Design Talk (dot IE)

Hi, I'm Allen Higgins, you're listening to Design Talk.

I am delighted to have Anna Browne (née Brady) as my guest today, to talk about and reflect upon her career in code.

·       To start, Anna, can you share some of the key milestones in your career thus far? (Influenced at UCD by Dr Joe Morris in his Program Construction class; he made us write code, on paper, it made us appreciate the value of simplicity, the value of thinking things through.)

·       What for you, is the essence of design?

o   Can you share your reflections on the design process?

o   Is design ultimately a process of working alone on your own ideas. 

o   Talk about the difference between design as an individual and design in a team...

·       How, if at all, has the changing technology environment changed the way you perform design?

o   What do you insist on having in the physical work environment?

o   How do you get people to share design knowledge? To attain/agree on shared understandings and design vision?

·       As an educator yourself, what motivates you to advocate for maths and technology skills in students?

o   What tips can you share from your experience of teaching maths and practical IT for adult learners? Ways of engaging them, making it real, that overcome blocks.

·       And any final thoughts you'd like to share before we wrap up?

Well, we’ll wrap up there.

Thank you for sharing your ideas with us today.

Acknowledgements

Music 

Title: Voltaic Fluctuations

Artist: Ben Prunty

Source:  https://www.benpruntymusic.com/

License: Non-transferable license. Permission granted by Ben Prunty

Cover Art 

Title: Complex collage

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: vignette_version.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In conversation with Liam Bannon, Professor Emeritus, and founder of the Interaction Design Centre at the University of Limerick.

In this episode we talk about Mick Cooley and his legacy. Mike Cooley, from Tuam, Co. Galway, an engineer, academic, trade unionist, socialist, an activist and change agent. As a commentator on labour issues Mike was once a familiar voice in the Irish media, sought for his views on contemporary workplace and labour issues. 

Mike Cooley – author or Architect or Bee, a manifesto for designing for human use, was an engineer at Lucas aerospace. Throughout his career he sought ways to improve the work we do, to empower workers, to work better, to augment human ability and skills. For Cooley, real workplace transformation occurs as a kind of partnership between designer and worker, rather than by instrumental substitution of human roles by software, robots, or technologies. An organisation’s goal instead should be to augment human ability by improving the technologies we employ, and authentic innovation arises as a consequence of human-centered, collaborative and collective design processes.

Acknowledgements

Music 

Title: Impulse

Artist: Ben Prunty

Source:  https://www.benpruntymusic.com/

License: Non-transferable license. Permission granted by Ben Prunty (personal letter)

Cover Art 

Title: Aharoni 88 + Equalise Character Height

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: AudioStudio-Name.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I am delighted to be joined by Christina Phillips, the founder and force behind the Business Analytics Educators Forum.

Christina is a senior lecturer in business analytics at Liverpool John Moores University and has worked in applied scienced research for industry.

·       To start, can you tell us a little about your own background and your perspective on data analytics?

o   How is analytics being used in industry?

o   Is data analytics an intrinsic part of academic research?

·       What was the motivation behind starting the Business Analytics Educators Forum, the BAEF?

·       Does it tie into your own research interests?

o   Are there connections between problem-structuring methods and systems methods like soft systems, design thinking, others?

o   Can you talk about the idea of ‘human-centric analytics’?

o   I’ve heard you say, “there’s nothing better than wallowing in data”. 

·       Can you share the kinds of must-have tech in your toolbox? Your ‘go to’ tools for analysing data? 

·       To close out the interview... Do you have a favorite science or data podcast or video channel, or geeky secret? 

Well, we’ll wrap up there.

Thank you for sharing your ideas with us today.

A video version of this episode is published on the Business Analytics Educators Forum’s YouTube channel at: 

https://youtu.be/THth52iN6oQ

Acknowledgements

Music 

Title: Guitar House

Artist: josh pan (2020)

Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL-LId8ZWBM

License: License CC BY 3.0

Cover Art 

Title: Complex collaboration for BAEF

Artist: Nuno Machado and Allen Higgins

Source: vignette_version.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guests: Ciaran Treanor and Cormac Ó Foghlú 

Hosts: Rujuta Sandeep Kulkarni and Allen Higgins 

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OPENING 

-----

[Rujuta]

Welcome to the Design Talk podcast.

We are joined today by Ciaran Treanor, Sonalake’s CTO

and Cormac Ó Foghlú, VP Operations at Sonalake.

First, could I ask you both, to tell us a little about yourselves, before we talk about Sonalake?

