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John
Hinde Group
7 . Lessons learnt
There were a substantial number of lessons learnt during
the implementation to date of this project.
1. Outsource specialist knowledge
At the beginning of the project they thought they would
need all the skills in house. However, after a problem
with hiring an IT specialist in a very tight IT labour
market, they decided to employ good generalists that
they could train and develop in-house.
This has led them to contract out their more specialist
hardware work. They have a contract with a specialist
who is on call to help them deal with any problems.
He guarantees arrival in 4 hours to deal with any problems.
He is paid a fee that includes a number of call outs.
Additional project-based work is charged for on a case-by-case
basis as and when required.
2. Keep the web server on-site
The team emphasised that this has enabled them to maintain
control over the web site and guarantees continuous
access.
They looked at the web farm approach prior to implementation,
but they feel they choose the best approach.
3. Technical expert on the group board of directors
The team were able to take advantage of the fact that
one of the non-executive directors had deep experience
in implementing technology-related projects. They were
able to use this individual as a sounding board to guide
them through some of the more difficult decisions they
faced.
4. Ensure a structured approach to project management
The team were adamant that a key success factor had
been a structured approach to project management.
A significant investment of time in planning prior to
the project meant that the implementation ran smoothly.
5. Project management expertise on-site
The Project Manager from Cyrona was on-site for at least
3 days a week. This meant that he could work closely
with the team and was up to speed with all the implementation
issues as they arose.
6. Keep flexibility around the technology
The team felt there was great benefit in maintaining
as much flexibility as was feasible in the specific
choice of technology to deliver the application. This
enabled the team to take advantage of new developments
as they came on line rather than having to accept a
blue print that was hard coded at a much earlier stage.
A decision had been made at the start to pay an additional
amount for an architecture that was flexible enough
to incorporate the latest technology as it became available.
7. Management experience beats technical brilliance
every time
One of the keys to success was the involvement of a
senior management team with substantial commercial experience
and a successful track record. For instance, Geoff Scargill,
the General Manager, had previously been responsible
for doubling the US business for John Hinde.
This management experience led them to focus on what
they were good at – building and running a successful
new business - and leaving the areas where they lacked
experience to specialists.
8. Invest time in proper research
The team put a lot of time into building competitive
intelligence before commencing with the project. They
also spent time analysing leading transactional web
sites from other industries. The point is that a clear
and unambiguous understanding of the market is critical
to ensuring commercial success.
9. Focus on the end-user experience
A key focus was ensuring ease-of-use for the customer.
Their market research around the customer experience
shows how successful they have been here. 100% of their
customers found the site either easy or very easy to
use.
8 . Future Plans
Future plans are focused around two key objectives:
- Develop/extend
the range of products on offer
- Increase
sales through the site
The team feel
there are great opportunities for extending the reach of their brand out
into the business community.
They also want to build on the culture change that they have started in
the company. People are becoming increasingly comfortable with technology.
The team want to explore how they can use technology to further drive down
costs in their business processes. For example, they are looking at developing
automated stock re-ordering in the future.
Key to any additional projects though will be a strong commercial focus.
All potential developments will be subjected to rigorous cost-benefit analysis
before commencement.
Dermot Caffrey, the Financial Director had the following to say “Its
important to stay focused around the core business model. We will look at
other opportunities but we don’t want to overstretch ourselves and
undo all the good work to date.”
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