Case Study - MetService Project Prioritisation

MetService - Te Ratonga Tirorangi, New Zealand's national meteorological service, sought to enhance their project prioritisation amidst a rapidly changing strategic landscape. To address this challenge, they engaged AGLX, to implement our innovative prioritisation process. AGLX proposed a method designed to provide a visual representation of MetService's workload, incorporating a mechanism for prioritising workload over time. This case study details the process, outcomes, and impact of the project.

Problem:

MetService needs to maintain a high level of service in the forecasting and communication of weather information. The strategic environment is changing quickly. Climate change means weather information is increasingly important to the economic, environmental, social and physical health of New Zealand. Technological change is unprecedented in its ability to support these aims but it comes at a high cost.

Solution:

The AGLX team co-created the prioritisation playbook with the executive team, utilising the following techniques:

• Visualise the MetService Strategy:
  MetService has a strategy but needed a ‘strategy map’. This map provided a common operating picture and identified key areas for prioritisation and risk management. We used Wardley mapping, visualising MetService's strategic landscape.
• Visualise the MetService workload: 
  Create a comprehensive picture of the workload. We plotted the workload in terms of time and energy cost. This provided a shared understanding of effort over time and provided the basis for a collegiate discussion.
• Design a balanced decision process: 
  Combine objective decision-making with subjective judgement. This included principles of decision making and prioritisation.
• Manage Time and Energy:
  We worked with the team to change the time and energy commitment to achieve desired outcomes. This included shifting from energy intensive processes such as business case development to lower energy processes such as rapid experimentation. Privileging action over analysis shifted energy to more value creating activity. The visualisation work allowed the executive team to see the changes in respect to resource allocation and have an open and honest discussion about decisions.
• Enable independent implementation: 
  Equip MetService to sustain and adapt the process independently by creating a prioritisation ‘playbook’ where we embedded the above process in a process tailored for MetService.
  
  

Outputs & Outcomes

The AGLX process successfully created a tailored project prioritisation method for MetService, achieving the following outcomes:

• A Map of the Strategic Landscape: 
  Providing a common operating picture for the executive team.
• Comprehensive Workload Map: 
  Provided a clear visual representation of MetService's workload, facilitating better understanding and communication.
• Strategic Filters: 
  Developed filters aligned with MetService's strategy, enabling objective project evaluation.
• Balanced Decision Process: 
  Established a decision-making process that integrated objective and subjective elements, ensuring balanced and informed prioritisation.
• Self-Sufficiency: 
  Equipped MetService executives with the skills and tools to independently manage and adapt the prioritisation process as strategic priorities evolve.
• Resilience and Adaptability: 
  Ensured the process could evolve and adapt to changes, providing dynamic resource allocation for resilience in a fast-changing environment.

"AGLX provided us with and guided us through a repeatable, systematic prioritisation process to make informed decisions around where our limited resources should be best applied"

Keith Hilligan - Chief Financial Officer

Conclusion:

The collaboration between MetService and AGLX resulted in a robust, adaptable prioritisation process tailored to the unique needs of MetService. By combining strategic insights, visual mapping, and a balanced decision-making framework, MetService is now better positioned to navigate its changing strategic landscape, ensuring that resources are effectively allocated to achieve strategic objectives.

The need to do more with less drives the inevitable discussion about prioritisation. Conventional methods struggle because the present and likely future costs are evident, but the future benefits are not as easily determined. Conventional prioritisation can create a situation where senior managers compete for resources, hide budgets and the executive team continuously reprioritises as the situation changes.

AGLX has developed a unique and powerful prioritisation process that provides the basis for a practical, collegiate and sustainable way to reduce the cost and maintain the value of activating strategy. For further details on our process - check out the video below: