Ben Derham

Front-end developer. Powered by metal and coffee. Supported by dogs.

Specialties

• Accessibility
• Front-end Engineering
• Training & Mentorship
• React
• GraphQL

Find Ben on

• GitHub

• thinkmill method
  Core concepts
  Core concepts are an expression of a project‘s underlying data model and relationships, translated into a written format that the team can build an aligned understanding on.
  October 2024

• thinkmill method
  DACI
  Created by Atlassian – DACI is a framework that helps delivery teams make effective and efficient group decisions.
  October 2024

• thinkmill method
  Mock API
  Mock APIs imitate a real API by providing a realistic mock data response upon request. It’s useful during development and testing when live data is either unavailable or unreliable
  October 2024

• thinkmill method
  Process mapping
  Process mapping surfaces the movement of information and user interaction throughout a system in the form of a flowchart. It captures assumptions or current-state realities related to how the system works, and helps expedite alignment, design, and development,
  October 2024

• thinkmill method
  Activity Mapping
  Activity mapping is a way to dynamically capture, and work on, product requirements in a format that’s more useful than a static document.
  October 2024

• article
  Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): A stepping stone towards a native mobile application
  Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are now a viable option for providing a mobile experience that meets users’ high expectations. This article provides an introduction to the history of PWAs for those new to the topic, as well as what can be expected from them in 2024. We also look at where PWAs sit in the mobile landscape and how they can be a practical stepping stone towards a native application experience in the future.
  August 2024 ·11 min read

• article
  Storybook and Mock APIs: A Powerful Prototyping Combo
  No back-end? No worries! In this tutorial we’ll be using Storybook and a Mock API to create a mocked prototype so we can get on with keeping our stakeholders excited.
  May 2024 ·12 min read

• article
  What we learned applying the Thinkmill Method to a complex accounting app
  We recently wrapped up delivery of a feature for a client’s complex accounting app. The project presented a valuable opportunity to battle-test our thinking around how we build products. We implemented a range of activities and techniques from the Thinkmill Method, and came away with valuable insights related to where it shines, what’s needed in order for it to do so, and how to improve it going forward. Here‘s what we learned along the way.
  May 2023 ·7 min read

• article
  Visualising a schema-led approach using FigJam
  Thinkmill uses a schema-led approach to design, which involves building visual representations of data structures to help teams understand the underlying relationships and dependencies. Recently, we used the Schema Nodes FigJam Widget to visualise the schema and relationships.
  May 2023 ·2 min read

• article
  A day out at DDD Perth 2022
  Highlights from Perth’s annual inclusive conference for the tech community.
  September 2022 ·5 min read

More posts from other Thinkmill voices

• Designing beyond the median user
  For seventy years software has shipped one shape to every user. The confluence of design systems, headless platforms, and agent-native exposure has coalesced to make that constraint optional. A retrospective of the median-user problem and the new architectural horizon now opening.
  June 2026 ·10 min read
• What engineering teams owe for the AI speed boost
  AI-assisted development genuinely accelerated engineering teams, but many organisations stopped at the velocity gains and ignored the accumulating debt. The costs: code nobody fully understands, weakened code review culture, bloated dependency trees, and architectural decisions made without real judgement about tradeoffs...
  May 2026 ·4 min read
• A behavioural framework for the monsters in your team
  The AI in Design 2026 report captures a profession mid-mutation. The "Frankenjob" label the coverage put on it misses the seam where the real work happens.
  May 2026 ·5 min read