Good Hands Rescue Network
The Problem
I found a new challenge initially working on this product... a demotivated team, a PM that felt defeated and a wonderful design pair who wasn’t being listened to.
We weren’t going to give up on the Extreme Programming methodology… we just needed to to do the work.
“We’re not doing XP so we might as well just skip discovery and do waterfall and stop pretending.”
Managing Process
We could spend all the time working in the design tools... but that would never fix the root cause of this broken process.
As a pair we needed to unify, talk to our management and help support and create allies. We decided the first things to focus on where:
Get the team of developers motivated and back on track.
Help the PM to have some hard conversations with his managers.
Inspiring the PM
We begun talking to the PM about the value of Agile and helped him prioritize work on Rescue Network over several other random requests that were coming in.
Our rationale was that we could either succeed at one or fail at three. Focus was going to be key.
When Jeff Patton came to Allstate and was echoing the information we had been telling the PM he transformed and was suddenly inspired to have the hard conversations with his management. With our support.
Motivating Devs
Developers are not just developers; they are also designers. Similarly, the Project Manager, often overlooked in the realm of design, embodies a designer's spirit. Involving them in the discovery phase reignited their passion for creativity, fostering a renewed enthusiasm for crafting innovative solutions and bringing ideas to life.
Making the app Accessible
Working closely with the Product Manager and the Developers, we collaborated on a comprehensive redesign of the app, focusing on enhancing user visibility and improving job acceptance rates. Additionally, our team made significant optimizations to minimize the transition time between various map applications within the system.
The developers started to bring up concerns about features that might be dangerous or disruptive to our users while they were driving, such as implementing an Android fingerprint as a method to log in.
The team debated the potential ramifications of such additions, weighing the convenience they provided against the safety implications they could introduce for our users on the road.
Designing the culture
The product concept had been solid, indicating that the challenge did not lie in a user interface problem that could be resolved through design interface tools alone.
Instead, the crux of the matter pertained to the intricate structure and dynamics of the team, requiring a nuanced approach. It necessitated a strategic shift in focus towards alignment and singular objective achievement to enhance the overall delivery of value.
In essence, the core task revolved around reshaping the team's ethos and operational frameworks, aimed at fostering a more cohesive and conducive work culture conducive to innovation and success.