The first phase of the Elevate project (Elevate 1.0) was the analysis phase, during which we, with the help of a consulting company, sought to establish a common understanding of our current position and future prospects.
The first phase of the Elevate project (Elevate 1.0) was the analysis phase, during which we, with the help of a consulting company, sought to establish a common understanding of our current position and future prospects. Over those four months, we conducted a broad and high-level analysis of our organization, products, solutions, methodology, and business plans. This was a very intense, sometimes chaotic, and slow-progress endeavor, but in the end, we delivered.
Here is a one-slide illustration of the magnitude of what was conducted during this phase (original slide from presentations are attached).
After finishing the analysis phase, one of the slides provided a simple but accurate assessment of where we were just before starting the execution phase. This slide proved to be remarkably true.
After we defined our main business goals and the landscape we were in (described in a previous post), we began setting up the second phase of the project, Elevate 2.0. This was far from straightforward because of all the risks we anticipated:
The initial members of the team were Ivica Kujundžić Lujan, Ivica Vidović, and I, along with the main stakeholder representative. His engagement proved to be one of the most important factors for project execution because, throughout the project, his influence significantly improved our effectiveness.
Here is a slide from our kick-off presentation with the main recommendations and goals of our project – watching this in retrospect shows that we followed these goals during project execution and continue to do so.
Project Tracks: A Modular Approach
As planned, we decided to split the project into smaller “Project Tracks.” This modular approach allowed us to tackle distinct challenges simultaneously and ensure specialized expertise was applied where needed. I will cover each of these in more detail in my next posts, but here are the main goals for each track with some introductory detail on their execution.
PM Track
We had that spot vacant for nearly one-third of the project, which was one of the main risks during that time. Fortunately, we found Siniša Carević, and this was a great match. He took over management of the project and executed it with great focus and resilience. As effective PMs do, he was engaged in most of the tracks, keeping us all focused. He leveraged his expertise in design, procurement, and logistics to assist the rest of us with execution. Great job.
Legal and Financial Track
This track involved planning the legal and financial framework for establishing Abysalto as part of the KING ICT group. This proved to be much more demanding than we anticipated. Ivica Kujundžić Lujan held the helm of this part of the project, and he did an exceptional job!
Internal Organization Track
This involved defining the future-state organization, identifying and jump-starting future B-2 and B-1 management teams. This was a very complex but highly rewarding part of the project. We had to select the best of the best in terms of experience, potential, work ethic, and teamwork, elevating over 35 people to their new responsibilities within Abysalto.
HR Track
This involved defining the future state of Abysalto’s working conditions, preparing people for the transfer, and executing the transfer of the future Abysalto team from their current companies to Abysalto. Željko Sitar was (and still is) responsible for this part of the project, and he combined his HR knowledge with great creativity, which made him a multi-purpose team player!
Internal Communication Track
This involved defining the plan to communicate our progress, decisions, and the future vision of Abysalto to our employees. This was a stressful period for them because changes like this are always uncomfortable and somewhat painful. Our main goal was to be as transparent as possible. We presented our employees with the picture of Abysalto as we envisioned it – grainy at first, but with ever more detail as the project progressed. We managed to maintain a steady stream of internal communication all the way to the rollout date.
PR & Marketing Track
We onboarded Mladen Čorda soon after the project started, and he took over this track with commitment and great focus on execution! This track encompassed finding suitable PR and Marketing partners, onboarding them, managing their deliverables, coordinating the development of our website (www.abysalto.eu), handling the procurement of company merchandise, and setting up Abysalto’s first public appearances. This track was somewhat stressful at the beginning as we “synchronized” our activities with our PR and branding partners but we consolidated as the project progressed. Mladen and Siniša did a good job giving feedback and directing our partners during execution.
Logistics Track
This track focused on finding and setting up Abysalto’s headquarters. At the beginning of the project, we were situated in three separate locations, and the goal was set to bring everyone together (with the exception of our office in Split). After we decided on the location, this track then had to handle all the logistics. The search for adequate office space proved to be harder than expected, and we made the decision to move to Buzin, at the KING headquarters location, as our first home. As Abysalto grows, we will adapt. Relocation was performed as planned with strict inputs and guidelines from our PM.
Processes and Tooling
One of the main goals in establishing Abysalto was to consolidate our development platform, SDLC, and methodology. We aim to be up-to-date with top IT companies and, gradually, set trends instead of merely following them. This track was tasked with taking the first steps in that direction by installing a central development platform (Openshift), defining our target development environment (DevOps), and setting up the migration of our active projects onto it. In parallel, our internal processes and tools (non development) also need to be set up with simplicity and lean organization in mind. All that being set up while we are in separate organizations and running separate companies was challenging. We made progress, but there are still work to be done regarding this topic.
Željko Tandarić
