Agile consulting gives customers added value

For more than 20 years, iCore has provided companies with business integration solutions where the customer's needs have always been at the center. In 2017, iCore started "working agile" in consulting services to further improve the quality in both implementation and delivery.

Rikard Karlsson, Vice President Consulting & Service, and Sofia Lundberg, change manager and integration consultant, are responsible for developing the agile working method.

- We created teams consisting of consultants, sales and support staff - we made sure everyone was involved in our customer deliveries. This has resulted in a closer collaboration, both with our customers and within iCore, says Rikard Karlsson.

Faster deliveries

A major advantage of agile teams compared to the classic consulting model is that iCore can implement integrations faster. Not being dependent on a single consultant, but instead having an entire team behind you where everyone is up to date on the customers' needs can speed up development considerably. It also eliminates risks associated with reliance on individual consultants. In case of sick leave or high workloads, an expert is always available. This is also an additional assurance for the customer to receive deliveries on time.

- We are no longer run by consultants but by teams and therefore improve our delivery of strategy, advice, support and value to our clients

How does it work?

Each team is led by a team coach. A team can work with multiple clients simultaneously, with members selecting actions and daily tasks from an updated backlog.

- Each client has a contact person at iCore who is responsible for maintaining a dialogue with the client, as well as ensuring deliveries. But every person in the team is well versed in the customer's needs and integration challenges, says Sofia Lundberg, change manager and integration consultant at iCore.

Each team coach is also a member of the Product Solution Owner team or PSO. This team handles large assignments and is responsible for keeping track of the other teams' current workloads and introducing new clients to a team.

- We strive to be transparent with customers and always try to work closely with them. In the future, we want to get even closer and ensure continuous feedback to make us even better.

Increased exchange of knowledge

By moving away from the traditional consulting model, iCore has also experienced benefits in the "on-boarding" process. New employees now have a team to learn from and work closely with, resulting in improved collaboration and important knowledge sharing.

- We have a better working environment. Our colleagues are happy and our customers are satisfied. For us, working agile is the future and we will continue to optimize our routines, says Rikard Karlsson.