ITVP IT Process Governance Toolkit
Context: Throughout our experience, we have advanced in customising the existing tools for business needs and improved our unique approach towards value creation through IT.
Outcome: We have created a toolkit of IT process Government that can be applied to various business needs in order to optimise business value.
Methods: Value stream mapping, team assessment, WBS definition, processes automation evaluation, control process implementation, continual improvement process abilitation.
Working with clients from different fields of business and having different needs requires flexibility and expertise. Through our experiences with various Clients, we have enriched our expertise in developing strategies and customising the tools for creating value focused on business requirements. We have developed this toolkit, which is our approach to any type of business that can be answered with correct implementation of IT that would bring organisational change and improved business value.
Content of this toolkit is a series of methods and activities that each step requires, that would be applied to organisational material and data flow structures, internal operational roles and across different products; all can be improved through the contribution of IT Strategy.
Main purpose of this toolkit is to introduce an approach that creates a sustainable strategy that is ongoing and in continuous development within the IT lifecycle. Thus, it seeks to have a grasp of the process from scratch until the delivery of IT solutions and digital service strategy transformation, encompassing further iterations to maintain sustainability of product life cycle and continuous development.
Backbone of an IT Strategy that will bring value through operational systems of a business lies within the correct definition of the current business needs. Thus, we put heavy emphasis on the initial phase where we analyse the existing situation, how can it be optimised with the integration of IT and how it can be monitored and measured in the next stages after implementation. The method in this toolkit consists of 3 main phases which are MAP, MANAGE and MEASURE. We will take you through the purpose and methods to be used in each step.
Step 1: MAP
Scope of this phase is to have a closer look at the existing situation of company mission and evaluate its alignment with IT. Thus, we collect data through a series of interviews, direct observation and analysis of documentations.
Having a good grasp of the company mission is essential since it is the component that will take the IT strategy to the next steps. We make this analysis utilising Value Stream Maps, that are commonly used in lean production, which allows us to understand flow of value across the various operational components of an organisation. This defines how the activities aimed at designing, producing or supplying goods and services to customers. Understanding these flows help us to evaluate their link to IT, and how can this structure be improved.
At this stage, interviews also help us understand the current gaps within the organisational structure and have an in depth insight of corporate skills and capabilities.
As a further application, we utilise ITIL methodology to map existing IT processes. ITIL, IT Infrastructure Library, helps us to define the organisational structure to proceed with the development of a sustainable IT strategy that seeks to add business value.
Part of the ITIL method, we project on the Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement.
As a last phase of the first step, we employ WBS definition in pursuance of a clear representation of the workload division, with the scope of how these can be transformed at a later stage with further integration of IT as organisational activities. In other words, what we aim is to gain insight about current workload division and how can it be redefined with an advanced integration of IT Strategy.
Step 2: MANAGE
We start this step by evaluating the information collected in the previous phase. This evaluation is aimed at how can the organisational activities can be transformed within the framework of visibility and can be optimised for value creation. We take an even closer look at the stakeholder maps, identify the methods of interaction and documentation, seeking for a scenario in which Business – IT processes can be developed with a scope of creating operational synergy.
This step is also where we detect the activities that are causing waste of time, seeing whether or not some of them can be subjected to automation to prevent this loss. This selection is, of course, carried out through a series of criteria, evaluating possible efficiency outcomes. As an evaluation tool we use Process Ranking, to arrive at a list of actions that should be given priority to be automated.
Step 3: MEASURE
At this last stage, we create the monitoring tools and execute automation practices on necessary points. Aim of this stage is to define and manage the steps necessary to identify, define, collect, process, analyse, present and finally implement improvement actions. Throughout the process, we continue to identify opportunities for improvement via constant monitoring measurement of information. We interrupt and iterate on the existing result when we evaluate that it is necessary, aiming to maximise the system’s efficiency and benefit. Having an Agile mindset, we test with client and have their validation, seeking other spaces of improvement within the system in a continuous manner.
Conclusion
Our philosophy at ITVP is to hold a business needs above all. We plan, project and organise IT strategy processes always based on this mindset. With a careful attention to the processes within a structure, we observe and analyse, and arrive at a scenario that would enhance business profit through the implementation of IT. In this article, we explain our IT Process Governance Toolkit, which is a pilot working model that can be adapted based on any organisation’s needs and objectives. For more information about our methods and tools, you can browse our website.
Design Thinking and Finance: The Power of the Design Sprint
Context: We have created a new User Experience and Service Design for one of the leading institutions in Italian finance sector.
