Distributed delivery: Maintaining agility in a distributed delivery environment

Our point of view

Problem Statement:

As delivery teams grow, maintaining visibility and connection across each of it’s component parts grows more complex. This is exacerbated by situations where teams are in different locations or the extreme example where everyone works remotely. With out the right approach, maintaining pace and agility in these situations is extremely difficult.

POV:

While a number of tools and technologies have emerged that make managing in a distributed environment more straight forward, they are not a substitute for a clear understanding of the objectives and critical path, rigorous project management disciplines and effective communication across the team. Whether you have adopted an Agile delivery approach or more traditional waterfall methods these elements will make the difference in building effective distributed delivery.

Case Study

Problem:

Due to the recent crisis, the firm moved to a “work from home” model. After the initial focus on standing up video conferencing and other communication technology, the firm turned to their transformation delivery approach.

Solution:

Coupled with a re-prioritisation of the transformation portfolio, the firm reconfirmed the objectives and approach for the high priority programmes. Together with a pilot group of delivery teams, the key communication gaps / obstacles in maintaining their Agile delivery approach were identified. Based on this assessment a select group of tactical tools ( a document collaboration and tracking tool and an online PM tool) were rolled out based on the identified needs (vs rolling out tools and expecting them to solve all problems).