Our client has been working collaboratively with Elastic Mint to create a website portal to current and past projects, showcasing the great work that goes on in other teams inside the global company.
Our client were a UK-based company looking for a partner to realise the vision of an internal company portal that would showcase the fantastic work that goes on in their division. Rather than working in a silo, our client would become more connected to the business as a whole. Sharing what they were working on could provide a source for inspiration and feedback from a much broader range of employees with different skills, perspectives and ideas. It would enable the business to recognise the amazing work the team were doing as well as engage members of the team directly with questions, ideas and support.
The challenge posed to Elastic Mint was how best to make this vision a reality. With this in mind Elastic Mint set about scoping out a website that would bring the vision to life. Working in close collaboration with the Product Owner and Graphic Designer, Elastic Mint worked iteratively to develop and refine features and functionality. Elastic Mint used Microsoft .NET to build a web application hosted on Azure, creating a Continuous Integration pipeline that allowed rapid deployment into demo and production environments. Deploying finished features into a demo environment as soon as they were ready meant that our client was able to use and test the site, allowing them to choose between investing in the next feature or spend some time refining existing features. These decisions were often based on feedback from users who had early access and were able to use the features immediately they were finished. A regular thirty minute meeting every week ensured everyone understood the features that were to be worked on in the coming week. Other, ad-hoc collaboration took place during the week to iron out any of the finer details. The flexibility of this approach allowed them to evolve the portal and respond to feedback without being tied rigidly to the initial set of requirements.
When the site was made available to the wider company, it was an instant hit. The division based at company headquarters in the USA really liked the portal and Elastic Mint were asked to build on the work they had done to include projects based there. Working towards this goal highlighted some differences in the internal structuring and reporting of projects between divisions. The portal became a catalyst for change as the divisions work on a way to establish a common framework of tracking projects, presenting findings, sharing ideas and responding to feedback. The site moved from being merely a showcase to becoming more of a portal for tracking projects, sharing and generating metrics, and sharing ideas, data and outcomes. Communication between the divisions and the wider business was greatly improved.
