How we work
Here's what working with us looks like.
At every step, you'll know what's happening, who's involved, and what you'll walk away with.
How it works
We follow four steps.
We choose the technology last, once we all know what it needs to do.
First, we work out if we can help, and what the problem really is.
What's the real problem, and why does it matter?
Then we look at how each of your stakeholders will experience the solution.
What are they getting from it? Why do they care?
Then we create the blueprint.
Everything that needs to be built or connected, written in your language.
Then we decide how to build it, and with what technology.
Once we've got all that sorted, let's build something.
How we start
We start by listening.
- We listen
Book a time with us. It's free, and there's no commitment. We'll listen to what you need and get to know the project.
No pitch deck. If you've got a shortlist, bring it. But bring the problem too, and don't be surprised if we spend the time on that instead.
- We outline
We'll tell you if we think we can help and, if so, what the journey would look like.
- We decide together
Then we decide together if there's a next step, and what it is.
- If we can't help
We'll put you in touch with a skilled specialist or vendor who can, so you can still make progress.
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You'll be talking to someone who'd actually do the work.
Before anyone mentions technology, we want to hear what you're trying to achieve, and what's getting in the way.
- Or, if something's already in place
Start with a short review
We look at what you've got and compare it with what the problem actually needs.
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This works well when you've already got something: a system that isn't landing, or a proposal that's hard to judge from the inside.
We talk to the people involved, then write up what we found: the key issues, what we make of them, and what we'd do next.
We weren't involved in getting things to where they are, so we can just lay out the facts. What you do with them is up to you.
Some of our longest projects started as a review.
Step 1
What's the real problem?
- What we'll work out together
Whether the problem in the brief is really the one to solve, and what solving it would be worth to you.
- Who we'll work with
You, your sponsor, and the people closest to the problem.
- What you walk away with
The problem, written down and agreed. It's often not quite the one in the brief.
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Mostly, this is talking: with you, your sponsor, and the people who do the work every day. We'll ask why, more than once, to get to the need behind the need.
We keep things small until we know we're on firm ground.
Then we write it down in plain English, not in technology terms. It's often the first time anyone has put the problem in one sentence.
If that's all you need, it's a good place to stop.
Step 2
What do the stakeholders get?
- What we'll work out together
How the change lands for each group, and what's in it for them.
- Who we'll work with
Anyone the change touches: your teams, management, your customers and your suppliers.
- What you walk away with
For every group, a clear picture of how the change will feel to them, and why they'd want it.
How many groups have to agree?
Drag the slider. Each line is two groups who need to agree on what a record means, who owns it, and who acts on it.
Groups who have to agree
5
Agreements to settle
10
Whatever number you land on, those conversations are the real work. We have them in an order that makes sense, so each one gets settled once and written down.
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For each group, we agree what “working” looks like: these people get this value from it. That's how you'll know it's done, and we agree it before anything gets built.
We listen hardest to the doubters. They often know something useful, and once their concerns are sorted, they're often the biggest supporters.
Everyone gets heard once, properly. Then we write it down, so it doesn't get reopened.
Step 3
What's the blueprint?
- What we'll work out together
What needs to be built and connected to make those first two answers true.
- Who we'll work with
Your team, and whoever might build it.
- What you walk away with
The blueprint: what you'll get, in words your team can use to set priorities.
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The blueprint is also the builder's instructions. It tells whoever builds it what to build, and how you'll know it's right.
Every decision that matters is written down, with the reasons for it and the option we didn't take.
It breaks the work into stages that each stand on their own, starting with what you need first. And it says plainly what isn't being done yet, and why.
The test is simple. Could a team you've never met build from it, without ringing you every day?
Step 4
How do we build it?
- What we'll work out together
Which tool fits your budget, your risk and your sign-off, and who builds it.
- Who we'll work with
Whoever builds it: us, your own team, or a team you choose.
- What you walk away with
A system that does what the blueprint says, for the people it was meant for.
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This is where we choose the tool: after the blueprint, when we know what it actually has to do.
Five things decide it: the shape of your data, how it connects to your other systems, who'll use it and how often, what you have to prove and to whom, and what you already own. If you've already paid for a platform, that counts for a lot.
We start small, deliver quickly, and switch things on in stages, not all at once. The people who'll use each stage test it against what the blueprint said it would do.
If we build it, the team you met is the team you get.
After the build
Once it's live, we stay with you.
A new system is only as good as what people do with it. So we keep going after launch, until using it is just how things are done.
- Training
We train in two rounds, with time in between: the basics first, then using it end to end in your day-to-day work.
- Your own trainers
If you'd rather, we train some of your people to train the rest, so the knowledge stays with you.
- The first thirty days
We stay close while your people settle in. We check in with users, follow up on the training, and make sure the change is sticking.
- Support when you need it
Your users and your management team can come to us for help whenever they need it.
- Constant innovation plan
Every month, we sit down with your project or governance team to look at how the system's going, and agree what, if anything, to change next.
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People have the most questions in the first few weeks, so someone who knows the system is on hand to answer them.
The training check-ins show us who's settled in and who needs more help, so we can help early.
After the first thirty days, the constant innovation plan takes over. Each month we look at how the system's being used and what it could do next. Improvements work best a few at a time, each one bedded in before the next.
Both sides
What you get, and what we need from you.
- What you walk away with
An agreed problem. A clear picture for everyone the change touches. A blueprint in your language. And, if you want it, the build.
- What we need from you
Time with the people who actually do the work, not just the people who describe it. And a sponsor who can settle a disagreement when one comes up.
We'll ask why a lot, before anyone's asked to approve anything. A little patience with that helps.
- What you own
Everything we produce is yours, to use with us or anyone else. It's in plain language, so you won't need us to make sense of it. And your data stays yours.
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Change unsettles people, and it's normal for some to wobble along the way.
We've done this long enough to see the signs early, stay calm, and give people the reassurance they need while the work gets done.
Start here
Bring us the problem.
Bring your brief, and we'll start by listening.