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Training & Community

Speak Effectively At Conferences By Sheen Brisals

SpeakEffectively

In this post, I review the 2025-04 early release of Sheen Brisals’ self-published 2025 book Speak Effectively At Conferences.

Table of Contents

Introduction

This year I’ve hit double digits in my speaker profile (I know, right – how did that happen?! – Ed). And, as with my tech career, I’m always looking for ways to improve my public speaking skills.

The internet is full of advice and suggestions, but I often wonder if they’re valid and trustworthy. I also ask questions of myself. Have I picked up bad habits? Am I practising my own advice?

So when I found out about Speak Effectively At Conferences it seemed like a good investment. After reading it, I want to reflect on my expectations and the insights gained from the book. Before I dive in, let’s take a moment to learn about the author.

The Author

Sheen Brisals is an experienced engineering leader with a career beginning in the early 1990s, including roles at Oracle, Lego and, most recently, Sky. He is an international speaker, an O’Reilly author and an AWS Serverless Hero.

The Book

From the Speak Effectively At Conferences blurb:

Speak Effectively At Conferences…goal is to make everything about speaking at conferences known to you. It aims to familiarize you with the entire process, grow your comfort level, raise your confidence, and transform you into an effective speaker!

Speak Effectively At Conferences is published on Leanpub, a self-publishing platform where authors can release their work in stages and get feedback. It is currently available at a suggested price of $20, with discounts for students and low-income readers.

As of June 2025, Speak Effectively At Conferences is an early-release eBook. I am reviewing version 10 of the book, which was published on 11 April 2025. The book is still undergoing editing and review, and the content will be updated as this process continues. The final release will also include page numbers and an ePub version.

Motivations

This section examines my motivations for buying and reading Speak Effectively At Conferences.

Boost My Knowledge & Skills

So far, I’ve been very fortunate to have access to some great speaking-focused resources, such as:

Speak Effectively At Conferences offered an opportunity to validate skills and learn from an expert. Sheen is renowned for his speaking expertise, and his book provided a great chance to explore his knowledge and insights.

Build My Confidence

Speaking of knowledge and skills, anyone reviewing my speaker profile, community involvement and career history might conclude that I am reasonably confident in using and applying them.

The reality is quite different. While I can claim to be more confident now than I was when I started this mad journey, there’s still much to work on as part of a pursuit that’s essentially endless.

As I connect with more speakers at various events, I’ve noticed that managing confidence and anxiety is a factor at all experience levels. Speakers often enjoy sharing tips with one another, so I was eager to discover what suggestions Speak Effectively At Conferences could provide. Ultimately, it could at least confirm whether others share my current habits and strategies.

Define A Roadmap

Currently, I find myself in an unexpected position as a speaker. On one hand, I can’t really call myself a new speaker anymore as my speaker events list is now in double digits. On the other hand, I don’t feel that I have enough experience to call myself an experienced speaker.

I’m seeking resources to help me advance to the next level (whatever that is). But I find myself struggling to identify what that looks like and entails. What should I measure and develop? What separates my counterproductive habits from my unique selling points?

Ultimately, I don’t know what I don’t know. Well, Sheen does! My hope with Speak Effectively At Conferences was that it would share some of his decades of experience and expertise, and might guide me towards answering some of these questions.

Book Review

In this section, I’ll summarise the various parts of Speak Effectively At Conferences and examine what stood out in each.

Part 1: Your Knowledge

Part 1 of Speak Effectively At Conferences begins before any words are spoken or slide decks are produced. It explores the historical significance of public speaking and its role in supporting basic human instincts like public gathering and group learning. Sheen examines how public speaking fosters knowledge, skills and trust for both the audience and the speaker. Additionally, the section addresses common mental barriers that new speakers may encounter.

Having built up the case for speaking, Sheen examines how to build credibility as a speaker. He explores several approaches to this, offering support and guidance on getting started. Not everyone enjoys writing or can film content, so this broad overview is a valuable addition.

Part 2: The Stage

Part 2 of Speak Effectively At Conferences focuses on the various aspects of the conference ecosystem. Sheen’s expertise is immediately apparent as he divides conferences into four (Four! – Ed) distinct groupings and examines the differences between them. These groupings all make sense – I’d just never thought about conferences in those terms before!

