Evan King

Excellent post here from Adam Silver where he debunks a few myths about GDS and GOV Design. I am in 100% agreement about the use of JavaScript in critical government services. Complex frameworks hinder user experience. Simple HTML forms often suffice for most user data input. The key is to prioritize user needs over developer preferences. Lean, accessible services benefit everyone, especially those users with limited resources, e.g. slow devices, poor internet connectivity, restricted data plans.

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Fantastic to see NUAR mentioned in the King's Speech briefing 😁 👑 "The [Digital Information and Smart Data] Bill will enable new innovative uses of data to be safely developed and deployed ... [including] National Underground Asset Register, a new digital map that is revolutionising the way we install, maintain, operate and repair the pipes and cables buried beneath our feet. It gives planners and excavators standardised, secure, instant access to the data they need, when they need it, to carry out their work effectively and safely."

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Since the start of the year I've been collating and publishing browser analytics data from GOV.UK online. It can be an interesting insight into how browser and OS usage changes over the seasons, such as how use of Windows tends to drop during the summer holidays. Over the last two months, sessions from Internet Explorer and Windows Phone devices have slumped from tens of thousands to single digits, potentially indicating that a major organisation has stopped using them. 🤔 https://lnkd.in/eFpqkHmx #browserstats #browsers #webdev

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What to do with existing products and services under the European Accessibility Act? Weekly, I have conversations with organisations that believe they've still got plenty of time to solve accessibility barriers because they've read that, for existing situations, there's an extended deadline until June 2030. It's always a shock when they learn that that's probably not the case! Yes, there's an extended deadline, BUT, that only applies if the product or services remains unchanged. So you get to 'freeze' your product for 5 years. Which company does that to a live service? Could you imagine not being able to update your website, change content, add features, fix bugs? Make a change, and suddenly the extended deadline no longer applies! Don't rely on extended deadlines, act now. The best time to have started your accessibility journey was yesterday, but the second-best is taking the first step today. #Accessibility #Toegankelijkheid #A11y #Europe #EuropeanAccessibilityAct #Compliance #RonnyTalksA11y

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Gotta love a bit of multi-line editing! 😍 It's the little things which make the workflow a little easier, that make all the difference when you're writing code. Nice to see some of the pro-code IDE tools are also incorporated into the low-code code editing tools. I hope the same considerations are being applied to the bigger features to help bridge the gap between low-code and pro-code to empower and enable hybrid development teams. If you're coming late to the party like me: On Mac : Option + Click On Additional Lines On Windows: Alt + Click On Additional Lines #powerplatform #powerapps #lowcode #nocode #hybriddevelopment

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🚀 Exciting News: Introducing MVK-UI - Your Ultimate UI Components Library! 🚀 I'm thrilled to announce the release of MVK-UI, a powerful and versatile UI components library I’ve created to make your web development process smoother and more efficient. Whether you're building a simple website or a complex web application, MVK-UI provides you with a set of reusable components that can help you create stunning UIs with ease. 🌟 Key Features: - Responsive Design: All components are fully responsive, ensuring a seamless experience across devices. - Customizable: Easily customize components to fit your brand's style. - Light & Dark Themes: Choose between light and dark themes to suit your application. - Accessible: Built with accessibility in mind, making your applications usable by everyone. - Extensive Components: From buttons and forms to navbars and footers, MVK-UI has you covered. 🛠 Tech Stack: - React: For building user interfaces. - TypeScript: To ensure type safety and improved developer experience. - Rollup: For bundling the library. - CSS Modules: For modular and maintainable styling. 🌐 Open Source: MVK-UI is open source and we welcome contributions from the community! Whether you want to add new features, fix bugs, or improve documentation, your contributions are valued. 📦 Get Started: -Just type " npm i mvk-ui " in the terminal. -You can find the MVK-UI package on npm: [MVK-UI on npm](https://lnkd.in/gybmvSED) 📂 GitHub Repository: Check out the source code and contribute: [MVK-UI on GitHub](https://lnkd.in/gmWU4QfK) 🌐 Coming Soon: - Website Launch: We’re excited to announce that a dedicated website showcasing all the components and providing detailed documentation is coming soon! Stay tuned for updates. - Component Demos: The website will feature live demos of all components to help you understand how to use them effectively in your projects. 🙌 Join the Community: Follow the project on GitHub, report issues, and submit pull requests. Let's build something amazing together! --- I'm excited to see what you all create with MVK-UI! Thank you for your support and happy coding! 💻✨ #webdevelopment #opensource #react #typescript #ui #components #MVKUI #npm #websitecomingsoon

