Background
A Local Public Body faced a significant challenge: years of accumulated “development debt” had left its IT systems inefficient and fragmented. To adapt to a rapidly changing environment, the organization had relied on “quick fixes” to patch existing tools and processes. Over time, this resulted in a tangled web of workarounds that increased operational complexity, risk, and inefficiency.
Although the issues were widely acknowledged, creating a compelling business case to address this “long tail” of problems proved difficult. The pervasive nature of the inefficiencies and the risks associated with large-scale IT change projects made stakeholders hesitant to act.
The Challenge
The Head of Service captured the frustration:
“For years now, operations teams have complained that the ever-expanding number of workarounds was adding more time and risk to our processes. But the endemic nature of the issues made it difficult to put together a business case for the long-tail.”
The Public Body needed a solution that would:
Tackle the development debt in manageable, low-risk cycles.
Address critical inefficiencies without high upfront costs or risks.
Implement long-term, enterprise-grade solutions systematically.
The Tripos Associates Solution
Tripos Associates proposed a unique contingent fee model that aligned perfectly with the organization’s needs:
A results-driven approach where fees were tied to successful delivery, reducing financial risk.
A low-risk pilot cycle to demonstrate immediate value by addressing high-priority issues.
Incremental delivery of enterprise-grade solutions over multiple cycles, allowing the organization to modernize systems gradually.
The Process
The process below represents one cycle of work, which Tripos delivered multiple times over the course of a long-term partnership:
- Initial Diagnostic (2 Days): Tripos evaluated the organization’s IT infrastructure, operational processes, and readiness for change. This quick assessment identified areas for immediate improvement.
- Agreeing Business Objectives (3 Days): Tripos and the Public Body collaborated to prioritize problems and define objectives. The focus was on high-impact, low-risk opportunities to build trust and secure buy-in for the cycle.
- Baseline Requirements (10 Days): A UK-based Business Analyst worked with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to define a detailed catalog of requirements. These requirements became the foundation for both development and performance evaluation.
- Development and Testing (25 Days):
- Development: Tripos completed the build offsite, ensuring minimal disruption to day-to-day operations.
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT): The organization verified that all deliverables met the agreed requirements before any payment was triggered.
- Deployment and Evaluation: Upon successful deployment, Tripos provided an optional bonus-based support service for early-life operations. Stakeholders assessed the success of the cycle before initiating subsequent cycles.
Each cycle took approximately two months from start to finish, ensuring manageable and measurable progress.
Results
- Cumulative Impact: Over several cycles, the Public Body systematically reduced its development debt while improving IT systems and processes.
- Enhanced Efficiency: Automated workflows replaced inefficient manual processes, freeing up resources and reducing errors.
- Informed Decision-Making: Centralized, real-time data systems enabled the organization to make proactive, data-driven decisions.
- Risk and Cost Mitigation: By tackling issues incrementally, the Public Body avoided the high risks and costs of traditional large-scale IT changes.
