Services · How does it end up in use, and stay there?
When every supplier is responsible for its own part, nobody is responsible for the technical whole.
In a multi-supplier project one party has to be responsible for architecture, interfaces and quality requirements. We can take that role for the duration of the implementation. We then review the changes before they reach production, including changes made by other suppliers.
When this becomes relevant
- Your suppliers deliver what was agreed, and the whole still does not work.
- Nobody holds technical responsibility for the whole.
- Every supplier does the work in its own way, and the quality varies with the person doing it.
- Errors in the interfaces are found only when the parts are joined together.
What the role covers
We define the methods and the ways of working that the suppliers follow. For the duration of the implementation we are responsible for the overall architecture and the interface definitions. We write the quality requirements and the acceptance criteria. Every change comes to us for review before it is merged (pull request), and we approve it before it reaches production. The same applies to all work that goes into production: we review every change and our architect approves it before release, including in the customer's own code repositories.
Approval means that the change conforms to the architecture and meets the interface definitions and the quality criteria. The supplier that made the change is responsible for its functional content and for its defects.
We do not own our customers' solutions. We take responsibility for the whole for the duration of the implementation and bring it to the agreed level. After that the responsibility is yours or that of whoever you give it to.
What the responsibility means and what it does not
| We are responsible for | We are not responsible for |
|---|---|
| the overall architecture and the preparation of the decisions that concern it | the contractual obligations of the other suppliers |
| the definition of the interfaces | the content and the schedule of the other suppliers' deliveries |
| the quality requirements and the acceptance criteria | the decisions that belong to you as the customer |
| the review of changes and the technical approval |
Technical ownership of the whole is a role inside the programme. The technical approval is delegated to us, and the decisions on content and scope are yours. Each supplier keeps the contractual responsibility for its own delivery.
What the role requires from you
The role works only if it has authority. The approval procedure is written into the ground rules of the programme and into new contracts and procurement documents. You name a person to whom we report.
Evidence
We have held this role with two customers. One of them is Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County.
How to buy this
As a defined role for the duration of the implementation, as a project or as a continuous allocation. The need for the role and its limits become clear in the definition.