The Product Development Tool (PDT)

AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES

Agilent Technologies, a global leader in biotechnology, set out to digitise and integrate all internal systems into a unified platform to enhance customer service delivery. This ambitious digital transformation also involved redesigning the end-to-end service experience across a wide range of touchpoints, including sales, finance, delivery, installation, contact centres, and repairs.

However, after two years, the project had become disjointed and hard to manage, with multiple disconnected workstreams trying to deliver thousands of requirements. The lack of visibility and coherence made it increasingly difficult for senior stakeholders, programme directors, and teams on the ground to stay aligned, putting the entire transformation at risk of either stalling or resulting in even more fragmented systems than before.

To help with this, I created a suite of data-driven tools and processes designed to simplify the transformation and development of new products and services across the programme. At the heart of the solution was the Product Development Tool (PDT), a clear, easy-to-understand planning and delivery framework that packaged the many hundreds of interconnected requirements into manageable themes, initiatives, and features.

The PDT not only structured the requirements, but also offered a clear, step-by-step guide along with a suite of supporting tools to help the organisation prioritise, allocate budgets, and execute effectively. This framework simplified the process, enhanced visibility, and enabled teams to align their efforts more seamlessly.

The introduction of the Product Development Tool led to several key benefits:

More Powerful Innovation: The PDT fostered more ambitious ideation and vision-setting, enabling Agilent to capitalise on the capabilities already invested and build a significant competitive advantage.
Greater User-Centricity: By keeping the customer and employee experience at the core of product planning, the PDT ensured that these perspectives were consistently factored into every decision.
Larger Commercial Impact: The PDT promoted smarter, more valuable OneConnect monetisation and profitisation strategies, ultimately contributing to higher commercial returns.
Better Decision-Making: The tool used data-driven insights to reduce subjectivity, minimising the influence of personal opinions and biases in decision-making processes.
Easier Prioritisation: By grouping the 650+ requirements and change requests into manageable "Packages of Work," the PDT auto-calculated and visualised their priority levels, enabling better prioritisation in the context of the entire programme.
Deeper Discovery and Business Casing: The PDT allowed the organisation to properly investigate, understand, and formalise the costs, benefits, and implications of pursuing high-priority items, strengthening business cases and ensuring better strategic decisions.
Clearer Roadmaps and Communications: The PDT simplified the development and communication of program-level and track-level activities, with beautifully designed MS PowerPoint templates and clear guidance to ensure clarity and consistency across the team.
Greater Alignment and Visibility: By centralising the programme planning process and soliciting input from a wide range of stakeholders, the PDT increased vertical and horizontal awareness of ongoing work, driving better alignment and coordination across the entire programme.

In summary, the Product Development Tool put Agilent back on the path to success, giving them the opportunity to benefit from clearer planning, enhanced innovation, and a stronger focus on user needs. While its full impact is still unfolding, the tool provided the framework to help teams work more efficiently and collaboratively, setting the stage for continued progress and alignment across the programme.

SERVICE DESIGN | DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION | AGILE METHODS | PRODUCT MANAGEMENT | INNOVATION

Agency: Nile | Work: Live Project