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Stop viewing Accessibility as a project or something someone on a temporary basis can solve for you. Just spotted a role for a full-time 6-month contract to build an accessibility programme in a financial organisation. These approaches are SO inefficient, it makes me sad to see them. You won't build a programme in 6 months, you'll barely get started with the basics. Cementing accessibility into it all takes years. Hiring someone full-time to start a programme like this means their time is wasted, or more honestly, your money is. I've done this on multiple occasions and 2, at most, 3 days a week is more than enough to get the ball rolling. They'll be blocked and waiting, whittling their thumbs for the other three days most weeks. Unfortunately, there's plenty of people that'll happily come take your money. Stop wasting it. If you're genuinely interested in building something that'll stand the test of time, account for a longer period. Build for the future, not for the now. Seeking an honest partner that has the needed expertise and experience? Benefit from a whole team to support you and build a reliable accessibility programme in your organisation and get in touch. I've got the right team to help you out. #accessibility #a11y #futureProof #LetsBeHonest Nomensa

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When people ask me why I got into dev, I always say "well, it all started with a crazy idea". That's pretty much the ethos that I go by with everything I do; in fact the best projects I work on are the ones where the client says "well, I'm not even sure this is possible, but...". So yes, we do the standard stuff like eCommerce and databases, but we also do some really interesting stuff with connectivity, AI intergration, and interactive elements that people didn't even know were possible until they see it for the first time. No matter how big or small, it always starts with that one idea, that one feeling that gives you the urge to reach out and see what's possible. Now you've got that idea, let us help you put the rest of the pieces together to create something really cool: [email protected] #TechSupport #WebDevelopment #webdev #plugins #customdev #anythingispossible

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How do agency dev teams keep an eye on future trends in technology whilst delivering projects using established platforms? I find its a constant process of hunting for suitable opportunities where we can try new things safely without leaving a trail of unsupported legacy applications no one wants to touch... Here is a blog post I've written about why trying new things is important for our business as well as the developers in the team. https://lnkd.in/e-B48rQa

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I made an app called Retrospect. It's in closed testing, can you help me out by downloading it and trying it out? You can sign up for an invite here: https://humberstone.uk/ Retrospect is a social reflective journalling app. Each day, you will be asked a question. Answer and you can see what other people responded to that question that day, and also see how you answered that same question in the past. Closed testing is an important (and required) step for getting my app onto the proper Google Play Store, where anyone can download it. I need to get 20 users to download the app and keep it for at least 14 days as part of a Closed Testing rollout. Once that's done, I can publish my app officially on the Google Play store. Thanks for reading!

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I've spent the last 2 years at Standd putting agent based ai systems into production. As part of that journey I've migrated to almost exclusively coding using agents. Less than 10% of my day is in an editor the rest is bouncing between aider on sonnet 3.5 or o1 depending on the task and Claude web as a thought partner. If you're using cursor or not using AI at all and wonder when would be a good moment to try agent based coding these systems are at their best when making a small thing. Think under 500 lines. Self contained. Even better when it's in tech you aren't fluent in day to day. I wish I had a script that did x. Boom now you do. A common task that looks like this is GitHub actions workflows. If there are things you wish your ci stack did or checked that's the moment to see if the agent could kick out a new workflow. There are so many little patterns and tricks I've learned to stretch these machines out of that sweet spot. but this is a good place to start.

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Developer Careers Workshop starts in ~15 mins. If you're on the course, join via the workshops links under the videos. See you there! #developer #careers #workshop

