iCore Professional Services – how we work
It may not be the traditional consulting model, but by working agile in teams, iCore has gained a stronger sense of community, faster deliveries and a better exchange of knowledge.
- Today, we have a closer collaboration where each member of the team feels that they are contributing to a joint effort. This has reduced stress and created a more pleasant working environment, says Sofia Lundberg, change manager and integration consultant at iCore and responsible for developing the agile working method.
The consulting group consists of consultants, salespeople and support staff, which means that more people are directly involved in customer delivery. Together, the teams ensure that each customer's integration project is completed on time and with the best possible results. Each team is led by a team coach.
A team can work with multiple clients simultaneously, and members select their tasks from a daily backlog. Each customer has a contact person at iCore who is responsible for maintaining a dialogue with the customer and ensuring deliveries. However, each person in the team is well versed in the customer's needs and integration challenges.
Being a member of the team means you always have colleagues close at hand. The teams consist of both junior and senior iCore employees.
- However, the focus is not on tenure – the goal is to create diversity of skills with a mix of architects, project managers, developers, etc. All teams have the collective skills required to take on customer assignments.
What is it like to work at iCore Professional Services?
- New colleagues are immediately placed in a team and start working closely with the other members. You always have someone to ask for help or just brainstorm with. We have experienced that this method creates a better working environment, says Sofia Lundberg.
iCore has offices in Stockholm and Gothenburg, where the latter office has an open floor plan without assigned desks. The members of a team often tend to sit together, which has increased the sense of community in the company.
- Of course, we sometimes work in the customers' offices, as in a traditional consulting role. The focus is on being flexible and making it easy for everyone to work.
How does the agile process work?
Every morning the team members meet for a daily stand-up. The tasks of the day are discussed - what is close at hand, what requires extra attention and so on. All to ensure that the time frames are kept.
Refinement are weekly meetings within the teams, which are used to evaluate incoming tasks and set priorities.
About once a month, the teams evaluate their work afterwards and take a closer look at how the teams have developed ("Retrospective"). What has worked well, what needs improvement? Simply put - it makes agile teams more agile.
- We also have a code review, where the members look at their work together with a colleague. The main aim is of course to improve delivery to our customers, but it is also an opportunity for learning and self-improvement.
Competence and knowledge are a large part of iCore's delivery. A simple way for employees to improve can generate greater value for customers.
- Working agile has increased collaboration within the company and created a greater exchange of knowledge, but the most important thing is that our colleagues enjoy and like coming to work every day, says Sofia Lundberg.