2017 Dwellworks Annual Report

Our Evolving Technology Roadmap

Design Thinking in IT Process

T he past decade has seen plenty of change in the world’s technology, and as tech has improved, our business response has changed along with it. As we reflect on our first 10 years, we have taken a thoughtful look at how our technology and innovation have evolved thus far, and what we need to do to ensure future success. We have learned that not only our technology, but also our mindset and process for innovation have evolved greatly over time. The Old Method of Development A Dwellworks hallmark has been to create custom-made, in-house systems to meet the program and service expectations of our clients; where no “market standard” programs existed, we created them. While these systems have been the backbone of many of our operations and allowed us optimal control, creating them was not always an efficient and expeditious process. We sometimes found ourselves stuck on fine-tuning the function before allowing teams to use or try a new technology. While these habits did not hinder our IT team’s creativity, they did not always allow our team to move at the speed of marketplace need and technological innovation. Concentrating our energy as subject matter experts (“the tech team”), we were not distributing our best skills, as a partner and resource to the whole organization (“business solutions team”). As the mobility industry continued to change and

our place in it expanded, we recognized the need for a purposeful internal shift to position ourselves for quicker, more adaptable action. Lean and Agile: A Reinvigorated Mindset This change in approach began late in 2015 with the adoption of Lean and Agile Methodology. Lean and Agile allows for the development and release of new technologies in iterative stages. Projects move forward swiftly in “sprints” powered by teams with varied and complementary skills. This new practice has allowed our IT team to rapidly develop supportive new technologies, while encouraging a revolutionary mindset and cultural shift.

How can we hone our creation process to be smarter and faster?

We adopted a vocabulary not of “mistakes” but of “test cases.” Once we unshackled ourselves from the expectations of waiting until the tech solution was perfectly complete, we allowed ourselves to fully embrace Lean and Agile practices. Iterative sprints, gathering user and client input, interacting in small teams on a regular basis, asking for feedback, and embracing more fluid roles are all part of

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