Some general questions we might ask if needed to keep the conversation going:

1.         Can you brief us more about Sonalake?

2.         Is it difficult to bring contractors into the fold?

3.         What is the level of involvement you expect clients to have over the lifetime of the project?

4.         So initial start versus now in the context of trust how as Sonalake and the business development approach changed?

5.         There is porosity in the working from home environment. The organizations are very poros. Do you think this creates a security threat? Does this create a risk for client and data confidentiality?

6.         Do you think remote working is the future especially when Ireland is looking to make “Work from home” a permanent option legally?

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CLOSING

-----

[Rujuta]

So, on that note…

Ciaran and Cormac, we would like to thank you for making time in your busy schedules to talk to us today.

And for giving us an inside view of client engagement models, software development and your perspective on services as a team sport. 

Acknowledgements:

Music by Ivan Spiek (with Permission)

Cover Art created by Rujuta Kulkarni and Allen Higgins. Clipart images and design elements using Canva https://www.canva.com/.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In conversation: Allen Higgins and Anabela Soares

I am delighted to be joined today by Anabela Da Silva Filipe Soares. 

Anabela is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy & Operations Management at the University of the West of England and a member of the Business Analytics Educators Forum.

·       To start, Analytics educators come from all kinds of professions. Can you share a little about your own background and your perspective on data analytics?

·       How is analytics used in your original profession’s day-to-day work? [e.g. accounting, sociology, psychology, marketing, economics, engineering, computing, medical specialism, etc.]

·       And how is analytics used in academic research?

·       Can you talk a little about how academic research differs from industry research?

·       How does analytics influence research design?

·       What do people mean by “good quality data”? How do you produce good quality data?

·       As a self-declared 'questionnaire geek' can you share three tips for someone designing a questionnaire?

·       To close out the interview... What are your favorite podcasts or video channels? 

·       And, can you share a geeky secret? 

Well, we’ll wrap up there.

Thank you for sharing your ideas with us today.

A video version of this episode was first published on the Business Analytics Educators Forum’s YouTube channel at: 

https://bit.ly/3Xgh2Mz

Acknowledgements

Music 

Title: Guitar House

Artist: josh pan (2020)

Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL-LId8ZWBM

License: License CC BY 3.0

Cover Art 

Title: Complex collaboration for BAEF

Artist: Nuno Machado and Allen Higgins

Source: vignette_version.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts: Allen Higgins

I am very pleased to welcome Musa Afandiyev, former founder/director of Ağıllı Nağıllar, a creative agency based in Baku, Azerbaijan, now studying for a PhD at UCD.

·       So, Musa, could you say a few words by way of introduction and how you got into the creative agency business?

·       How does Creative agency business fit with Marketing agencies, PR, Media, and Advertising?

·       People talk about the need for digital clusters and partner ecosystems for creative industries, do you think digital agencies benefit from being around each other, even if they compete for the same work?

·       In your opinion, what size organisation best fits the creative agency space?

·       If smaller is better, how do you scale up when you need to?

·       As an entrepreneur yourself, what qualities do you look for in others to indicate entrepreneurial potential?

Well, we’ll wrap up there.

Thank you for talking with us and sharing your experiences.

NOTES:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/musaeffendi/

Acknowledgements

Music 

Title: Voltaic Fluctuations

Artist: Ben Prunty

Source:  https://www.benpruntymusic.com/

License: Non-transferable license. Permission granted by Ben Prunty

Cover Art 

Title: Complex collage

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: vignette_version.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts: Afolabi Olusola and Carina Völkerling

We are very pleased to welcome Ian Doyle, Consulting Manager at Guidewire Software, the international insurance software and technology company.

·       Tell us a little about your background and your current role? 

·       What does a day in the life look like?

·       How has Guidewire’s methodology evolved over the years? 

·       Is the methodology the same for both product development and client delivery?

·       What good-working-practices can you highlight for teams? 

·       You’d talked about the concept of value, is it intangible or something you measure? 

·       How does consulting change when a client engagement requires working with other partners? [external services, other consultants etc]

·       The insurance industry is famously based on data and actuary-centred, is there room for data scientists in the industry (and Guidewire)?

·       Can you share 3 tips and 3 cautions for a consultant starting out…

·       <and audience questions?>

Well, we’ll wrap up there.

Thank you for sharing your ideas with us today.

