Learning and Thinking

So, we've assessed a new opportunity and decided to proceed. That means it's time for some learning and thinking to answer some key questions.

Steps to take

1. A member of the team from Convivio or a partner should work through all the information the client has provided to us (in writing and verbally).

2. They should then write up an Opportunity Brief (that's the template version, but there'll be a copy in the root of the google drive folder for this opportunity ready for you to edit). We put the information into this standard format so that (a) it's easy for other team members to quickly read up on the important things; (b) it makes us think about the right stuff; and (c) we can see if there are any important gaps in the information provided.

3. Have another member of the team review this document and challenge it. What's missing? What isn't clear? Update it.

4. Plan in the time for the right team to work on the proposal. Book it out on the Float schedule (internal link).

5. Go back to the client with any questions that have arisen. Update the Opportunity Brief as necessary.

6. Plan in a meeting with the team (who should all have read the Opportunity Brief in advance) to run through the learning and thinking questions below.

Learning and Thinking before Proposing

We'll get to developing our proposal soon, but first we want to learn enough about the client and their problems; the users and their needs; the priorities; the risks; the obstacles and constraints; and so on.

• Review the Opportunity Brief, and look for areas we need to do more research and thinking on.

• Do we know enough about the client and their current services? Try them out if possible.

• Do we know enough about their market? Get researching.

• Look at the gap between what the client is asking for or expecting, and what we think we should propose. What credible reasoning and supporting evidence can we provide to bridge that gap?

• Look at the 'key questions the client will need a positive answer to before being sure that there is a match'. What evidence can we provide to answer these?

• What are the risks/obstacles/constraints? How will we address these?

• How would we prioritise what needs to be done?

• What is the 'right size' of a first phase of delivery to address the top priorities?

• Is there an understanding that digital services are living things, and we need to work in partnership, rather than just deliver a project? If not, what do we need to do to explain and educate on this?

• How will our cookbook recipes help in delivering this service?

• What is the story we can tell in our proposal?

Once we have done the initial learning and thinking, it's time to develop our proposal.