Saturday 4 October 2008

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my new 'Technology For Tesco.com' web log.

So, if you haven't guessed yet, my name is Nick Lansley and I work for Tesco. Specifically I manage R&D projects for Tesco.com which is a hugely rewarding experience and allows me to personally connect with customers who use our service.

Just to fill in some blanks for those of you have never heard of Tesco, the company is one of the world's leading retailers, with a core business of selling groceries through the UK and in a dozen other countries.

Tesco also runs Tesco.com (where I work), an online retail services division which again delivers groceries as part of its core business. It also runs a major 'non-food' service through a catalogue (Tesco Direct), as well as Tesco Personal Finance (all kinds of financial products from credit cards, bank accounts to insurance service) and Tesco Telecoms (Tesco Broadband and Tesco Mobile).

You can find out more about Tesco at http://www.tescocorporate.com which is a great place to start if you wish to understand the context of where I work.

Good!

So now I can get on with my blog. It's purpose is for me to let you know about the Technology Research projects I am working on, the people I am meeting to get these projects up and running, and how & why I have chosen them.

My philosophy for research and development is:
  • Translate observations in industry, business, and the home into specific ideas for analysis.
  • Develop and create value to the company and customers through design excellence.
  • Ensure Tesco.com's competitiveness is protected through continuous improvement and breakthrough innovations.
  • Concentrate on those projects which makes the Tesco.com experience better for customers, simpler for staff and/or cheaper for Tesco (preferably all three!).
  • API: Analyse, Prototype, Improve!

Researching projects and delivering the right results is the journey I will take in this blog. My aim is to write 'little and often' and so you can watch progress.

From time to time I may ask you if you would like to try out something that I have set up on an R&D server and see what you think.

You are welcome to comment as I blog. All I ask is that you keep it relevant to the topic and not use it as an excuse to sound-off about Tesco in general or lament about the price of baked beans or other specific!

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As this blog grows in readership - and because it carries the Tesco brand - I have had to become more careful about the sort of comments that are acceptable. The good news is that I'm a champion of free speech so please be as praising or as critical as you wish! The only comments I DON'T allow through are:

1. Comments which criticise an individual other than myself, or are critical of an organisation other than Tesco. This is simply because they cannot defend themselves so is unfair and possibly libellous. Comments about some aspect of Tesco being better/worse than another equivalent organisation are allowed as long as you start by saying "in my personal opinion.." or "I think that...". ... followed by a "...because.." and some reasoned argument.

2. Comments which are totally unrelated to the context of the original article. If I have written about a mobile app and you start complaining about the price of potatoes then your comment isn't going stay for long!

3. Advertising / web links / spam.

4. Insulting / obscene messages.


Ok, rules done - now it's your go: