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Defense contractor revolutionizes software delivery processes

 

case study setup
Situation

Defense contractor addresses internal vulnerabilities

A government contractor came to Sketch because they were having some problems in three key areas:

1. Refine the scope

The team was having trouble focusing because the scope was entirely too broad.

  • Not enough time to focus on quality feature delivery
  • Strategy and execution functions overlap
  • Predictability and alignment suffer as a result

2. Measure what matters

Metrics were skewed toward quantity over user value

  • Feature-point focus may be perceived as a measure of effort
  • Individual performance vs team delivery

3. Adopt product thinking

There was significant distance between problem and solution.

  • Unclear who is driving the roadmap vs who has influence
  • Limited interaction/empathy between user customers and delivery teams
  • Lacking target market for fast feedback and advocacy
Challenge

Invoke a sense of purpose

case study challenge

The primary mission was to help this client build the operational model, individual skills, and delivery practices necessary to become a more predictable software delivery program. An initial assessment identified the relative lack of perceived purpose within the team as a primary driver of poor predictability and, ultimately, low customer satisfaction.

A new software delivery paradigm

From there, the following working hypothesis guided the initial consultation:

Given a dynamic network of high-performing teams,

When the delivery teams are aligned on the product vision & roadmap,

This client will consistently deliver high-quality, valuable solutions.

We'll do it again

Make the work matter more

Teams deliver better software when they have a stronger sense of why they're building, not just what they're building.
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Enter Sketch

Solution

Agile software delivery practices

case study solution

Increase reach and engagement

After the initial assessment, Sketch employed a broad array of strategies and services to help this client evolve its software delivery practices:

Vision and roadmapping consultingRelease planning and backlog curationProduct management methodology consultingLeadership workshopsEstablishment of business objectives and key results (OKRs)Metrics plan creationLeadership backlog creationLeadership coachingFunctional enablement team creationCeremony coachingRole coachingQuantifiable team health tracking and capabilities assessments
case study results
Results

Measurable improvements to software delivery

Fast software development results

In only one quarter, the client achieved average improvements of 10-20% in each of the following categories:

  • Overall value produced from each product increment
  • Rate of on-time feature development before the target delivery date
  • Sufficient time (as reported by team members) to innovate and learn new things during each sprint

ENGAGEMENT REVIEW

“This team can finally assign quantifiable metrics to capacity, engineering quality, and innovation. Between better progress tracking and implementing the WeightedShortest Job First (WSJF) prioritization method, feature delivery is faster than ever.”

Looking for better outcomes?

We hope these are the kinds of results you were looking for. If you want to learn more about the work that went into this project, we're happy to answer your questions. We love to talk shop, and the first few conversations are always free.
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