Following on from one of our key projects in the global trade sector, on enabling technologies and user journeys for the categorising goods under the Windsor Framework, Senior Business Analyst, Chris Booth reflects on four valuable lessons learnt.
1. Embrace humility and question assumptions
The trade sector is one of immense complexity. It is one where rules and concepts are a lot more nuanced and mutable that you would think. The longer you work, and the more you ask, the more you find, and the more you have to re-learn. This environment demands humility and flexibility. You need to be able to doubt what you ‘know’ and to rigorously verify information, requirements, and the assumptions they may be based on.
This principle extends to insights from even the most reputable sources and subject matter experts. There is no place for hubris here; only a profound respect for the problem and its intricate details will lead to effective solutions.
2. See through multiple lenses
The users of the Online Trade Tariffs, who are looking up the duties and other conditions of moving their goods, are more diverse than those of a typical public service. Their personas, user cases, and needs not only vary widely, but can differ from one trade to another according to different contractual arrangements in a logistics chain (incoterms).
Beyond the conventional business-to-business movement of goods, there are also fast parcel operators moving items to (and between) individual citizens, and a vast private sector IT market providing technical services.
When considering policy changes or new solutions, we must analyse the impact on all actors in this ecosystem. The stakes are high. Mistakes by traders can lead to fines, higher costs than expected, or even prison sentences, and ignorance is not considered a defence. Errors with policy have the potential to damage the economy, or miss opportunities to grow it.
3. Deliver the outcome, not just the output
Stakeholders, including end users, might request a specific deliverable that seem sensible, such as a downloadable spreadsheet of all Tariff data. However, the underlying need is often something different or more specific, such as an understanding of what has changed from one day to another.
Understanding the ‘why’ changes the deliverable to something that does the task for the users, and lowers the barrier for entry for all in the process.
It is our collective responsibility to do the hard, yet rewarding work, of uncovering the true value required – the ‘why(s)’ behind the ‘what’. This requires consultancy providers to prioritise detail, and it requires clients to give their partners the space to deliver meaningful outcomes, by spending time looking past the ‘what’.
4. Forge a true partnership
The previous points culminate in one overarching principle: a true partnership between project teams and stakeholders is essential. Teams must adopt (and be given space to adopt) a cautious and rigorous approach, challenging assumptions and collaborating freely with stakeholders at every level.
By embedding these perspectives upstream with budget holders, decision-makers, policy makers, and strategists, we ensure that the right work is enabled to solve the right problems with the right solutions.