We narrow our focus but widen our context
We deliver concrete value as early as possible by quickly identifying key opportunities, but framing them within the wider organisational context
We often work within massive organisations. To be able to make a difference, we avoid getting spread too thin (“The Law of Raspberry Jam”, Jerry Weinberg). So we value being focused on an achievable and narrow goal that will deliver concrete value, as early as possible.
But at the same time, we work within complicated ecosystems. It is easy to think we are improving something locally when the overall effect on the organisation is negligible or sometimes even counterproductive. In order to avoid this, we frame what we do in the wider organisational context.
To bring success for our customers, we need to work small but think big.
How we do this:
We value overall simplicity over localised simplicity
We keep the software we build as simple as possible, from the code we write to the technologies/libraries we recommend. However, an uncompromising pursuit of simplicity can risk the wider context being overlooked.
The simplest thing that could possibly work for you or your team might not be the simplest approach for the rest of your team or the other teams you work with. We strive for simplicity, but always consider how our choices will impact the simplicity of the overall system.
We value software developed with a focus on operation and maintenance in production.
Software delivers little to no value unless it is deployed and running in production, with real users using it. We therefore need to understand how the production environments work, what monitoring is in place and how our software is deployed to production.
By understanding the existing processes for monitoring and maintaining software in production, we can ensure that we deliver value to our customers and avoid problems at what is traditionally the most stressful time of a project.
We balance conflicting needs and goals
Modern enterprise or government software requires trade-offs between many sets of needs, goals, principles, objectives, and constraints – often represented by many individual specialists (in research, content, accessibility, security, sustainability, operability, affordability, etc).
For example, it’s no use being driven by user – or citizen – needs, if they don’t meet organisation – or department – goals (and the other way around).
We seek to balance these needs by always looking at the bigger picture, to reach great outcomes for our customers. By doing so, we bring organisations, and their users, together.
Explore our other values
We deliver as teams of equals
Teams are greater than the sum of their parts. No matter what role people play in a team, they all have something to contribute, and they all have a voice in delivery decisions.
We have a passion for learning over knowing all the answers
We may have Experts in our name, but we do not pretend to know all the answers. We hire experienced people who value ongoing learning.
We prioritise outcomes over approach
We work in complex and highly dynamic environments where understanding the context is vital. We’re not interested in a cookie-cutter approach.
We seek customer success over our own short-term interests
We thrive by our reputation, so the only way to guarantee our future success is to do what’s right, right now, for our customers.
We bring step-by-step change
It can be tempting to look for a WOW factor, but we know that lasting change is best achieved through small practices that build towards larger transformation.
Join us
Be part of a network of experts
Ready for a new challenge? We look for people with a depth and breadth of experience, the right attitude to get things done and a real desire to help our customers be successful. Most of our people have at least 10 years of experience with a variety of different industries or clients.
Operating a flat structure, also allows our people to make the most of their industry experience, giving teams autonomy in making decisions that are aligned with the way we want to behave, how we work with our customers as well as how we want to be recognised.
Take a look at our current opportunities.