Client focus
the challenge
Steve began by setting out the context for the programme: “We are a 350-person business, but the market we serve is huge. The systems we operate and the change activities we deliver are completely out of kilter with the scale of business because of the role that we play in the marketplace. As you probably know, the gas market has been competitive since 1996, with business and then domestic competition being introduced The UK Link platform we are replacing was put in-place in 1996 to enable this competitive gas market. UK Link served us well for 20 years, but in that period our marketplace has changed significantly. In 1996 there was one gas transporter in the UK and probably a handful of energy suppliers. Today gas distribution is managed through a range of different companies - about 45-50 participants - so it is quite a complex marketplace, highly regulated. One of our first exercises was to ask, OK we know what the platform does today, what does the industry want from this platform in the next five to ten years?” Meaningful engagement with the industry was vital. As the Central Data Service provider for Britain’s gas market, Xoserve is owned by the industry it serves. The new UK Link solution had to be fit to serve the market’s view of its current and future needs; fit to handle future settlement technologies and processes; fit to enable even easier supplier switching for consumers and fit for smart meters and smart energy balancing. The programme undertook what Steve describes as “a huge consultation exercise.” The solution that was being built and deployed by Xoserve would have to be used by these 45 participants, who would also have to change their systems.
Steve Adcock Chief Information Officer, Xoserve
“A big exercise in industry readiness”
the approach
The programme moved into its design, build and implementation phase in March 2014. Steve and his teams identified major risks, “there was probably a political and regulatory motivated drive for early delivery, that felt extremely risky. So, the project set out with a timeline that felt very difficult to achieve. Consequently, we hit issues and couldn’t achieve the timescale”. In late summer of 2015, the decision was taken to reschedule
the go-live, replan the programme and replace the Programme Director. Steve recalls that they were difficult times, “we were probably at quite a low. I had made the decision to change the Programme Director and Project One was recommended to me. It was a very difficult period. I would say it was probably one of the lowest points in terms of the confidence in our teams. There was a lot of negativity around the programme, just because people
felt disappointed. What I needed was someone who was very people oriented to come in and start to bring the team back together again, build the confidence and morale”. Dave Payne (then of Project One) took on the Programme Director role handing over to Project One’s Paul Toolan in 2016, and Cheryl Ashman, Piers Dove and Gary James have each had significant roles on the programme.
30 PROJECTONE.COM - issue 13
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