Paul Grenyer

HELP KEEP NORWICH & NORFOLK ON THE TECH NATION MAP IN 2018 Tech Nation is a groundbreaking series of reports on the UK’s digital tech ecosystem. Over the last three years – it has captured the strength, depth and breadth of activity across the UK. It has revealed the scale of the digital tech sector, captured its growth, and – crucially – developed an understanding of the characteristics of the communities driving it. We hope to make Tech Nation 2018 the best report yet. To do this, we need your help. Last year the survey had 2,700 responses, this year we hope to reach 11,000 responses, and to hear from all tech communities in the UK to allow us to provide the most up to date and insightful data on the UK tech community in 2018. If you work in or run a business in the technology, digital sector or any business that is related to or supports these sectors such as investors, legal, education etc. then we need your input. We want to hear from you on topics such as diversi...

What: Full Day Workshop: BDD with Cynefin - Liz Keogh When: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 9:00am to 4:45pm Where: The King's Centre, King Street, Norwich, NR1 1PH How much: £130.00 RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/Norfolk-Developers-NorDev/events/245781564/ Behaviour-Driven Development is a practice in which we talk through different examples (scenarios) of how a system might work, from the perspective of its many users. In this unique tutorial we mix BDD with Cynefin, the sensemaking framework that helps makes sense of the world around you and the problems you encounter depending on their predictability. The course provides thinking and conversational tools to enable teams, product owners and managers to address risk early, develop a deep understanding of requirements at different scales, shorten the time needed to reach that understanding, produce high-quality, innovative solutions, and create human-readable, relevant and memorable tests as a by-product… and it...

Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results Stephen Guise  (Author) ISBN-13: 978-1494882273 I’ve read quite a few self help books and while they always seem really good at the time, I’m not particularly good at following through. I guess I don’t necessarily have the willpower or the presence of mind to do what they recommend. Mini Habits are different. They’re to small for failure. There’s lots of repetition, which is slightly irritating until towards the end of the book the when the author hints as to why. As the author often says, you start with ridiculously small habits, the reoccuring examples are one pushup a day and writing 50 words a day, because it gets you into the habit, making it easier to do more. But you only have to achieve the small habit you set out to do. That’s what success looks like. So you can’t fail. The book was recommended to me by my good friend Tom Bool . Soon after I started reading the book I started walking everyday right around the park. T...

From the moment I walked into the refectory at the Cathedral, ahead of the Saturday night pitches, I felt there was something special going to happen. It wasn’t until the pitches actually began an hour or so later, that I realised exactly what it was. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never been to Sync The City, despite it being in its fourth year. The idea behind the event it to build a tech based startup in just 54 hours and then pitch for funding at the end. It was these final pitches I had come to see. Twelve startups waited anxiously for Fiona Lettice, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the UEA, SyncNorwich and Sync The City organiser, to make her introduction to this year's event. She described Sync The City as The Apprentice crossed with Dragon’s Den, with all the tension and hard work compressed into a little over two days. With this, and the prize of £3,000 in funding on their minds, the twelve groups began their pitches. When I’d been in the refectory earlier there was clearly som...

How Norfolk Chamber of Commerce can help digital business When: Tuesday 5th December, 7.30am to 8.30am. Where: Maidshead Hotel, Norwich How much: £13.95 RSVP:   https://www.meetup.com/Norfolk-Developers-NorDev/events/qqwhznywqbhb/ 7.30 am Breakfast 7.50 am How Norfolk Chamber of Commerce can help digital business 8.30 am Finish Successful Norfolk entrepreneur Chris Sargisson was appointed as Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce in June 2017. Chris was educated in Norwich and lives in the city with his wife and two children. He worked in the 1990s shaping Norwich Union Direct before leaving to set up and launch its4me plc, one of the UK’s most successful online car insurance brokers and major Norwich employer. Chris also created House Revolution, one of the UK’s first online estate agencies, alongside running his own business consultancy practice which has helped organisations of all sizes across the UK. At the nor(Dev) breakf...

My comfort zone had left the building. Heading out on a cold, dark, Monday evening to yet another Norwich networking event is not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s certainly not mine, and definitely not with the cream of the Norfolk tech sector midway through my first attack of a winter cold in I don’t know how long. We all do things we think might help us to build relationships in business and gain favours with those people around us that might help to push us in the right direction. Accepting an invitation to the November nor(DEV):biz dinner at The Library Restaurant in Norwich was one of those such occasions. I had worked opposite The Library for about 3 years and not actually made it into the building. Seeing as I have been known to travel many miles through the most challenging of conditions for some decent eats and beautiful architecture, I wrapped myself up and loaded with tissues, I braved the elements resolutely deciding to be back home and in bed by 9:30pm. I could get thro...

Defining what it is to be a machine is tricky to say the least. In everyday terms a machine is something man-made that performs an automated function. Computers are often referred to as machines but they are much more than the limited definition above. Perhaps, instead of trying to pin down exactly what a ‘machine’ is in the 21st century, it would be more pertinent to define what a machine is to us. Isaac Asimov once described machines as ‘the true humanising influence’. In his mind machines would only be used to perform functions and carry out tasks that make life possible, leaving humans more time to do the things that make life worthwhile. Essentially through their ability to perform mundane but necessary actions, machines would allow us to indulge in every part of life outside basic functions, to allow us to enjoy what it is to be human. From a more modern writer’s point of view, machines have gone beyond their initial point of freeing us to taking us over. Stephen King focuse...