A large internationally operating customer with a global digital solutions offering set out to renew its core technology backbone to better meet future needs and enable new digital solutions faster, more easily and reliably than before. The technology backbone included a wide range of elements such as cloud-based IoT- and data platforms, a large number of connected devices and systems, as well as integrations between them. The whole initiative was a very large transformation at global scale, involving hundreds of people and affecting many parts of the organization all over the world.
Sininen Polku provided program- and project management services to manage the overall program as well as specific workstreams in it.
“This initiative was truly a demanding transformation due to the sheer size and complexity of the technical scope as well as the large amount of people and teams involved. In order to properly manage all moving parts, it was essential to get everyone aligned on the joint priorities and goals of the whole transformation, as well as establish well defined structures and working practices for the involved teams”, says Kaj Nilsson from Sininen Polku.
Keeping all activities moving in the right direction was enabled through strong leadership support, holistic and continuous planning and frequent follow-ups across all areas of the program, favoring empowered cross-functional teams with continuous dialogue and fast course-corrections, rather than establishing very heavy bureaucracy. Also, as the activities took place in many locations globally, having strong local ownership and competences was considered a critical success factor right from the start. In order to secure smooth handover to daily operations at the end of the multi-year program, a transition workstream was established right from the start and ran in parallel with the development activities throughout the program, making sure both development and operations aspects were considered and reducing the need for heavy handover processes when deploying the new solutions.
“Although it is evident that having clear priorities and goals, solid plans and working practices, and all the right competences in place helps a lot, it is equally important to build a positive team spirit. The collaboration with the customer went very well and it was truly great to witness the team work, constructive spirit, relentless drive and will-do attitude in the program team, which enabled a successful outcome. Sininen Polku is proud for having been part of this transformation and wishes the customer all the best in their continued innovation journey.”
Kaj Nilsson,
CEO of Sininen Polku Oy
