same debates go round and round a few times. One is the (always well-intentioned) cry - let's stop saying customers/consumers/users, let's remember they're people! Th...
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Si Manby @cthimon.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
We're looking to fill a couple of Senior Content Designer roles across the OPG and Probation digital teams www.jobtrain.co.uk/justicedigit...
jobtrain.co.uk
Senior Content Designer:National
(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Solar install update. Our first year. The year to December ended as forecast. We generated 4.5 megawatt hours over the year which was 91% of the energy we used 🎉 We saved roughly £1,100 on energy we didn’t draw from the grid. We also exported a bunch, so made money too. bsky.app/profile/skyn...
Graph showing the months January to December and forecasted solar generation versus historical household electricity consumption, both in kilowatt hours. Consumption meanders across the middle, generation follows a bell curve. Between April and September solar generation is greater than consumption and we’re net zero over the year.Graph showing the months January to December and actual solar generation versus actual household electricity consumption in kilowatt hours. Consumption closely matches the prediction on the previous image. Generation is significantly higher than predicted in June and a smidge lower in August. September to December follows a bell curve.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
It seems it was February 2026 when MS Teams finally started supporting threaded discussions. At least, that’s my experience
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 20/12/2025
The doom and gloom about London is ridiculous and harmful. Team FT is Team London - as.ft.com/r/19d3d36d-e...
as.ft.com
Don’t believe the fake gloom about London
[FREE TO READ] The UK capital is subject to more than its fair share of misinformation
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
The unintended consequence of asking "what can we say we've done?" is the focus it can create on comms as the primary strategy. Comms _is_ important, it takes time and energy to get right, but it's not everything. Changing the question, focussing on delivery unlocks so much (inc comms, ironically).
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
15 years and Amazon "never validated [their] core assumptions". The sad thing is that this still seems pretty common in the tech industry. aka HIPPO (highest paid person's opinion). I've also heard it called "vibes and shiny". bsky.app/profile/leti...
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zeldman @zeldman.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
They say AI will replace the web as we know it, and this time they mean it. Here follows a short list of previous times they also meant it, starting way back in 1997.
zeldman.com
Receipts: a brief list of prominent articles proclaiming the death of the web.
They say AI will replace the web as we know it, and this time they mean it. Here follows a short list of previous times they also meant it, starting way back in 1997. Wired: March 1, 1997: “You can kiss your web browser goodbye” – Kevin Kelly and Gary Wolf, The Big Story. 1Inspired by the success of PointCast, a clever application that displayed news headlines as a screensaver, our "Push!" story argued that Web browsers were about to become obsolete. 
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Last night I rewatched Tron Legacy and am ready for Tron Ares tonight at the IMAX. Based on reviews I’ve set my expectations low but am looking forward to the nostalgia and escapism
The word Tron in blue neon projected onto a wall with Philips Hue lights beneath in matching colour.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
My understanding is, and nobody seems to talk about this, a big difference between how Google Workspace and MS Sharepoint works: files in Google retain a canonical link. So moving a file between folders in Google, the link to the file stays the same. Move a file in Sharepoint and the link changes
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
I just started #Daily30 (a food supplement) and can say I have more energy and am eating less. It’s part of attempting marginal gains to improve my diet and lose weight
Photo of a 30 day calendar pinned to a fridge. Each day is crossed out. It’s a record that I took a supplement each day. The calendar is printed and has QR codes with info from the supplement manufacturer, Zoe.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
This post sent with the smugness of someone who, after 5 months, has finally switched off all of the ways Microsoft services like to play sounds with notifications
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Why use 'whilst' where 'while' will do? 'Whilst' doesn't make your sentence more formal
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
So interesting. Pollinator Pathmaker. Design your own garden for free. An art project using code to design gardens for pollinators (and humans). Art, code and gardens, right up my street. Featured on BBC Gardener’s World last night: pollinator.art
pollinator.art
Pollinator Pathmaker
Design and plant gardens for endangered bees, butterflies and other pollinators using the algorithmic tool - an artwork by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Agile delivery manager ≠ project manager. There's crossover in what they do and they can learn from each other, but they are not the same. Assuming they are devalues them both.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Solar install update. Our first year. Since April we’ve had a better than expected June. August was a smidge less solar than predicted. Our peak was 34 kWh on 8 July. It came out of nowhere. Solar is down in August but still greater than the energy we used in January 🎉 bsky.app/profile/skyn...
Graph showing the months January to December and expected solar generation versus historical household electricity consumption, both in kilowatt hours. Consumption meanders across the middle, generation follows a bell curve. Between April and September solar generation is greater than consumption and we’re net zero over the year.Graph showing the months January to December and actual solar generation versus actual household electricity consumption in kilowatt hours. Consumption matches the prediction on the previous image. Generation is significantly higher than predicted in June and a smidge lower in August. The figures end in August, drawing two thirds of a bell curve.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Despite their eagerness, I'm never going to sign in to the BBC News website to read the news
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Without going into specifics, and without trying to seem like I have all of the answers, my job over the last while seems to have been coaching many levels of an org to have a healthy approach to change. Being deliberate. Being aware of my own emotions. Trying to find the words people need to hear.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
A bit of fun… Hey AI, create an image that literally shows 'driving change'
AI generated image of some people wearing office-type clothes. The phrase 'driving change' appears. One person is pointing up, Some are holding graphs on paper, some are pushing the side of a grey rock, I think it's meant to be a mountain.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Status report on edibles raised bed. Tomatoes (front), courgettes (sides, in pots), pumpkins (back). Everyone seems happy. This year I’ve extended the bamboo frame to 2.4m high, so the eventual canopy gets less congested. #gardening #verticalgardening
Top down view of raised garden bed with plants growing. Tomatoes in the foreground, pumpkins and courgettes growing in the background. All growing up bamboo frames.Bottom up view of raised bed with tomatoes, courgettes and pumpkins growing.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
I've realised you could use AI to help you have the conversation about how you're going to adopt AI, which is also an efficiency saving because you could shorten the conversation (this looks like a joke, and it sort of is, but it's also all true)
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
I'm conscious of time
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
I’m a huge introvert. I often say that and recently people tell me that’s not obvious. A while ago I learned to switch things on and off, to know when to switch modes. (This skeet very much written from a deep and needed restorative niche after extroverting for about 2 hours this afternoon)
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
We had solar installed in December. Since then we had a cloudy December and January. We also had to evict some pigeons in April. But the installer’s prediction for solar generation is uncannily accurate. April solar equalled our usage from January 🎉 bsky.app/profile/skyn...
Graph showing the months January to December and expected solar generation versus historical household electricity consumption, both in kilowatt hours. Consumption meanders across the middle, generation has a hump in the middle. Between April and September solar generation is greater than consumption and we’re net zero over the year.Graph showing the months January to December and actual solar generation versus actual household electricity consumption, both in kilowatt hours. Consumption and generation uncannily matches the prediction on the previous image. The figures end at April but solar is hockey sticking up and household consumption is dropping slightly.
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Nick Smith @skynick.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Yesterday I emailed my MP to voice my concern for the protection of trans human rights in the UK. I can't remember the last time I emailed my MP. I asked them to encourage their colleagues to educate themselves and listen to trans voices
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Ben #ActNow 🔥🌳🌊 @benaldo.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
✨ The Government Design Principles have been updated, adding 'Minimise environmental impact' 🌳 🪨 They are an invaluable cornerstone for government's user-centred digital work. 👀 Blog post: services.blog.gov.uk/2025/04/02/a... 👀 Principles: www.gov.uk/guidance/gov... #govdesign
services.blog.gov.uk
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