How to fix: The request is not allowed by the user agent or the platform in the current context, possibly because the user denied permission

It's a good thing browsers don't allow sites to autoplay audio or videos without user interaction.

However, on iOS in particular, you might encounter the error

The request is not allowed by the user agent or the platform in the current context, possibly because the user denied permission.

when there is an async operation between the user interaction and playing of audio.

The good news is there's a workaround for it.

Getting people to believe in your vision

It can be a struggle, endlessly trying to convince your organisation to believe in your ideas and vision.

In this post, I'll share how I managed to do this.

How agile helped Cambridge Assessment to scale

In 2008 the media were reporting on mistakes and delays in marking examination scripts. To ensure they never made the front page of newspapers for the wrong reasons, Cambridge Assessment decided to rethink how they electronically marked examination scripts for millions of students worldwide.

Creating a product culture at Cambridge University Press

In 2015 I was hired by Cambridge University Press to develop a web application providing digital access to over 35,000 books and 1.5 million journal articles, consolidating several smaller sites. The application would go onto have over 2 million users a day and generate £65 million in revenue per year.

It was a fantastic technical learning opportunity, but it was our culture and approach to product development that would teach me the most important lesson of all.