Field Notes on That Bearded IT Guyhttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/Recent content in Field Notes on That Bearded IT GuyHugo -- gohugo.ioen-gb© 2026 That Bearded IT GuySun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000A Control Nobody Checks Is Just an Assumptionhttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/acontrolnobodychecksisjustanassumption/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/acontrolnobodychecksisjustanassumption/Two small things that weren’t broken, and why ‘it’s automated’ isn’t the same as knowing it works.Sometimes Improving a Process Means Removing Thingshttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/sometimesimprovingaprocessmeansremovingthings/Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/sometimesimprovingaprocessmeansremovingthings/Why sometimes the best way to improve an IT process is to remove the things that only add unnecessary complexity.From Fixing Problems to Asking Why They Keep Happeninghttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/fromfixingproblemstoaskingwhytheykeephappening/Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/fromfixingproblemstoaskingwhytheykeephappening/How my thinking has developed from fixing individual issues to looking at the service around them.What I Actually Took Away From ITIL v5https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whatiactuallytookawayfromitilv5/Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whatiactuallytookawayfromitilv5/The parts of ITIL v5 that have actually changed how I think about my day-to-day work.Why I'm Interested in ISO 27001https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whyiminterestediniso27001/Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whyiminterestediniso27001/Why information security and ISO 27001 have become areas I’m genuinely interested in learning about.Documentation Isn't Just Something You Write After the Work's Completehttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/documentationisntjustsomethingyouwriteaftertheworkscomplete/Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/documentationisntjustsomethingyouwriteaftertheworkscomplete/Why useful, current documentation is part of delivering a good service.The Ticket Told Me One Thing. The Evidence Told Me Another.https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/thetickettoldmeonethingtheevidencetoldmeanother/Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/thetickettoldmeonethingtheevidencetoldmeanother/Why the first description of a problem is the starting point, not always the diagnosis.What Changes When You're the Engineer on Sitehttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whatchangeswhenyouretheengineeronsite/Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whatchangeswhenyouretheengineeronsite/What I’ve learned from being the engineer responsible for customer support on-site.What Working in an MSP Has Taught Me About IThttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whatworkinginanmsphastaughtmeaboutit/Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whatworkinginanmsphastaughtmeaboutit/What working across multiple customer environments has taught me about support, communication and service.It's Always DNS... Until It Isn'thttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/itsalwaysdnsuntilitisnt/Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/itsalwaysdnsuntilitisnt/Why familiar troubleshooting assumptions can sometimes send you in the wrong direction.When the Fix Is Simpler Than the Investigationhttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whenthefixissimplerthantheinvestigation/Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whenthefixissimplerthantheinvestigation/A real Excel co-authoring issue where the investigation was more complicated than the final fix.Conditional Access: The Policy Isn't Always the Problemhttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/conditionalaccessthepolicyisntalwaystheproblem/Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/conditionalaccessthepolicyisntalwaystheproblem/A practical look at following the evidence through an authentication investigation.What a Good Escalation Actually Looks Likehttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whatagoodescalationactuallylookslike/Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whatagoodescalationactuallylookslike/What I try to include when handing a technical issue to another team.The Problem With Just Closing the Tickethttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/theproblemwithjustclosingtheticket/Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/theproblemwithjustclosingtheticket/Why resolving an incident can be useful while still leaving a wider problem worth looking at.When "It's Not Working" Isn't Enoughhttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whenitsnotworkingisntenough/Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/whenitsnotworkingisntenough/Why turning a vague support issue into something you can actually investigate matters.What 13 Years in the Army Taught Me About IThttps://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/what13yearsinthearmytaughtmeaboutit/Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thatbeardeditguy.co.uk/blog/what13yearsinthearmytaughtmeaboutit/What my Army career taught me about responsibility, preparation, leadership and working in IT.