Sheen also explores various speaking venues, both common and uncommon. I can already tick a few off my list, including a warehouse and a cinema. However, I think I’m still a way off speaking in a ballroom!

Part 2 also examines the facilities and technology available to speakers, ranging from audio and visual equipment to private and backstage facilities. These tools vary depending on the venue – for example, don’t expect a teleprompter at a user group event. However, the right tech can make or break a session – something I can personally attest to, having been an attendee, speaker and stage manager (kinda – Ed)! I now have a persistent mistrust of HDMI cables.

Finally, Sheen comments on some of the perks of public speaking. I can imagine he gets asked about this a lot! Some of his experiences match mine – I’ve been invited to two speaker meals so far, although my nerves got the better of me for the first one! This section emphasises the themes of humility and modesty from Part 1 while considering these perks. Ultimately, public speaking isn’t about you; it’s about your audience.

Part 3: Content is King; Context is Queen

Part 3 of Speak Effectively At Conferences focuses on the lifecycle of a session, from creation to rehearsal. It begins with idea generation, curation and development. I use my Second Brain for this, and it appears that Sheen does something similar!

Then there’s a whole chapter dedicated to submitting talks, which is probably the star of the entire book for me. The Call For Paper (CFP) process has a fair amount of mystery attached to it, and rightfully so as the process should be as fair as possible. Sheen has been on both sides of the CFP process – both as applicant and reviewer – and the chapter fully reflects his wealth of experience.

Sheen also discusses how to handle CFP rejections, so don’t approach this chapter expecting hacks or a checklist for success! This is a common experience for most speakers – indeed, my Data Pipelines and Step On It sessions currently have rejection rates of 30% and 40%, respectively. So this is a thoughtful addition.

Part 3 then focuses on designing the talk itself. Sheen discusses essential elements such as the structure, flow and composition of a presentation. He then moves on to exploring slide design choices, offering creative tips and addressing common pitfalls. Part 3 ends by examining the rehearsal process. I personally have strong opinions about rehearsals that are built around another mantra of mine:

“The audience is making time for you, so make time for them.”

So seeing Sheen’s approach is very welcome. It seems we both rehearse in hotels!

20241002 HotelSmall

It was hard to summarise this part of Speak Effectively At Conferences – there’s loads of great advice that I don’t want to spoil or misrepresent! I already see this part as the one I’ll return to most often. Most of my bookmarks led to pages here, and the advice is credible, informative and relatable.

Part 4: The Delivery

Part 4 of Speak Effectively At Conferences focuses on the act of delivering sessions. It begins by focusing on physical stance, breathing, and vocalisation, followed by exercises for mentality and concentration.

Sheen then turns his attention to preparation. This is an area with many facets, ranging from the technical and personal to the administrative. Drawing on his own experiences, Sheen offers guidance that helps readers identify what is most relevant to their current needs.

Finally, Sheen emphasises the importance of delivering a compelling session by sharing strategies for engaging the audience and improving stage presence. He offers tips for audience interaction, including how to set expectations, a framework for addressing audience questions and, equally importantly, managing off-stage interactions with the audience. This aspect often discourages many individuals from speaking, so it is reassuring to see it included.

Part 5: Life As A Speaker

Part 5 of Speak Effectively At Conferences discusses what happens after the screens go dark and the audience departs. Sheen explores themes of reflection and introspection, focusing on recognising both strengths and areas for improvement. This section also discusses feedback, highlighting what speakers can offer to the organisers and what they can receive from attendees. Learning how to give and receive feedback is an important skill, and it is an area that I need to develop.

To close, Sheen explains how he organises and shares his content. This is essential for both current projects and past materials. A well-structured and reliable warm storage system is easy to navigate, simple to access and share and effective for version control. Additionally, a legacy storage system serves as a valuable and robust knowledge repository, is easy to back up and provides guidance for the development of future content.

Thoughts

In this section, I share my thoughts on the book and how it aligns with my motivations for reading it. As the book is currently subject to change, I may revisit some of these sections in the future as needed.