Notes:

[retro’s; well-functioning team; regular Slack calls – huddles, Zoom, frequent regular communications; brown-bags; clear role/responsibility; culture of openness; team charter; others]

[tips and pitfalls: Build a network; don’t be afraid to ask questions; and be prepared to challenge the customer. Have those difficult conversations. Build relationships, know your team, know the people up and below, keep your skills up to date. Look for variety in your roles – don’t get stuck in a niche; Look for places that give a mix of challenge and responsibility – balance between being spoon fed versus struggling; things are changing get over it, change can be an opportunity.]

Acknowledgements

Music 

Title: Voltaic Fluctuations

Artist: Ben Prunty

Source:  https://www.benpruntymusic.com/

License: Non-transferable license. Permission granted by Ben Prunty

Cover Art 

Title: Complex collage

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: vignette_version.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts: Harshitha Jayasimha, Abhishek Sabharwal 

We are very pleased to welcome James Egan, software consultant at Murex.

Can you tell us a little about yourself to start?

·       Talk about the industry space that Murex operates in? 

·       Do developers need Financial Services knowledge to work in this space?

·       Having trained as an engineer, how did you get into product management?

·       How does the product development side interact with the customer facing side?

·       What approaches do you take to gathering and managing requirements? [expand on approach to Agile – SAFE]

·       What do you look for in new hires? [Fast, willing learners, open minds, problem solvers.]

·       Go-to tools and techniques for the job?

·       Where do you see design taking place? What is design? [architecture, interface, lines-of-code; design philosophy?]

·       <questions from the audience>

Well, we’ll wrap up there.

Thank you for sharing your ideas with us today.

Notes:

https://www.murex.com/en/who-we-are/about-us

Acknowledgements

Music 

Title: Voltaic Fluctuations

Artist: Ben Prunty

Source:  https://www.benpruntymusic.com/

License: Non-transferable license. Permission granted by Ben Prunty

Cover Art 

Title: Complex collage

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: vignette_version.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts: Zi Wang and Lakshit Chamoli

We are very pleased to have Gary Leyden with us today. 

Gary’s business career is distinguished by building new lines of business, founding, and investing in new ventures.

·       Gary, before we start, can you share some of the highlights of your career thus far?

·       Introduce us to InsTech.ie and the motivation behind it? [founder journey – btw is there a connection to Insurtechireland.org?]

·       How is InsTech.ie prompting innovation among its members? [benchmarking with Ninety]

·       Talk us through some of the challenges of creating innovation in a regulated sector? [approaches in different jurisdictions, EU institutions, Central Bank of Ireland, UK FCA, etc.]

·       How have other locations sparked innovation capability in Insurance and what can Ireland learn from them? [London]

·       Insurance is all about data and risk information. Is there any unused data left? [yes]

·       Does the insurance industry have the space for more data literacy roles, in addition to the actuaries? [yes, role for new Insurtech start-ups]

·       What is the potential for new data-driven services or products in insurance? [examples, regulated entities, sandbox]

<and some questions from the audience>

Well, we’ll wrap up there.

Thank you for sharing your ideas with us today.

Notes:

https://www.instech.ie  - Benchmarking Approach

https://ninety.com

https://irishadvantage.com/insuretech/

Acknowledgements

Music 

Title: Voltaic Fluctuations

Artist: Ben Prunty

Source:  https://www.benpruntymusic.com/

License: Non-transferable license. Permission granted by Ben Prunty

Cover Art 

Title: Complex collage

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: vignette_version.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host: Allen Higgins

We are very pleased to welcome Professor Joe Peppard, educator, consultant, and researcher.

First, Joe, could you share a few words about your career to-date and your passion for IT?

·       <talking points>

·       Computers, networks, Internet, and platform software as transformative technologies.

·       Knowledge management for technology.

·       Automation, strategic transformation, and organisational change.

·       Implications for the increasing use of AI in the economy.

·       New ways of working echo old ways of working.

·       Technology market – temporary monopolies and cycles of competitive domination.

·       Platform economies – the shift from hardware to operating systems to software as a service.

·       Transformational moments in computing and technology inflection points.

·       <any audience questions?>

Well, we’ll wrap up now.

Thank you for the stimulating discussion with lots of new ideas to reflect upon.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts today.

NOTES:

Joe Peppard - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-peppard-5868513/

Acknowledgements

Music 

Title: Voltaic Fluctuations

Artist: Ben Prunty

Source:  https://www.benpruntymusic.com/

License: Non-transferable license. Permission granted by Ben Prunty

Cover Art 

Title: Complex collage

Artist: Allen Higgins

Source: vignette_version.pptx

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Podcast License

Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 

The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.