RESULTS
While there are practical outcomes from the engagement, some of the greatest results from Assurity’s work with the client relate to the processes developed during delivery. This included creating a single operating team and mandate with its own distinct culture to launch ideas at speed.
“We called it the ‘Oceans 11 team’ which consisted of a Technical Lead, Scrum Master, Software Engineers, Test Engineers, Performance Engineers and DevOps Engineers, constantly swarmed by the client’s people. This resulted not only in the contribution of multiple views and insights, but also an exchange of knowledge. And with full access to the client’s operational environment, it meant innovations set up within the Objectives and Key Results framework which explicitly work for the client’s business without having to integrate back into the core technology stack,” explains Simon.
For example, the start-up lab targeted improving the experience for parcel recipients by prototyping changes to delivery addresses while goods are in transit. This was an example of a rapid innovation experiment with a goal set by the Board to ‘improve first-time delivery rates’.
With the client board approving the concept, it was left to the team to deliver.
Assurity’s Design & Innovation approach included a series of ‘alpha experiments’ designed to replace organisational assumptions with facts. Experiments progressed into a ‘beta’ build to create a chat-bot service experience connecting customers with their deliveries. The final design enabled customers to proactively manage their deliveries ensuring any parcel gets to them the first time, every time.
“That’s just one delivery item, but the broader purpose of the engagement was a bold, ambitious effort bringing innovation into heart of the organisation, creating a more resilient, opportunity-based business,” says Simon.
“This depended explicitly on trust. With that achieved, and with access to the very core of the organisation – not only systems, but key personnel – lasting change is the result. And that’s set this client on the path to stake its claim for continued success in these changing times.”