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Did you know that you can join the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network for free and use our Community Hub to post anything you are looking for from the community? This includes collaborators for current & upcoming funding opportunities - https://lnkd.in/eZuipCGK Two week ago we hosted an online collaboration event for people looking for partners to apply with for the Mindset Funding competition (deadline Jan 15th): https://lnkd.in/eA76G7P2 Here is a summary of what some of those participants have posted on our Community Hub since then: - MIDA, University of the Arts London Screen School program, specializes in XR, AR, VR, and game development, focusing on health, inclusivity, and sustainability. They're keen to partner with researchers, universities, and XR companies to tackle mid-to-severe mental health challenges. Contact Susi Wilkinson or Kim Noce. Emails can be found in their Community Hub post. - The Combat Stress Centre researches trauma-linked mental health conditions (e.g., PTSD) and explores XR's potential for managing anxiety in public spaces and chronic pain. They offer expertise in clinical trials and access to clinical populations. For collaboration, contact Gavin M Campbell. - Access All Areas seeks a partner for a funding application to develop sensory-adaptable headphones for an immersive 360° theatre production with learning-disabled and autistic artists. Nick's contact details can be found in the Community Hub. The full posts with further details can be found on the Community Hub. I monitor the posts regularly and will continue to amplify anyone looking for funding partners here. *The image is ChatGPT's first interpretation of a community hub. What do you think? 😂 I'm a big fan of the rainbow motif. #innovation #collaboration #networking #immersivetech #XR #VR #AR #spatialcomputing #health #healthtech #mentalhealth #funding #NHS Innovate UK Innovate UK Business Connect

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"But we just need something simple..." 👀 Famous last words before a software project spirals out of control! Here's what REALLY needs to happen before you kick off that bespoke software project: Define your ACTUAL problem 🎯 Not just "we need an app" - but what's genuinely broken? What's costing you money? What's making your team curse under their breath? Map your current process 📝 Even the ugly parts. Especially the workarounds Including Sharon's special spreadsheet that somehow keeps everything running Think 5 years ahead 🔮 How fast are you growing? What might change? Who needs to use this system? Get real about hidden costs 💰 Ongoing maintenance. Training time. Integration headaches. Future changes. Support costs Talk to your ACTUAL users 🗣️ Because Karen in accounts does things differently than what your management thinks happens... trust me 😅 The truth? A good bespoke software project starts way before the first line of code. Skip these steps and you'll join the "it seemed simple at first" club - and trust me, nobody wants to be in that club! 🙈 Want to avoid the common pitfalls of custom software development? Let's chat! #SoftwareDevelopment #BusinessSoftware #CTO

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WHEN THE MEDIA ASK YOU A SERIES OF SEARCHING QUESTIONS ABOUT FLATDOT'S 5 YEARS TO HELP US CELEBRATE... It's a bit like populating the details of your CV in a 2 page document to have to think back and recall questions like "your biggest challenges?" Given where we are in 2024 with AI and other changes, the SEO landscape is constantly evolving which provides a challenge to all SEO professionals. We understand how to stay on top of these developments but the most important aspect is being transparent with clients on what this means to their performance. Another challenging moment for us was a pivotal one...boxing clever and collaborating with other experts to provide additional skills around technical SEO and planning ROI-driven content strategies. The above has enabled us to immerse ourselves within a client's technical business to make sure we understand how their customers search for their products or services. Will forward details of the full interview when complete. #SEO #manufacturing #knowsley

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So I cancelled my milkround. Not because of bad service. Not from price. No, I logged on to the website, to find that they now require you to manage everything with an app.... So for the odd occassions that I need to pause my milkround, or change the order - and lets face it thats perhaps three times a year, I have to get the app up, and then make the changes there. For the other 8759 hours of the year, it is sat there using up storage space (seriously HOW does it need 230MB of storage...) and the list of permissions it wants to use, and the fact i says it will spam data everywhere.. or at least grab the permissions to do that is beyond acceptable. Modern companies seem to want to slurp as much data as possible for no reason whatsoever. I won't accept that. All the data my milkround needs is my billing data, and whatever I write on a note stuck in the top of the bottle. Thats easy..... why even need a website, let alone the massive security risk of an app thats very hard to verify is being sensible.... What are you thoughts on pointless apps I wonder....

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Following on from my question earlier in the week about return on investment from general privacy awareness training, I'm going to take a dev angle for it. Coming from a dev background, and working with clients in this space day in and day out regarding privacy - I believe it's VITAL that your developers (or at least those writing your specs) are getting role-based training as to what to look for in terms of privacy risks. You should be drawing up privacy related test cases, and for these, you need to get some awareness in place. For the dev folks in my network, are you incorporating privacy from design through to QA? Or is it more of a band-aid afterwards? Any stories of rework you'd care to share?

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