Even the strongest product vision can become distorted when overwhelmed by competing priorities.

This anonymized client success story examines how a simple exercise allowed a once profitable division to regain focus and its dominance. This exercise can be just as effective on a single project or product line.

BACKGROUND:

RSD is one of the research and development arms of a Fortune 100 company. They turn pure science into products that are manufactured on a global scale.

The division had an initiative tied to the growth of autonomous vehicles. They wanted to make driving safer. But RSD had a problem in early 2016; their 2.5 year average development cycle was far too slow to keep up with advancements in the field. This meant their newest offerings would be obsolete before they even entered the market. There was an additional challenge; RSD had more priority projects than they could ever realistically finish. 

In short, their teams were always starting something new. What they weren’t doing was finishing. So nothing was getting to market. 

Then a Scrum Inc. principal consultant used this simple exercise to help the division regain its focus. 

Key Takeaways

The number of projects the division was working on was cut from more than 100 to 12. 

In five Sprints – just ten weeks – RSD saw their productivity double. And they discovered revenue opportunities they never would have before.

In fact, the once stagnant RSD was highlighted by the multinational’s CEO who told investors the company was now finding ways to embed data into the reflective paint and tape already ubiquitous on roadways. They could literally pave the way for autonomous vehicles, robots, even traffic cones to warn each other of hazards.