Structure & Scope

The structure of Speak Effectively At Conferences is logical and well thought out, covering the entire lifecycle of a session from initial development to final retrospective. I found certain chapters particularly interesting, and they were easy to find and complemented the surrounding content. I’ve placed several bookmarks throughout the book that I’m already revisiting now, and will continue to refer to in the coming months and years.

I feel like the book’s title doesn’t do it justice. Speak Effectively At Conferences almost sells the book short, as its advice goes far beyond the conference circuit. People might see this book’s title and think it doesn’t apply to them, but Sheen’s insights are equally valid at meetups, internal presentations and many other social settings. That’s not to say every speaker will benefit from every chapter – some may not aspire to present at re:Invent; others may be content with their idea curation. However, the book’s layout and tone make it easy to find and extract the advice that fits a speaker’s specific needs.

Style & Personality

Sheen’s writing style closely reflects his personality. The book is written in a conversational and approachable manner. Many chapters incorporate Sheen’s real-world experiences, not all of which are positive. This blend of honest and credible advice, alongside an inviting tone, brought many key insights to life for me.

In fact, I found myself mentally reading several sections in his voice. If you’re reading this, Sheen, an audiobook version might be a great idea!

Takeaways & Reflections

Learning about Sheen’s speaking journey has given me valuable perspective and guidance for my own speaking goals. I found myself nodding in agreement in some parts and recognising improvement areas in others.

My main goals as a speaker have always been to improve my communication skills and build my confidence. Speak Effectively At Conferences reaffirms that speaking, like any skill, requires time, practice and a willingness to fail. Sheen’s humility and openness are evident throughout, and his willingness to share his less polished moments with his proud ones makes the book all the more impactful.

Summary

In this post, I reviewed the 2025-04 early release of Sheen Brisals’ self-published 2025 book Speak Effectively At Conferences.

Speak Effectively at Conferences is a valuable resource that offers practical advice for speakers at all levels. Sheen draws on decades of experience to provide practical guidance, whether creating a first presentation or practising a keynote speech. I plan to refer back to it often and am very pleased with my purchase.

Sheen is currently actively working on the book. The final version will be available on Amazon and other booksellers. Follow Sheen’s LinkedIn for the latest developments.

If this post has been useful then the button below has links for contact, socials, projects and sessions:

SharkLinkButton 1

Thanks for reading ~~^~~

Categories
Data & Analytics

Practical Lakehouse Architecture By Gaurav Thalpati

2025 04 PracticalLakehouseArchitectureByGauravThalpati800600

In this post, I review Gaurav Ashok Thalpati’s 2024 book ‘Practical Lakehouse Architecture‘ published by O’Reilly Media.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I first found O’Reilly books a few years back in a Data Engineering-themed Humble Bundle. Since then, I’ve built an extensive library of both e-books and physical books, with many more on my Amazon wish list. At the start of 2025, I decided to actually start reading them…

So far, I’ve finished three. Now, I don’t feel compelled to review them all. But having finished Practical Lakehouse Architecture I decided to start the Shark Shelf. This will be an occasional series of review posts about books that I really like, or that deserve some fanfare. And yes – How To Solve It belongs on the Shark Shelf.

Now let’s talk about Practical Lakehouse Architecture.

The Author

Gaurav Ashok Thalpati hails from Pune, India, where he’s worked as an independent cloud data consultant for decades. He’s a blogger and YouTuber, holds multiple data certifications and is an AWS Community Builder.

In July 2024, O’Reilly published his first book, Practical Lakehouse Architecture.

The Book

From the Practical Lakehouse Architecture blurb:

This guide explains how to adopt a data lakehouse architecture to implement modern data platforms. It reviews the design considerations, challenges, and best practices for implementing a lakehouse and provides key insights into the ways that using a lakehouse can impact your data platform, from managing structured and unstructured data and supporting BI and AI/ML use cases to enabling more rigorous data governance and security measures.

Practical Lakehouse Architecture was released in July 2024. It is available in both physical and eBook forms from O’Reilly, Amazon US, Amazon UK and eBooks.

Motivations

Reading a book?! In 2025?! I know, right? This section examines my motivations for buying and reading Practical Lakehouse Architecture.

