Field Notes
Notes from the work. Short, honest, occasionally opinionated. Nothing written to fill a content calendar.
Why nobody uses the system you paid for
You bought the software, ran the training, and people carried on as before. It is almost never the software.
Read the article ›How to tell if your idea is worth building
Enthusiasm costs nothing. Look for repeated confusion instead, then build the smallest thing that removes it.
Read the article ›The website nobody owns
Neglected sites do not break, they decay. Why websites rot after launch, and the unglamorous fix.
Read the article ›Your website says nothing
If a competitor could paste your homepage onto theirs and nobody would notice, the copy is not working.
Read the article ›When you need a web app, not a website
People ask for a website when they need a tool. How to tell which you need, and why the difference matters to your budget.
Read the article ›What a website actually costs, and why quotes vary so wildly
Why quotes range from hundreds to tens of thousands, what you are really paying for, and how to compare them honestly.
Read the article ›Small tools beat big systems
Most organisations lose hours to the gap between what their software does and what they actually need.
Read the article ›Being found: what actually works for a small site
Practical search advice without the noise. The fundamentals, the pages you are missing, and what to ignore.
Read the article ›Teach the decision, not the manual
Most e-learning packages information and tests recall. The job needs judgement. How to build it, with decision-mining, real practice and better scenarios.
Read the article ›Why good learning goes unused
Plenty of well-made training never gets used. The reasons are boringly consistent, and mostly fixable before you build a thing.
Read the article ›The European Accessibility Act is here, and most sites are not ready
The polite era of treating accessibility as optional is over. What the Act actually asks for, in plain terms.
Read the article ›Being honest about AI
We use AI, and we tell clients exactly where, and where we do not. Why that honesty matters for trust and quality.
Read the article ›Design for the edges and the middle looks after itself
Most products are built for an average user who does not exist. Designing for the edges makes things better for everyone.
Read the article ›Got a problem worth writing about? Let’s talk.
Tell us what is not working and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right people for it.
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