Outcome: A digital user interface and a more efficient service system design
Methods: Google Design Sprint workshops, User personas, Use Case Scenarios, Service Blueprint diagram, Product Backlog, User review.
THE STORY
Ever imagined a digital product that embraces a huge amount of financial data, operates on a large scale, even across the globe, while still being intuitive and simple to use? We did. It was in fact a collective imagination where we guided users to unleash their creativity and express their needs as they guided us to innovation and solution.
Our digital product’s story started with exploration of the existing digital platform. We’ve made an in-depth discovery of the existing user experience and based on our analysis. Through the input we’ve collected from clients, we have prepared use cases for Design Sprint and collected further feedback from the client, including evaluation of task priorities and new suggestions. Analysing all the input, we have created a new service design that embodies a new experience, across all the touchpoints and interactions within different stakeholders.
The end result was a new User Experience; a digital Client Portal, detailed business analysis and an enhanced service scenario.
In this article we will take you through the story of this product and our approach throughout the process.
DESIGN THINKING IN FINANCE
There’s an increasing amount of demand towards Design Thinking methodologies in Finance sector, where there’s an undeniable need of user friendliness to ensure a smooth experience. As working with huge data archive can be challenging, especially considering the cultural way of handling operations across countries, it becomes even more crucial to put emphasis on intuitiveness of a digital product. Choosing the right strategy to approach clients is as important as the process itself. Users need to feel comfortable and not intimidated while they approach design tasks.
We have started off with Design thinking methods to understand the needs and problematic parts of the existing platform and come up with solutions in a bottom up manner. Since we did not have an option of having the Design Sprint in a physical space, we carried it out remotely. We have utilised 3D method, that we explained in more detail in our previous article, which takes its name from Discover, Design and Deliver phases.
DESIGN THINKING WORKSHOP FROM REMOTE
Remote work seems more convenient as it eliminates the effort to bring together everyone in a physical space but it brings its challenges. Users may be from different age groups, not familiar with digital tools or might even simply have connection problems. There were some key points to make remote workshops easier while working with different client profiles.
Step 1: Giving priority to client needs
The world is going through a tough period and in times like this, empathy and flexibility are more fundamental than ever in carrying out a digital transformation process. We can make use of a tailor made adaptation of the methods in order to respond better to client’s needs.
We have prioritized our client’s needs throughout the process. Being one of the leading institutions in Italian finance sector, our client was not able to dedicate a full one week for workshop due to the nature of the fast paced work they are occupied with, so we mapped out a different agenda for them. We divided the tasks of Google Design sprint into small chunks and based on the client’s calendar, executed these micro activities in various days.
Step 2: Dedicating enough time to make a thorough discovery phase
Understanding financial systems requires respecting the own methodologies of this discipline and being well informed before proceeding with design phase. Since financial systems are complex scenarios that involve data flow amongst various actors, dedicating sufficient time to task analysis at the discovery phase will make the following steps more rapid, as there would be less clarifications to be made by the client’s end. We have planned series of online interviews in which we made an in depth task analysis and defined the pain points of the existing financial ecosystem, and thanks to these insights, moved on to the digital service innovation phase with a better vision.
Step 3: Introducing the tools and timing
We have used Miro during our Design Sprint workshops. Since it was a new tool for the client, we started off by informing them about the format of workshop, pre requisites and a brief introduction to the platform.
Creative flows can get longer than expected, and in order to use the limited time that the clients can dedicate for the Design Sprint, it is convenient to talk about the timings for each step before hand.
Step 4: Agile working throughout the next steps
Design Sprint is our starting point to create a new user experience, but digital transformation is a continuous cycle in which iterations are made, tested and approved by being in contact with the client. Agile method saves us time and cost, and helps us define the challenging parts of the new user experience at an early stage. Our approach to agile method consists of organising tailor made Design Sprints based on the micro tasks of user testing and remote interviews with clients in which we introduce the new service blueprint and gather feedback.
Conclusions
Design thinking is still a new approach in Italian financial ecosystem, but institutions are starting to adopt it and observing concrete benefits. At ITVP, we consider the business needs as priority, just like in Design Thinking methods where the user is at the centre of innovation. While we worked with one of the biggest institutions in Italian finance sector and through a Design Thinking approach, we utilised Google’s Design Sprint on a remote basis and gained valuable insight about the sector, user needs and their ecosystem before proceeding into design and development. There’s an IT transformation strategy that can take any organisation at a further level and at ITVP, we have the right tools and knowledge to work across these instruments.