Written by Miguel Van Damme
One of the largest insurers in Belgium wanted to develop an innovative online service to enter an adjacent market. However, the project was moving slower than desired and ran far behind schedule. To accelerate delivery, they called upon BrightWolves.
Introducing agile project management
Traditional ‘waterfall’ project management starts with an extensive, rigid approach and stops when the final product is delivered. Agile project management kicks off with a short, flexible plan and runs through several iterations during which you build working products that are open to feedback. At BrightWolves, we use this methodology to deliver value early in the process, thereby increasing the team’s efficiency and effectiveness.
BrightWolves’ 3-step implementation process
Our approach consisted of three essential steps. Step one was to educate the internal team on agile project management. Since this approach requires a different mindset, it is extremely important that all team members understand its benefits, and know what to do and what to expect. Here, the biggest challenge was to address the concerns about showing the product to customers or internal stakeholders before it was ‘polished’. To overcome this fear, it was key to focus on the end goal, which was not creating the new service but increasing sales.
The second step was to apply agile project management. In a biweekly Monday morning meeting we determined what needed to be delivered in the upcoming fortnight, depending on the project’s priorities and previous customer feedback. Next, we broke down these deliverables into actions.
Finally, these actions were prioritized and assigned to internal action owners. We used Airtable to structure the deliverables and actions, and to translate them into personalized Kanban boards, an incredible way to visualize and organize team to-do lists with simple drag and drop. This tool keeps things clear and simple, even when projects get complex. Moreover, the software allows you to create a customized dashboard that continuously updates as people work through the Kanban’s, keeping higher management informed, while avoiding tedious meetings and waste of time.
BrightWolves’ triple contribution
Our first and most important contribution: we bring ambition and pace to the project. For most employees, a new project means more work. They do not have the time to focus on the project and postpone it indefinitely. BrightWolves drives the project forward while ensuring buy-in from all stakeholders. In today’s fast-moving world, we make sure you are ahead of schedule instead of behind.
Second, as an outsider, BrightWolves has the ability to think as a customer. Bringing a fresh perspective into the organization and onto the project, we contribute new ideas and challenge the status quo.
Finally, a new innovative project entails many uncertainties.
To de-risk the project, BrightWolves assists clients in making better decisions based on factual data. Delivering results.