How do we manage and deliver our programmes in a rapidly changing market?

June 19, 2023

We run essential programmes to improve our services and drive positive change in the retail energy market. This includes programmes to facilitate the move to a more intelligent energy system, simplify the metering codes of practice, reduce energy theft and improve energy switching.

However, the energy market is experiencing rapid change, so we must approach our programmes in an adaptive and agile manner. In this article, we talk about how we use epic prioritisation and the MoSCoW model of agile portfolio management to achieve our goals whilst responding to the market.

How do we break our goals and programmes down into achievable segments?

We use the process of ‘Epic Prioritisation’. RECCo’s overall strategic aims and goals are agreed annually and set out in Forward Work Plan (FWP). Following consultation with industry, this becomes the basis for our Programmes and workstreams. The RECCo Executive team takes these themes (our programmes or workstreams) and breaks them into ‘Epics’ i.e. a work breakdown structure to enable better project structuring and flexibility in scope. Associated epics are then grouped to form a project which is also supported by a business case to provide assurance for the project scope and value. These significant pieces of work are then executed to deliver the FWP. Importantly, the Executive team holds a prioritisation meeting quarterly where a review of all changes is discussed and prioritised using MoSCoW (see more below), and publicly shared in the codes road map to provide industry with a full view of potential change.

These ‘Epics’ then broken down into features – a deliverable that adds value and moves towards completing the Epic and ultimately the FWP. We then break the features down into ‘User Stories’ – short requirements or requests written from an end user’s perspective. A story describes a need that can be satisfied by introducing or changing a new feature. They can usually be resolved within a single sprint.

How do we prioritise our work in response to a changing market?

We use the MoSCoW model of agile portfolio management to ensure we review and prioritise all epics quarterly. This enables adaption and agility in our delivery. MoSCoW is an abbreviation:

Mo stands for ‘Must have’ – something that the service or product cannot do without and must be included to meet the goal
S stands for ‘Should have’ – something that should be included but are not that critical to meet the goal
C stands for ‘Could have’ – something that improve the experience but are not critical to deliver the goal
W stands for ‘Won’t have’ – something that is not currently in the REC vires or won’t deliver against the required goal

We ensure that deliverables under M and S are our priorities, which can change due to market flux.