Project Wolfie

I recently wrote about the beginning of Project Wolfie. I kinda expected to have started coding by now. Instead, most of my work is currently on paper and whiteboards. But there’s a good reason for this.

Project Wolfie is greenfield. I don’t have any existing code or resources, and I can use modern tools freely. However, with this freedom comes responsibility. Every choice I make now affects the architecture and involves tradeoffs. As much as I want to start working on the deliverables, I also want to make sensible decisions that can withstand scrutiny.

My hope with Practical Lakehouse Architecture was that it would help me with critical areas like observability, CI/CD, and security. Because it’s not that there isn’t advice online…

Advice Spread Thin

Lakehouse architectures are relatively recent in the data landscape. As a result, their understanding is not as established as that of data warehouses and data lakes, and some aspects of Lakehouse architecture are still evolving.

Many Lakehouse resources are either brief overviews, opinionated deep dives into specific use cases or marketing posts acting as best practices. This makes it hard to find balanced advice. My hope with Practical Lakehouse Architecture was that it would offer clear, unbiased views.

Professional Curiosity

As of 2025, I’ve spent nearly a decade in technical data roles. And in that time I’ve seen massive changes in data management, ranging from a server cupboard in Stockport to huge, multi‑region distributed data platforms.

Over the years, I’ve cultivated a passion for data technology, evolving from writing blog posts and speaking at meetups to working as an AWS consultant. As an AWS Community Builder in the Data category, I can access early previews and best practices from AWS experts. Additionally, as an AWS User Group Leader, I help attendees and guest speakers discuss data patterns.

With this in mind, I was curious about what new insights Practical Lakehouse Architecture could offer me.

Book Review

Onto the review! In this section, I’ll summarise the chapters and examine what stood out in each.

Chapters 1 – 3

The first set of chapters introduces the foundations of Lakehouse architecture, comparing it with traditional models and exploring the importance of storage in modern data platforms.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Lakehouse Architecture lays the groundwork for the book, putting all readers on equal footing for the chapters ahead. Gaurav starts by defining and exploring the ideas and concepts of various data architectures. He then examines the characteristics, evolution and benefits of the Lakehouse architecture.

Chapter 1 can be viewed on the O’Reilly site.

Chapter 2: Traditional Architectures and Modern Platforms contrasts the Lakehouse architecture with traditional data lakes and data warehouses, outlining the benefits and limitations of each. Gaurav then shifts his focus to how modern cloud platforms have transformed these traditional architectures.

I like how Gaurav hasn’t dismissed lakes and warehouses here. Both are proven and well-understood options, and they are still the better choice in certain situations over Lakehouses.

Chapter 3: Storage: The Heart Of The Lakehouse examines the various factors surrounding data storage. Gaurav looks at row-based and column-based storage formats. He then explains the features and uses of Parquet, ORC, and Avro. He also compares newer open table formats, like Iceberg, Hudi, and Delta Lake, highlighting their similarities, differences, and use cases.

This is one area where the book really shines. Having topics like this explained clearly in one place, without having to go online, is incredibly useful!

Chapters 4 – 6

Next, these chapters focus on the operational and organisational elements of Lakehouse architectures. Topics include metadata management, compute engines, and governance. These elements are essential for effectively scaling and securing a modern data platform.

Chapter 4: Data Catalogs explores the purpose of data catalogs and the different types of metadata they can contain. It explains how catalogs support essential processes such as classification, governance, and lineage. Gaurav also compares data catalog implementations across AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Including multi-cloud examples both broadens the chapter’s scope and reinforces the cloud-agnostic nature of Lakehouse architecture – an important theme of the book.

Chapter 5: Compute Engines for Lakehouse Architectures examines compute options for batch and real-time data processing. Gaurav covers open-source tools such as Spark, Flink, and Presto, as well as cloud-native services like AWS Glue, Google BigQuery, and Databricks. He offers practical advice for selecting a compute engine, considering factors such as provisioning complexity, open-source support and AI/ML capabilities.

Chapter 6: Data and AI Governance and Security in Lakehouse Architecture explores governance and security, crucial areas for any production-ready data platform. Gaurav discusses core topics such as data quality, ownership, sensitivity and compliance. He also explores how governance responsibilities span both business and technical domains, emphasising the importance of organisational roles in maintaining control and oversight.

