In this series « deftech – behind the scenes », we propose to tell the story of the programme deftech as faithfully as possible; its choices, its challenges and above all the lessons learned.
August 1st 2013, on the National Day celebrating the founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291, was the beginning of the new Technology Foresight research program by armasuisse Science and Technology, the center of technology of the Swiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sports (DDPS).
The mission of the program was to identify disruptive technology trends, assess their implications within a military context, and inform the Swiss Armed Forces of its possible opportunities and threats. Now, August 1st being a business holiday, the real start was indeed on August 2nd 2013.
Particularities and specificities
It was a unique opportunity: start from a white page. Together with the white page was also a yearly budget organized and dedicated to the program. The size of the budget is not that relevant per se, as it will impact mainly the importance and the number of projects and activities you can conduct, but it is of paramount importance to have one dedicated to the foresight activities. There was also a big learning right from the start: this new program was made possible as the direct consequence of another program being stopped.
Even before imagining the activities that should compose the program, one element that came obvious, was that the form and the dynamic of the program itself will have its importance.
One specific aspect that will play an important role in what will follow is also the “research” label of the program. Not only does it have to deliver information about technologies and trends, but it is also expected from the activities to conduct research in foresight. Read the interview with Dr. Hansruedi Bircher. This distinction and the setup it implies is not trivial. It does offer a lot of opportunities despite the challenging dual expectations of the program.
If you come from the industry, one think that you should have learned is that the most important element, apart from your product, and in some circumstances even more important than your product, is the customer. Who are your real customers? Who are your stakeholders? The questions could be simple to answer in a commercial environment, but maybe less obvious within a governmental structure.
Main Guidelines
Considering these different elements, together with the unknown and uncertainty inherent to the situation of starting a new activity, helped building the methodology and somehow, even if not really known at that very moment, the spirit of the program. The main organizational guidelines are summarized here:
- Every activity must have a clear value proposition, being in the adaptation of a product developed elsewhere, or in the creation of some new product.
- The processes have to be highly flexible and adaptable with respect to the products it offers, but also to the kind of budget it operates with (scalability).
- There must be a permanent involvement of the different stakeholders to guarantee a continuous feed-back loop and the adequation between the products being developed and the expectations of the clients.
The direct and somehow logical consequence was to run the program like starting a company. First by writing a business plan, presenting the different foresight products to fit the different markets; second, by creating the dynamic to build and launch these products.
This dynamic is inspired by the agile practices used for complex software development. Given the yearly funding cycle of the activities, this will become the maximum Sprint time, with reference to the Scrum methodology, for the increments (i.e. the products) of the foresight program.
But what do these products look like? Suggestions based on what has been realized can be found here.
Challenges and lessons learned
- Planning is everything. Even if the destination may not result as clear as it could be, this must not be the case for the methodology and the different milestones you plan to achieve along the way. You know upfront that you will deal with a moving target with respect to deliverables: plan accordingly.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate! Letting your stakeholder know what your plans are, will allow them, to give you feedbacks and advices and for you, to confront your ideas. It would be a miracle if everybody is in favor of your actions: take it as an opportunity to improve your ideas, build argumentation, and change direction if necessary. Not all critics are good to hear, but the sooner they come to your ears, the better, and communication is a way of pro-actively getting them.
- Get quick wins as quick as possible! Working with an agile methodology will allow you to do that. Until you show something, your program will remain relatively abstract to people. Presenting your foresight products will have two consequences: first, it will make your activities more tangible, second, it will allow you to get feedback and start iterating around them. You might realize as well, that working agile is a lot like running the OODA (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) loop for your different projects!
However, be careful, you will be the one to decide between quickly and too soon and this is not always an easy decision. - Observe how the other organizations, from small private entities to governments, are running foresight activities, copy, adapt, innovate. Considering having a mentor or somebody who already built a similar activity, for a same or different industry could be an advantage as you might gain a “sparring partner” for ideas!
There is no shame in using “best practices” developed by others. Making them aware of it could also result in unexpected enthusiasm and strong partnerships.
