Transcription
The good, the badand the tech strategyAnna ShipmanTech Director of Customer Products, Financial Times@annashipman
I’ve been a software engineer for 15 years @annashipman
I’ve been a software engineer for 15 years but only learned about strategy recently@annashipman
1. What is a strategy?2. What is a good strategy?3. What is a good tech strategy?@annashipman
@annashipman
1. What is a strategy?2. What is a good strategy?3. What is a good tech strategy?@annashipman
Strategy is diagnosis, vision and a plan@annashipman
Diagnosis is where you are now@annashipman
You need to be clear about thecurrent situation so you knowwhere you are starting from@annashipman
@annashipman
“Falcon” was a monolith; it was slow, deployedmonthly and deployed out of hours@annashipman
“Next”: microservices, with a focus on speed,shipping and measurement@annashipman
Next launched in 2016@annashipman
I joined the FT in April 2018@annashipman
There was a great culture@annashipman
Photo@annashipmancredit: Helen Hayward
But there was a sense thatthe tech was drifting@annashipman
People weren’t sure of the value of the work,there were ‘haunted forests’, feature changesfelt bitty, the direction was unclear@annashipman
I recognised this from GOV.UK@annashipman
Diagnosis: the difficult teenage years@annashipman
Strategy is diagnosis, vision and a plan@annashipman
Vision is where you want to get to@annashipman
You need a vision so you knowwhat you are aiming for@annashipman
We want FT.com tech to be maintainableand supportable, simple enough so we canfocus on growth, and sustainable@annashipman
We don’t want another rebuild in a few years@annashipman
Vision: No next Next@annashipman
Alzheimer's Association“A world without hipman
Microsoft’s vision at launch:“A computer on every desk andin every home”@annashipman
Strategy is diagnosis, vision and a plan@annashipman
A plan is coherent action@annashipman
The plans, resource commitments, actions toget you to the desired end state@annashipman
You need a plan so you know what to do@annashipman
We replaced the package thatmanaged the assets for FT.com@annashipman
We moved to durable teams@annashipman
We made onboarding for ourout of hours rota easier@annashipman
@annashipman
1. Strategy is diagnosis, vision and a plan@annashipman
1. What is a strategy?2. What is a good strategy?3. What is a good tech strategy?@annashipman
The strategy should focus onthe highest leverage actions@annashipman
What single feasible objectives willmake the biggest di erence?ff@annashipman
The strategy should tell you what NOT to do@annashipman
So we can identify work that seems importantbut doesn’t move us in the right direction@annashipman
Good strategy almost alwayslooks simple@annashipman
It needs to be simple enough so that everyoneworking on it knows what they need to do@annashipman
1. Strategy is diagnosis, vision and a plan2. A good strategy focuses on the highest leverageactions, tells you what not to do and is simple@annashipman
1. What is a strategy?2. What is a good strategy?3. What is a good tech strategy?@annashipman
A tech strategy supports thebusiness strategy@annashipman
Your tech strategy should be “whatever thebusiness needs to achieve its goals”@annashipman
Your job as technologists is toidentify what that is@annashipman
There’s no point having a tech strategy aboutreducing costs if the business strategy isfocussed on creating new products@annashipman
You need to know what yourbusiness strategy is@annashipman
It may not be written down@annashipman
NintendoInstead of competing for the samegamers, look for customers whoaren’t (yet) into gamingWii sports, instead of, e.g. Halo@annashipman
The tech strategy is not about faster GPU ormore RAM, it’s about the look andfunctionality of the device and the controller@annashipman
Government Digital ServiceThe strategy is delivery@annashipman
The tech strategy is about delivering valuequickly and incrementally: MVPs, frequentreleases, learning from feedback, automation@annashipman
FT.comGrow the subscriber base by providingdelightful experiences of our world-leadingbusiness news@annashipman
The tech strategy is about tech being simpleand sustainable, so that we can focus ongrowth and new customer experiences@annashipman
1. Strategy is diagnosis, vision and a plan2. A good strategy focuses on the highest leverageactions, tells you what not to do and is simple3. A tech strategy supports the business strategy@annashipman
1. Strategy is diagnosis, vision and a plan2. A good strategy focuses on the highest leverageactions, tells you what not to do and is simple3. A tech strategy supports the business strategy.@annashipman
Useful next-42c71541ebccroles.ft.com@annashipman
Thanks!roles.ft.com@annashipman
The good, the bad and the tech strategy. . What is a good strategy? 3. What is a good tech strategy? @annashipman . A tech strategy supports the business strategy @annashipman . Your tech strategy should be "whatever the business needs to achieve its goals" .