Chapters 7 – 9

Finally, these chapters focus on the practical realities of Lakehouse implementation – moving between theory and practice, and looking ahead to the architecture’s potential future.

Chapter 7: The Big Picture: Designing and Implementing a Lakehouse Platform examines considerations ranging from requirements gathering to defining business goals. Recommended Lakehouse zones are analysed and explained, and the expectations for each zone are defined. Finally, CICD is considered, and a sample design questionnaire is provided to help guide implementation planning.

Zones, or layers, are currently one of the most contentious areas of Lakehouse architectures. I like Gaurav’s stance on this – it’s somewhat similar to Simon Whiteley‘s. Yup – this video again.

Chapter 8: Lakehouse in the Real World does something I don’t see often – contrasting ideal scenarios with real-world events. It covers key stages in a Lakehouse’s development like analysis, testing and maintenance, examining what could go wrong and offering mitigation strategies.

This section is definitely accurate, as I’ve encountered some of these factors! It includes comparing greenfield and brownfield implementations, examining how business constraints affect technology choices, and considering if the desired RPO and RTO targets are financially and logistically possible.

Finally, Chapter 9: Lakehouse Of The Future looks ahead, exploring how Lakehouses might evolve in the years to come. Gaurav discusses potential intersections with trends like Data Mesh, Zero ETL and AI model integration. He also introduces emerging technologies like Delta UniForm and Apache XTable, which aim to improve interoperability across data processing systems and query engines. Finally, he touches on future innovations such as Apache Puffin and Ververica Streamhause that could further transform the data landscape.

(Sidenote: this Dremio post explores UniFrom and XTable very well.)

Thoughts

Having finished the book (in two weeks no less!), here are my thoughts:

Firstly, it’s not an intimidating read. At 283 pages, Practical Lakehouse Architecture is authoritative and content-rich without being overly complex or wordy. It also uses familiar O’Reilly conventions and style. When placed next to similar books I own, like The Data Warehouse Toolkit (600 pages) and Designing Data-Intensive Applications (614 pages), it’s easier to pick up and get into. And with some books, that’s a battle in itself!

PXL 20250417 143214247~2

Also, Practical Lakehouse Architecture‘s flow is very natural and the chapters make their points very well. I find some technical books, including some O’Reilly ones, hard to follow because they feel disjointed and jargon-heavy. That wasn’t the case here. The book held my attention very well throughout, and will serve me well as a future reference point.

Practical Lakehouse Architecture also feels like it will be relevant for a while. Some of my technical books have sections that are now outdated due to rapid technological changes. Here, ideas such as decoupled storage and compute, unified governance, and data personas will continue to matter for years to come.

Overall, an excellent book that I enjoyed reading.

Summary

In this post, I reviewed Gaurav Ashok Thalpati’s 2024 book ‘Practical Lakehouse Architecture‘ published by O’Reilly Media.

Ultimately, Practical Lakehouse Architecture is a well-written and informative book that caters to a wide range of skills. It’s a strong addition to the O’Reilly catalogue and complements titles like Rukmani Gopalan‘s 2022 book, The Cloud Data Lake, which I’m currently reading. It’s a great knowledge source for this constantly evolving modern data architecture.

If this post has been useful then the button below has links for contact, socials, projects and sessions:

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Thanks for reading ~~^~~

Categories
Me

Fixing A Broken Tap With George Pólya

2022 10 31 SolvingABrokenTapWithGeorgePolya

In this post, I use the principles in “How To Solve It” by George Pólya to diagnose and fix my broken kitchen tap. Yes – really.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Bit of a change this time. Let me set the scene.

It’s time to top up Wolfie’s water bowl, so to the kitchen sink we go. Two unexpected events happen when the tap is turned on:

  1. The water flow goes mental and starts spraying everywhere.
  2. Something gets launched out of the tap into the water bowl:
Aerator Initial

My first thought is that the tap is broken and that I’ll need to buy a new one. And then get a plumber to fit it. Great.

But wait. Last year I fixed some broken panes in our greenhouse. This year I’ve built a potting bench, fixed a leaky water butt and mounted a shower rail. Is this a problem I can solve?

