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Field notes

Insights on operations technology and ownership.

Thinking on operational systems, deployment realities, and what we’ve learned from real engagements. Not theory.

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An overhead view of a desk — hands at a laptop, with an open notebook beside it, its pages still blankLatest
Thinking/31 July 2026/12 min read

The most expensive bug is overconfidence

The failures that cost the most rarely come from technology. They come from people believing they understand a system more deeply than they actually do — and from organisations that never test the difference.

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Boulia's Red Stump sign, advising travellers heading west into the Simpson Desert to carry ample food, water and fuel
Company/22 July 2026/4 min read

A weekend in Boulia, and what the field teaches

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A whiteboard with a reframed problem statement written as a 'how might we' question
Thinking/20 July 2026/6 min read

How might we: turning a vague worry into a problem worth solving

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Monthly field notes, in your inbox

Field Notes monthly. No filler.

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July 20264 notes
18A week in Singapore, and what stuck with us06Your systems, in the open: the Client Hub and status page are live06How much does custom software cost in Australia?01Fable 5, in plain English
June 20264 notes
27Are you behind?17One year in13The agent that runs your operation can't be on call08Getting off spreadsheets won't fix this
May 20265 notes
31Field Notes — May 202629Careers Day at The Gap State High School26Why we won't quote your project until you pay us to understand it19The right firm should welcome your scepticism12When the model was the system
April 20263 notes
27The operational decay audit21Shipped in weeks, inherited for years14When the operation runs on people instead of systems
March 20261 note
17The hidden cost of skipping an operating layer

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