Building and implementing solutions is hard and costly. Most projects run into delays or overruns because conditions for success have not been fulfilled. The complexity is that we are not properly aligned within the team and with our business stakeholders on the specific elements that need to be developed. The aim should be to develop exactly that what brings maximum value to the business and to do that effectively.

We developed a methodology, Digital Innovation Accelerator, that prevents project failures and increases project output value for the business. The methodology is combining already available concepts such as Scrum / Agile to streamline project execution. Digital Innovation Accelerator brings innovation into your organisation in a cost effective way.

STRATEGIC FOUNDATION

Understanding the WHY from a business perspective gives great insights to what we are trying to achieve. As often happens, once we go down the road of specification, we tend to lose sight of the WHY. Setting clear objectives, targets and KPIs prevent this. Also defining principles and conditions which are relevant for the end product are crucial to prevent rework later in the product life cycle. And, bringing ideas and functionality back to the core reasons for its existence gives you the pillars for a minimal viable product.

DESIGN EXPERIENCE

Without clear design specifications we tend to live with the idea that everybody has the same perception of the product to be developed. In practice this almost never happens. Doing it right means putting different skills and perspectives in the team which means we need to align on what we want to develop before we start. Firstly, we take the perspective of the user and define user groups and their user journeys. This is further detailed out in specific use cases with clear acceptance criteria, shaping the scope of the development. Second, we need to be clear on the requirements and use of the product or application for the different phases of it’s existence and third, we want to visually understand what the product will look like, for most the best way to get full alignment.

EXECUTION ROADMAP

The last 3 steps are focused to create a roadmap and set the right circumstances for effective development and Sprint processes. Having sufficient support from Stakeholders and a fast operating governance process for making decisions is crucial to keep delays and budget overruns out of the door. A good understanding of the potential risks and dependencies enable mitigation actions to prevent those to become project and development issues. And obviously, once all these steps have been taken, we need to create an implementation plan where all criteria are checked for completion prior to the start of the development processes. Especially when you outsource your development team the implementation plan clarifies all of the elements for outside or new team members.