This Doesn’t Sound Like Technology

True. It is, though, a chance to write a post I’ve fancied doing for a while. And this set of circumstances was too compelling to pass up.

Last year I became aware of a book called “How To Solve It” by George Pólya. The recommendation included a chart based on the book, similar to this one:

Source: KPMathematics

What struck me was how close these steps were to the Systems Development Life Cycle I was taught at college. My interest was piqued.

Around the same time, I was getting to grips with my new Data Engineer role. Since then, I’ve used the “How To Solve It” principles to help me complete work both for my role and for this blog.

Now, faced with a new unfamiliar situation, I can demonstrate how the “How To Solve It” principles can be applied beyond mathematics. In this case I’m fixing a broken tap, but this could just as easily be a Python bug, a poorly performing SQL query or an AWS authentication issue.

Here is my plan:

  • Firstly, I’ll examine the “How To Solve It” book.
  • Secondly, I’ll look at the author of the book – George Pólya.
  • Then I’ll look at each of the George Pólya principles, relating them to the broken tap problem I want to solve.

Let’s start with the book.

How To Solve It

Source: Penguin

‘A superb book on how to think fresh thoughts … A walk inside Pólya’s mind as he builds up maxims on how to comprehend a problem, how to build up a strategy, and then how to test it.’

David Bodanis, Guardian

‘Everyone should know the work of George Polya on how to solve problems’

Marvin Minsky

How To Solve It can be bought on Penguin’s website.

History

How To Solve It was written in 1945 by George Pólya. Since then, the book has stayed in print and has been translated into over a dozen languages. It has sold more than 1 million copies, making it one of the most widely circulated mathematics books in history.

Four Principles

How To Solve It explains in non-technical terms how to think about invention, discovery, creativity and analysis. Central to this are four principles:

  1. First. You have to understand the problem.
  2. Second. Find the connection between the data and the unknown. You may be obliged to consider auxiliary problems if an immediate connection cannot be found. You should obtain eventually a plan of the solution.
  3. Third. Carry out your plan
  4. Fourth. Examine the solution obtained.

The book also poses several questions for each principle. They aim to stimulate thought and produce the answers needed to satisfy each principle.

These can be seen in the below image from the book’s first edition:

2022 10 25 HowToSolveItInsideCover

They are also available as text from the University of Utah’s summary of 1957’s second edition.

Although How To Solve It was written with mathematics in mind, the book’s principles have been applied to additional disciplines over the decades. Pólya seems to take great care not to limit the scope of How To Solve It, speaking of problems in general terms throughout the book.

One such example is this extract:

A great discovery solves a great problem but there is a grain of discovery in the solution of any problem. Your problem may be modest; but if it challenges your curiosity and brings into play your inventive faculties, and if you solve it by your own means, you may experience the tension and enjoy the triumph of discovery.

“How To Solve It” – George Pólya

How To Solve It remains in high regard to this day. The Math Sorcerer produced this video in July 2022, and his affection for the book is clear.

Sources

Next, let’s look at the book’s author – George Pólya.

George Pólya

George Pólya
Source: MacTutor

George Pólya (December 13 1887 – September 7 1985 aged 97) was a Hungarian mathematician. He was a professor of mathematics from 1914 to 1940 at ETH Zürich in Hungary, and from 1940 to 1953 at Stanford University in North America having moved there during World War 2.

After retiring from Stanford, Pólya remained active in his field. He continued his association with Stanford as Professor Emeritus well into his 90s and taught a course in their Computer Science Department in 1978.

Works

In pure mathematics, Pólya made important discoveries in fields including probability, real and complex analysis, combinatorics, geometry, number theory and mathematical physics.

Several of his discoveries bear his name, including:

Pólya also authored and contributed to numerous books and articles throughout his life, a selection of which can be seen on Wikipedia.

Recognition

Pólya was well-regarded by his peers and awards given to him included:

“He has given a new dimension to problem-solving by emphasizing the organic building up of elementary steps into a complex proof, and conversely, the decomposition of mathematical invention into smaller steps.”

and:

“Problem solving a la Polya serves not only to develop mathematical skill but also teaches constructive reasoning in general.”

