Results
2,179 stories completed
Results
120% of sprint point goals achieved
Results
5.5 months from project start to go-live
Applications
Strategic Portfolio Management: Agile Development
THE CLIENT
A pioneer in legal innovation
The client is a leading international law firm specializing in high-tech litigation, intellectual property, and financial services. Renowned for its forward-thinking approach, the firm is consistently ranked among the top in the nation for client service and innovation, managing over 10,000 active legal cases annually. As part of its mission to stay ahead of the curve in client service excellence, the client sought to streamline its operations and optimize case management, setting the stage for its collaboration with Cask to enhance its ServiceNow platform.
“The outcome with Cask was that we were able to set these cultural values. We had a strategic vision of who we wanted to be. Cask then was able to interview with our teams and understand what gets in the way of them getting the work done that they know is the most important to do.”
CLIENT CIO
the challenge
Struggling with inefficient governance and unclear processes
In 2023, the client found itself at a critical juncture in its journey toward effective strategic portfolio management. The organization was grappling with ambiguous decision-making processes, a lack of clarity in business ownership roles, and inefficiencies in its agile development practices. According to the client’s CIO, the firm was “producing a tremendous amount of light without a lot of heat.” Teams were using ServiceNow, but friction existed due to a lack of focus on how to service the business effectively.
THE SOLUTION
Aligning processes and people for optimal performance
Recognizing these challenges, the client sought a partner that could not just implement solutions but also transform its people and processes. Cask’s approach was to align the project with the client’s objectives and key results (OKRs) for Q1 and Q2 of 2023. The initiatives were laid out across various key activities:
- Streamlining staff roles and responsibilities: Reviewing existing position descriptions and providing hiring criteria helped the client put key roles in place efficiently, aligning them with the governance model and delivery workstreams.
- Prescriptive agile implementation: Addressing processes, roles, responsibilities, and technical requirements resulted in a documented and enabled software development life cycle (SDLC) process, including a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM).
- Empowering business ownership: The client and Cask defined the business ownership role, outlined accountabilities, and set the gold standard for requirement gathering.
- Executive steering for decision-making: The client and Cask established an executive steering group to hold quarterly steering conversations, thereby ensuring effective communication between executives and business units.
The result was a comprehensive strategy for strategic portfolio management that encapsulated both technical requirements and cultural transformation. Tangible results included the following:
- Agile 2.0 implementation: Leveraged the Agile Module in ServiceNow, enhancing team velocity and accuracy in sprint estimation.
- Strategic use of dashboards: Utilized ServiceNow dashboards for real-time tracking of planned vs. unplanned work, increasing project transparency.
- Effective onboarding process: Established a robust onboarding protocol for teams, ensuring smooth transition to Agile 2.0.
Managed project timeline effectively?
Communicated clearly throughout the project?
Enabled you to manage your ServiceNow applications post-implementation?
Positioned you to achieve your desired business outcomes?
Provided a high level of expertise in implementing your solution(s)?
Overall, how would you rate your experience with Cask on this project?
THE PARTNER EXPERIENCE
Building a transformation-focused partnership
Cask aligned its approach seamlessly with the client’s objectives and key results, delivering not just technical implementation but also transforming the organization’s culture. The CIO pointed out how the partnership allowed the client to “unpack how things were getting done today” and to reset not just the platform but the entire way the client worked as an organization.
Support by Cask extended beyond project go-live, providing the client with the resources and insights needed to manage its new strategic portfolio management capabilities independently. With optimized processes, empowered roles, and a more streamlined decision-making process, the client is now positioned to meet its business objectives more effectively than ever before.
Associated resources
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