Innovation @ guardian.co.uk

Innovation Enablers

1.TechTalks2.HackDay3.DevLabs

TechTalksThought-leader Speaker Series

Educate and inspire us

Get access to some giant brains

Learn about important trends

Raise our profile externally

http://www.flickr.com/photos/janbrasna/206084917

Hack Day24 Hour Code Jam Session

Build whatever you want in a day

Demo your work in 90 seconds

(no powerpoints)

That’s it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thevoicewithin/2218440756/

DevLabs1-week Research Project

Spend focused time looking at hard problemsEducate the entire team

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eriwst/2421129047

DevLabs: ProcessApply for a grant ( £500 ) individually or in small teams

Work outside the room

Show your work after a week

Collect peer reviews

Share grant 50/50 with the most thoughtful peer review

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DevLabs: Deliverables

1. Working code2. A brief paper3. A presentation of the work4. Peer reviews

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DevLabs: Approval Criteria

There is sufficient time available for the participant.The project will positively impact the wider team.The project is not already represented in the demand process

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DevLabs: Peer Reviews

Critical assessments of the work itselfSuggestions for further investigationRecommendations for applying what was learned to improve The Guardian

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/2335984243

DevLabs: Public Outputs

Staff may present their projects at conferences.Code may be shared publicly as an open source project.Projects may be launched into production.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/captivated/104844493/

DevLabs: The Rules1. All staff are encouraged but not required to complete a project.2. Project proposals will be driven exclusively by the participants, never by management.3. Not all projects will be approved. Projects must meet approval criteria.4. Proposals will be reviewed and time will be allocated by the management team.5. A research project will begin on a Monday and completed that same week.6. Presentations will occur on Fridays or at a reasonable time immediately following the

work.7. Projects will be developed in a room other than where normal work is accomplished.8. Hardware and software will be provisioned in advance of the beginning of the project

where required.9. Peer reviews are due within 2 weeks of the completion of the project work.10. The best peer review will be selected by the researcher and the management team. 11. Grants will be awarded after the peer reviews have been completed. Half the grant will

be given to the researcher, and half the grant will be given to the best reviewer.12. Outputs from the project, including the peer reviews, will be posted on the wiki and

available for the whole company to see.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ian_d/185835793/

Innovation is not...

MandatedA competitionThe backdoor to productionBoring

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barwell/114781031

1-Hour 1-Day 1-Week

1.Learn from the masters2.Riff with colleagues3.Discover opportunities

through researchhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/yodelanecdotal/257037171

Now what...?

Apply lessons to our day jobsMake our products betterAdvise other staff on better solutions

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