Chevening
Replaced a scholarship application system handling thousands of applications a year, with design partner Webb & Webb.
Read the case study: Chevening →
Discovery and consultancy
Most of a migration happens before anything is built. We start on site with your teams. Workshops with each department, an inventory of every system and data source, and a record of every decision, so the plan you sign off reflects how the organisation actually works.
Where you're starting from
- Drupal
- WordPress
- Sitecore
- SharePoint
- Bespoke CMS
Where you go next is decided in the Blueprint. Sometimes the answer is to upgrade.
Which situation are you in?
Starting out
You know something has to change
The platform is out of support, or the workarounds have become the job. You need to know what to move to, what it costs and what could go wrong before you ask for a budget.
Discovery gives you a costed plan to take to your board.
Stuck
Departments can't agree
Every team wants something different from the new platform, and nobody owns the decision. We run the workshops, record what was agreed and by whom, and get each department to sign off.
Discovery ends with a signed-off decision log.
Tendering
You need a specification
You are going to procurement and need a scope suppliers can price against. The plan is yours to use with any supplier, including us.
Discovery gives you a defensible scope and budget.
Want it fixed-price?
The Migration Blueprint is our discovery as a three-week, fixed-price package, credited against the build if you go ahead with us.
What usually goes wrong, and how we stop it
Projects go wrong when the plan describes how the organisation is meant to work rather than how it does. Discovery is where that gap is found, while it is still cheap to close.
1
Unheard departments
One workshop per department, on site, so the team that runs the Gift Aid claim is heard as well as the team that runs the website.
2
Unknown systems
Every system, data source, owner and integration listed, including the spreadsheets that hold things together.
3
Undecided questions
A decision log of what was agreed, by whom and why, so nothing is relitigated halfway through the build.
4
Budget surprises
A costed, phased plan with the risks priced in, rather than a single number that only holds if nothing goes wrong.
5
The wrong platform
A recommendation made against your content, integrations and team. Sometimes it is to upgrade what you already have.
6
Lost rankings
A first URL inventory, so the redirect plan is scoped from the start rather than squeezed in before launch.
How discovery runs
Typically a few weeks
- Kick-offGoals, stakeholders and constraints agreed with your project lead.
- WorkshopsOne per department, on site, with a summary after each.
- AuditSystems, data, integrations and URLs inventoried and mapped.
- OptionsPlatform and approach options compared against what you need.
- PlanCosted, phased plan and decision log, presented to leadership.
Programmes that started with discovery
University of London Housing
Replaced the accommodation service's platform so students and landlords could find each other, and the team could run it themselves.
Read the case study: University of London Housing →Questions
If yours isn't here, it's usually quicker to ask on the phone.
How long does discovery take?
Usually a few weeks, depending on how many departments and systems are involved. The Migration Blueprint fixes it at three weeks.
Do we have to use you for the build?
No. The plan is written to be used with any supplier. If you do go ahead with us, the Blueprint fee is credited against the build.
Who needs to be involved from our side?
A project lead with the authority to make decisions, and a few hours from someone in each department that uses the platform.
Does it have to be on site?
We recommend it. People explain how they really work far more readily in a room than on a call, and that is the information the plan depends on.
Start with a Blueprint!
Three weeks, from £5,500 + VAT. Credited against the build, and yours to take to any supplier.