Imagine a customer-centric health center where the customer is not passed along from one door to another but the patient immediately encounters a caregiver who treats them. What if the health center could also offer services remotely and the follow-up would be executed by the same expert as the first time?
This type of operation and its implementation is one of the services provided by Savoa Partners Oy for health care providers. In implementing Savoa Partners’ superior operating model, we utilised agile development methods usually used in software development. Along the way, Savoa Partners has been assisted by Taskmill, a consulting agency specialising in agile methods.
“We have helped Savoa streamline its project operations and respond to the rapidly changing operating environment by designing and implementing an agile development model that suits them. We saw in weeks that the application of iteration cycles and roles familiar from agile was a complete success. The big room events we planned together have played a key role in the effective implementation of the operating model for Savoa’s experts and thus also for the end customer”, says Elina Kervinen, Taskmill’s CEO.
With the help of Taskmill, Savoa has fully implemented agile methods in its project management. This includes self-directed teams, working in iteration cycles, using iteration ceremonies, and deploying digital tools such as Trello and Confluence. The traditional role of a Project Manager has also been transformed by splitting the role into those of a Product Owner and Scrum Master. However, the change does not only affect Savoa’s own ways of working. The health care centers that are Savoa’s customers have also been involved in agile operations very successfully. For example, in customer projects, the day starts with a daily, which is facilitated by Savoa’s Scrum Master.
This change has brought an efficient structure and consistency to Savoa’s operations, so that there is no need to reinvent the wheel with each new project. In addition, the transition to agile methods has brought the ability to react quickly to changes and increased transparency that also reflects to Savoa’s customers. Thanks to the new operating model, Savoa can apply its concepts even more smoothly, taking into account the special characteristics of each end customer.
“When COVID-19 struck, we had to react quickly and adjust our ways of working immediately. Fortunately, we already had a highly functional, agile model created with Taskmill. Taskmill supported us in this situation as well, by participating in shaping the Quantum Leap Concept to suit the new situation. They also guided us on how to modify the development model to make the implementation of our concept as efficient as possible and to reach as many health centers as possible at the same time”, says Risto Mäkinen, Savoa’s CEO.
In the near future, Savoa and Taskmill will focus on eliminating the dependencies between different healthcare and social welfare’s area-specific projects and building a toolkit that increases the performance in different projects. The Quantum Leap concept has become a new normal, and will continue to be a new normal even after COVID-19, and in several municipalities this has already been understood.
Savoa Partners
Savoa Partners develops the healthcare model in both the public and private sectors and produces e.g. remote reception services. The company helps its customers improve the availability of healthcare services, increase their effectiveness, increase productivity and improve both the customer and staff experience. Savoa Partners provides remote reception for organizations that want to offer their patients effortless and impressive services. Together with the client, the desired outcome is modeled so that the path of all parties, especially the patient, is as agile as possible. Savoa Partners’ staff is united by a strong mission that has to do with effective primary care, and experience in the means to achieve it.
Taskmill
Taskmill is a consulting firm specializing in agile management and coaching. Taskmill’s experts are Finland’s most experienced professionals when it comes to agile methods, and they always put their customer’s needs and problems as the starting point of problem-solving. Taskmill’s core competence is to simplify and rationalise operating models so that the customer’s projects are completed more efficiently, the end results are of higher quality and job satisfaction is improved. Taskmill has helped several companies develop their operating models and transform them into agile, while expanding agile to completely new industries.
Learn More
Savoa Partners
Risto Mäkinen, CEO
risto.makinen@savoapartners.fi
https://savoapartners.fi/
Taskmill
Elina Kervinen, CEO & Agile Leadership Consultant
elina.kervinen@taskmill.fi
https://www.taskmill.fi