Part of the founding team behind M-PESA (fintech from 2005!), passionate about creating digital services that make a difference.
England
Joined October 2010
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Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
Identity, privacy, automation, security... by themselves, these are often "grudge buys" driven by a compliance need or a drive for efficiency. But viewed collectively, they are part of a wave of *empowerment technologies* including personal AI and digital agents - (1/2)
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
Simon Wardley blew my mind a long time ago with Wardley Maps for strategy
His latest post on measurement is a gem.
I broke it down into maxims you should save and review before each project:
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
TL;DR? Stuffing generative models into absolutely everything comes with a significant cost to the planet, and we should use fine-tuned models in cases when tasks are well-defined. 👩🏼💻
Alternative titles we explored include "InferNO" and "Think before you GPT" 😂
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
The secret to engaging stakeholders might just be found in an unexpected blend of storytelling, psychology, and diplomacy.
This is an example of why design matters so much for inclusion… the right words make all the difference to customers. A big part of our M-PESA design principles when sms was our core customer UX…
A polite note to banks...
Confirmation of payee (CoP) has been a big positive move, giving people more confidence they've put the right account number and sort code.
Scary messages work if it the payee doesn't match. Yet when people try to pay an account and the whole bank doesn't do CoP, which is common when moving saving, instead of the overly-scary "we don't recognise this account" type message...
...just a straightforward "the bank you're paying does not have Confirmation of Payment technology so we can't confirm it is right - therefore it is very important you double check before continuing" type would be more balanced.
Please can you look at your messaging.
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
I have found Deep Product Managers are better strategists for their detailed execution.
They don’t make it about strategy OR execution.
With good prioritization, they do strategy AND execution.
Their deep project management drives deep strategic insight.
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
Just a few notes to myself (a driven & ambitious person):
1) Kings are overrated and usually unhappy. It is much better to be kingmaker.
2) Eventually, everyone realizes that they don’t want to be Elon Musk or Steve Jobs. How quickly do you want to get there?
3) Legacy is overrated. So is impact.
4) Learn from everyone & everything. Don’t view people as better or worse than you, worthy or unworthy of teaching you. And if something doesn’t fully resonate, don’t reject it wholesale. Try extracting the useful bits and learn from those. Wisdom is everywhere, if you can spot it.
5) When you find someone inspiring, try to separate their content and their charisma. And if it’s the charisma that inspires, be very careful.
6) The chief indicator of authentic confidence isn’t bravado. It’s the person’s openness to discovering why they’re wrong.
7) Whatever industry or domain you are in is probably smaller than you imagine it is. People talk. Don’t burn bridges over the small stuff.
8) When in doubt about where to take a job, pick the place with the better people. Even if it ends up being the wrong bet, you will still be more fulfilled with your work.
9) In the tech industry, things often change. Platforms change, technologies change, office signs change, employers change, centers of gravity change. The one thing that remains constant is the people. Always optimize for the people.
10) If you choose to understand just one cognitive bias, let it be the Fundamental Attribution Error. If you choose to understand one more cognitive bias, let it be Confirmation Bias.
Last but not least, very important note:
No rule is valid for every single situation in life. Except this rule.
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
If you want to greatly improve your product’s quality & shipping pace, create an environment in which engineers care deeply about customers & have the agency to influence product decisions. This will easily make >10X long-term impact than any new product process, tool, or tactics
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
Thinking deeply about the #DigitalDivide after a conversation on #TheDrTechShow So much of what we do works because of the internet, and doesn't work without...
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
Small long-lived teams with end-to-end responsibility seems to be a common message during #QConLondon
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
A subtle but important tell regarding a company’s product culture is whether it is *possible* to start a new thing without first allocating a PM to it.
If a few engineers and/or a designer either cannot start a new project or are not allowed to do it, that is rarely a good sign.
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
Following the Ukrainian #opensource developers’ call organised by @denysdovhan #OpenUK set up #community contribution link to British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal redcross.org.uk/opensource and contributed £1k & @ScotTechArmy matched £1k. Please share/ give #StandWithUkraine️ – at Islington, London
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
If you saw me on @TheDailyShow with Trevor Noah, that viral clip was from this China in Africa explainer from @BBCAfrica.
The brilliant @nivincent and I did it in London in 2019 (expertly produced by @leylanajafli) but it’s even more relevant today
I'm checking out the #DesignThinking #toolkits that @jaymelone and @newhaircutco created...
Check them out here 👉 bit.ly/DT-toolkits
#facilitator #DesignSprint #ProblemFraming #ProblemPrioritization #ux #hcd #innovation #templates #mural #miro #invision
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
Approximately three billion people, almost 40% of the world’s population, cannot afford a healthy diet and another one billion people would join their ranks should further unpredictable events reduce incomes by one-third, the @UN food agency said.
🔗: uncdf.link/09i
How Fintech Is Unbundling Banking And What That Means For Financial Incl... youtu.be/PqszLxflrT4 via @YouTube
Lesley-Ann Vaughan retweeted
You don't usually get this at a tech conference #OpenUKCop26 – at Glasgow, Scotland
Here’s the way to close an amazing in person “heads up” thinking day in Glasgow at #openukcop26 … big thanks to the organisers! @openuk_uk
