IBM Supply Chain Intelligence Suite
A Zero-to-One Enterprise Software Launch
CONTEXT
Despite previous attempts by IBM to offer supply chain visibility solutions, these efforts did not gain significant traction in the market, and the legacy offering teams faced differing opinions among product management, development, and design teams regarding necessary improvements.
The objective was to modernize IBM's supply chain management solutions by delivering a novel and compelling experience built on the existing technical foundation. This required simultaneous integration with new intelligent capabilities, all within a tight timeframe of a couple months.
ACTION
A small group of experts across Design, Product, Engineering and partner disciplines came together for 8 weeks with a mission to redefine the product strategy for IBM's supply chain offerings—from the ground up.
By centering around an artifact driven way-of-working, leveraging foundational design patterns, and leaning hard on the RITE method, I guided cross-functional leadership to establish a unified vision based on user research and rooted in the needs of the market.
Tiger Team assembled for the Supply Chain Mission
Original NASA Tiger Team assembled for the Apollo 13 mission
How the SCIS Tiger Team operated:
-
Not everyone is invited, and that's okay. This is how we stay nimble. Everyone in the room must be an empowered decision maker.
-
A.B.C. Always be creating. Artifacts drive discussion, discovery, and refinement. Show up with something to talk about.
-
Stay grounded. Playbacks to stakeholders and RITE testing with users throughout the process kept us on track.
-
Time box it. Tiger teams need to act quickly to make an impact. There are no project extensions. We move with intentionality, knowing there's no second shot at it.
Disparate data sources consolidated in the Data Explorer
Data sources managed by Supply Chain Professionals (Left to right: Email, ERP systems, Spreadsheets)
The Tiger team spent our first couple weeks digging through existing material from sales enablement, industry research, and doing countless interviews with PMs and Consulting. **
"There could be a zillion things you could be looking at, and there are different portals depending on what kind of access you have…"
– Supply chain manager, Global manufacturer
They wanted a visibility tool—but those already existed in the market. So, we made another artifact.
**During this phase, we found user research that had been all but ignored previously.
Work Queue showing parts short of demand
Following an artifact driven approach meant that we were making wireframes and testing these concepts with users & SMEs on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis.
What were learned as we showed them "visibility", was that they were truly craving actionability.
Work Item Research Powered by AI
Work Item Resolution Page
When we showed users "actionability" it started to become apparent which actions they really didn't want to take at all—but would rather automate.
Next, we learned which actions they needed assistance with on a regular basis—assistance that could be provided by AI.
In 2 months time, our team was centered around a prototype that would be foundational in launching the Supply Chain Intelligence Suite.
Each team member knew the demo, knew the script, and could speak to the vision and the why behind it.
This north star prototype also enabled the team to write "well baked requirements", which drove a rapid pace of development.
✨ Along the way, we kept the teams who would be building the product and launching it involved in playbacks. When the Tiger Team ended, those teams were able to take the baton and run.
IMPACT
Supply Chain Intelligence Suite (SCIS) bridged user experience gaps and surpassed mere visibility to offer actionable insights, prioritizing resolution of supply chain issues with AI assistance.
SALES FUNNEL GROWTH
Scripted prototypes served as a vital sales tool, contributing to SCIS's growth from a single legacy customer to multiple signings in the first months in market.
INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
SCIS earned the 2022 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Award from the Business Intelligence Group
NEW WAYS OF WORKING
Product teams across the business subsequently followed this Tiger Team approach to iterate and launch their own new concepts.