The agile textbooks and many of the leading agile case studies are based on the assumption of an internal team building software on an ongoing programme of product development. However, this is often not the situation in practice as many organisations choose to use a specialist development organisations to help realise their vision in a burst of activity. In these circumstances many of the best practices can quickly break down due to the barriers of a traditional client/supplier relationship and due to the time-bound nature of procurement contracts. In this session, Ric explores what issues may arise and how they can best be avoided, so that an outsourced development setup can deliver even better Agile-led results than an in-house team. Ric recently completed a project for Sanctuary Care, creating a revolutionary care management application that replaced mountains of paper with smartphones, and impacting the lives of thousands of carers and residents. Like most major development projects, this was peppered with challenges around evolving requirements, business change and diverse stakeholders - exactly the elements that have given the IT industry a bad reputation for multiplying budgets and timescales in traditional development environments. Ric looks at how he avoided many of those issues by establishing the right commercial and personal relationships early on, and how he not only avoided issues through these relationships but also maximised the benefits of the end result. About the Speaker Ric runs Ghyston (previously Softwire), a Bristol-based software company that works collaboratively with a wide range of business to make innovative technology solutions. Ric started his career as a technical project manager for the BBC, before joining Softwire as a developer and working his way through numerous roles including project manager, scrum master, programme manager, mentor, consultant, agile coach, general manager and now CEO of the Bristol spin-off. Throughout this winding path Ric has always held a fascination with how to get the best out of people, teams, projects and organisations, both in the short and long term.

1. Care and Collaboration
How the right Agile outsourcing approach
helped transform the way care homes work
Ric Hill @ric_at_ghyston

2. 2
THE CHALLENGE
A GENUINE “DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION”
Remove stacks of paper
“care plans” from the
organisation
Make it easier for carers to see what
they need to do
Give carers more time to care
Allow management to see and act
on any issues

3. THE INITIAL CONUNDRUM
PROJECT BACKGROUND
3
≠
Buyer User
The #1 success factor in software
projects is user adoption, which
is driven by collaboration
Traditional procurement
methods are transactional
and distant from users

4. HOW AN OUTSOURCE APPROACH
NORMALLY WORKS
4
THE OLD WAY
Define
Requirements
RFI/RFP
Process
Implement
Go Live

5. MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
5
THE OLD WAY
Define
Requirements
Based on the
current way of
working
Little analysis
of user needs
Current issues
destined to be
repeated
Lack of
knowledge of
what digitisation
can bring
No “blue sky”
thinking
Failure to
maximise
efficiency

6. MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
6
THE OLD WAY
RFI/RFP
Process
Get very varied
options
Struggle to
compare apples
with oranges
Failure to
capture “value
add” points
Lack of challenge
to the
requirements
Low benefit, high
cost features
included
Sub-optimal ROI

7. MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
7
THE OLD WAY
Implement
Distant
client/supplier
relationship
Lack of
feedback
Poor fit to user
needs
Fixed
specification
Painful change
control process
Slow and
expensive to
adapt

8. MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
8
THE OLD WAY
Go Live
Big impact
issues
Delays and
costly
rework
Late and
over budget
Poor user
adoption
Costly
training,
dirty data
Less benefit
than
expected

9. 9
THE OLD WAY
Source: CIO.com

10. 10
THERE IS
ANOTHER WAY!
It’s time to think differently
Deliver
(WHAT)
Plan
(WHEN)
Process
(HOW)
Team
(WHO)
Goals
(WHY)

11. START WITH WHY
11
GOALS
Define Goals
and Objectives
Quantify
benefits
Verify that costs
can be contained
Make a rough
specification
Guess at the
costs
Justify that
benefits>costs

12. BUILD THE DREAM TEAM
12
TEAM
FORM-
FILLING
PRICE
FIXED
CRITERIA
NAMED
TECHNOLOGY
SPECIFIC
EXPERIENCE
CONVERSATION VALUE
APPROACH EXPERTISE
TRACK RECORD

13. BUILD THE DREAM TEAM
13
TEAM
Project Board
Cross-Company
Product
Owner
Commissioning Authority
Business
Implementers
Cross-Company
UX
Consultants
Cross-Company
Project
Manager(s)
Cross-Company
Quality
Assurers
Cross-Company
Technical
Implementers
Cross-Company
Technical
Leadership
Cross-Company
Project
Sponsor
Commissioning Authority

14. BUILD THE DREAM TEAM
14
TEAM
• Personal Interactions
• Joint responsibility
• Aligned incentives
• Mutual respect

15. START WITH CARE (not data)
15
PROCESS
The purpose is to improve care
Success relies on usability
Functionality gives usefulness
The data is a means to an end
Care
Usability
Functionality
Data

16. START WITH CARE (not data)
16
PROCESS
Data requirement
Form design
Application design
Build and test in isolation
User imposition
Assess needs
Prototype and user test
Build functionality
Pilot and refine
Release incrementally

17. PLAN FOR FEEDBACK
17
PLAN
DISCOVER REVIEW
REVIEW
HYPERCARE
BUILD
REVIEWBUILD
REVIEWBUILD
REVIEWBUILD
REVIEWBUILD

18. PLAN FOR FEEDBACK
18
PLAN
• Real users in real scenarios
• Professionally-led
• Relaxed and informal
• Outcome-focussed

19. PLAN FOR FEEDBACK
19
PLAN
FIXED
COST RESOURCE TIME QUALITY
VARIABLE
SCOPE

20. DELIVER INCREMENTALLY
20
PLAN
Learn
Build
Use

21. ACHIEVE THE GOAL
21
DELIVER
“It’s been a really
positive experience.”
“The reception to the
system is amazing!”“They love it, it’s
so great to see!”

22. ACHIEVE THE GOAL
22
DELIVER
“The impact on the business has been transformational. Staff are happier
because they have more time to care, and managers have more visibility of
care quality. Homes are chomping at the bit to take on the new system.”
Mark McCarthy, Managing Director, Sanctuary Care
“Ghyston have integrated seamlessly with our internal staff to deliver great
results. Their high-quality, user-centric, Agile approach has led to an
incredibly low defect rate.”
Kevin Heslop, Director of Technology, Sanctuary Group

23. 23
REMEMBER THE
OTHER WAY!
SUMMARY
Deliver
(WHAT)
Plan
(WHEN)
Process
(HOW)
Team
(WHO)
Goals
(WHY)
Use and
grow
Fix cost
not
scope
Regular
review
One
team
Benefits
first
Ric Hill @ric_at_ghyston