How we work

Throughout an assignment we keep working towards the ultimate goal. That’s equally true whether we’re building and implementing a technical solution, delivering a managed service or stepping in to recover a failing project.

The vision, the problem we’re trying to solve and the difference we want to make stay at the front of everything we do: the priorities we set and the decisions we make together.

We collaborate with all the key stakeholders and take the time to understand everyone’s perspective, the contribution they can make and the challenges they face.

Recognising and respecting those different perspectives keeps collaboration strong, reduces friction and moves everyone towards the common vision.

Software development and IT delivery have built up a huge body of good practice, representing a vast amount of learning. We use it as our starting point for raising the quality and efficiency of our work.

But good practice isn’t a “one size fits all” tool to plug into a project. We use our experience to tailor it to your needs and your culture.

Once we understand the goals, the stakeholders and the culture, we plan towards delivery. We plan incrementally, at increasing levels of detail: we don’t over-plan activities in the distance or under-plan the tasks in front of us.

We recognise uncertainty and build it into our plans, to minimise surprises. Estimates are always wrong, but they get less wrong every time you revisit them.

Watch: Estimates are Always Wrong

We take accountability for our work. It isn’t done until it’s done.

We may delegate, but we don’t abdicate our responsibilities.

Sun Tzu and Mike Tyson have both famously had things to say about plans. Plans should adapt as environments and goals change.

We balance forward planning with responding to change, so we’re neither slaves to the plan nor masking a lack of planning with claims to be “agile”. We know how to be agile, we know how to do Agile, and we know the difference between the two.