Sources

There is much more to know about Pólya. The following links detail his life, works and legacy in far greater detail:

Now I’m going to apply the George Pólya principles to my broken tap!

Applying The Principles

In the following sections, I will apply each George Pólya principle from How To Solve It to my tap problem. In each section I will:

  • Quote each principle in full.
  • State the supporting questions that I’ll answer.
  • Relate these to my tap problem.

Principle 1: Understanding The Problem

First. You have to understand the problem.

“How To Solve It” – George Pólya
  • What is the unknown? What are the data? What is the condition?

The Unknown

The unknown is what I want. Here, I want to restore the tap’s original flow rate.

The Data

The data is the information available. This is what was expelled from the tap:

Aerator Initial

Other data:

  • Water was still flowing from the tap.
  • The flow of water was under more pressure than before.

The Condition

The condition is the link between the unknown and the data. Here, whatever has come out of the tap has changed the water’s flow but hasn’t obstructed it.

Principle 2: Devising A Plan

Second. Find the connection between the data and the unknown. You may be obliged to consider auxiliary problems if an immediate connection cannot be found. You should obtain eventually a plan of the solution.

“How To Solve It” – George Pólya
  • Do you know a related problem? Do you know a theorem that could be useful?
  • Here is a problem related to yours and solved before. Could you use it? Could you use its result? Could you use its method?

I searched Google for the phrase “kitchen tap water flow changed”. There was an immediate common thread in the results:

2022 10 26 GoogleResults

The Estes Services link gave a useful definition of an aerator:

“The aerator on your faucet is a mesh screen and covers the water outlet. The aerator catches minerals and other debris in your pipes. It also helps save water by introducing air into the water stream.”

“How to Fix Low Water Pressure in Kitchen” on Estes

Getting somewhere! This led me to “Everything you Need to Know About Tap Aerators” on TapWarehouse, which includes this:

“They save you water by adding oxygen to the flow (and that means saving pennies) and reduce splashing around the bowl of the basin.”

“Everything you Need to Know About Tap Aerators” on TapWarehouse

Mesh screen? Reduced splashing? This definitely sounded like the right area!

Solved Problems

At this point, what came out of the tap sounded very much like an aerator. However, there’s no cleaning something that’s disintegrated, so it was time for a replacement.

TapWarehouse to the rescue again:

“If your existing tap already has an aerator, simply turn it anticlockwise until it’s unscrewed from the tap. Then, simply screw in the new aerator until it’s secure, being careful not to screw it too tightly.”

“How can I Install a Tap Aerator?” on TapWarehouse

TapWarehouse also gave advice on aerator types. There are male and female aerators depending on the tap. There are also various aerator sizes ranging from 16mm to 28mm.

Planned Solution

Based on this research, the solution needed the following steps:

  • Remove the broken aerator.
  • Confirm the aerator type.
  • Confirm the aerator size.
  • Buy a replacement aerator.
  • Fit the replacement aerator.
  • Test the replacement aerator.

Principle 3: Carrying Out The Plan

Third. Carry out your plan.

“How To Solve It” – George Pólya
  • Carrying out your plan of the solution, check each step. Can you see clearly that the step is correct?

Time to remove the broken aerator! Straight into a problem. It wouldn’t budge.

Fortunately, there’s a DIY StackExchange! Advice ranged from WD-40 to vinegar to a hammer and chisel (!), but in the end I used my heat gun on the aerator and removed it with pliers.

I then determines that I needed a 24mm male aerator as a replacement. One trip to B&Q later and:

Aerator Replacement

Fitting the new aerator was a simple matter of screwing it on.

Principle 4: Looking Back

Fourth. Examine the solution obtained.

“How To Solve It” – George Pólya
  • Can you check the result?

BEHOLD:

Tap with running water

Summary

In this post, I used the principles in “How To Solve It” by George Pólya to diagnose and fix my broken kitchen tap. I applied each of the Pólya principles to my problem, and was able to solve it by answering the relevant questions and doing some investigation with the knowledge gained.

If this post has been useful, please feel free to follow me on the following platforms for future updates:

Thanks for reading ~~^~~