Determine

As we have approached the third stage of the Bit Process, please, make sure you are familiar with the preceding steps - Aspire and Discover in order to grasp a bigger picture of the workflow. Yet, if the above is already the case for you, it might be the right moment to have a deep dive into the most critical chapter for the further course of our action. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome - the Determine stage.

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“If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat.”

Sheryl Sandberg
COO of Facebook and CEO of Leanin.org

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Joking. Of course you can.

With a self-described name, the beginning of this step indicates an urge to narrow down the initial list of potentially relevant technologies and shed the light on particular investment-prepared tools. However, other than merely investigating the practical potential of the identified innovations, our team is concerned with whether their integration will facilitate our client in outpacing the competitors. Hence, we ensure that a customer remains in the position to grasp an outlined opportunity, along with having sufficient data and capabilities. And, as you might already imagine, it takes quite some effort. So, what can you expect?

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Assumptions

In essence, it would be correct to say that the focal point during this phase lays in creating and validating assumptions. In order to secure the final pay-off for the client, the Bit research team gets to the very core of the issue, applying a multiperspective view to place a situation in a larger context.

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"Assumptions are drawn to test whether a concept can make an actual impact. Think about it as a set of criteria a technology is supposed to meet in order to prove its potential value for the company. Generally, they are based on the three pillars: firstly, we are concerned with the feasibility of our assumptions, meaning that we must have a sufficient scope of data and predictions to ensure the prototype's success. Next to that, our hypotheses are evaluated from the standpoint of viability. In a certain sense, that's when we resort to a business case paradigm and estimate whether the adoption of a concept will be profitable for a client. Finally, our assumptions need to comply with demands for desirability. Would people be willing to use a prototype? That is another question to keep in mind."

Marijke Zondag
Junior Design Researcher

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Spikes

No, it has nothing to do with the sharp objects. Rather, a spike stands for the first practical assessment of a technology to ensure that it will lead to an optimal solution. Through testing for easily reproduced edge cases, such trial runs also grant an idea of how much additional work and refinement could be needed, directing developers towards a more wholesome image of a final product.

In the realm of software development, a spike embraces two primary functions - technical and functional aspects. While the former is oftentimes utilized for the evaluation of an impact a concept might exert over its current implementation, the functional side identifies the interaction with a new feature. As we are getting technical here, one example can be worth dozens of words, so let's just draw upon a real-life instance to see what a spike can look like.

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Working with a leading auto retail group in the Netherlands, our team was posed a challenge to deal with the increasing complexity of global supply chains and transportation costs. Given even furtherly anticipated growth in supply volume and the potential emergence of new locations and markets, the situation required prompt and coherent changes.

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At the time, our client operated via the means of simple bundling - the transportation of the vehicle that shares the same date, origin, and location in common, and allows, on average, 2 cars per truck. Seeking to optimise the transportation system and automate tasks that would normally lead to capital losses and unjustified time consumption, our spike took its roots in the idea of complex bundling. Through incorporation of the predetermined parameters, such as capacity of the trucks, shift time, and accompanying costs, our meta-heuristic-based optimization algorithm generated a solution that nearly doubled the average amount of cars bundled, not to mention hundred thousands Euros saved per year.

Picture this: our team has successfully identified a technology that would suit your challenge, mapped out feasible expectations, tested the innovation's capabilities in the context of a conceptual prototype, and is just about to proceed to the next phase of the process. Yet, here's the deal: once the opportunity is framed and polished, allowing it to be taken in hands and examined from multiple angles, you may sense a wave of aversion kindling down your stomach.

When this appears - and hesitance is quite a malicious, yet persuasive voice - clients usually find themselves trapped in the existentialism-inspired oblivion of "to be or not to be". Are we ready for this? Isn't this too much of a hassle? Do we actually need it if the old ways still seem to be working just fine? Drawing upon the previous experience, we are well aware that such a quest is a normal situation to find yourself in - at the end of the day, the final word is always up to you. Yet, while you question the cost of accelerating and scaling up for the sake of long-term success, our team is always glad to render the solution by providing the exact cost of doing nothing. Coined in an overview of expenditures induced by existing operational practices along with estimates on foreseeable losses in the light of emerging trends, those round numbers will surely speak for themselves. Now, will you prefer losing for the past or investing for the future?
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“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”

W. Edwards Deming
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Yet, in case that is what you prefer to pick, we will be thrilled to guide you through the experience of the Bit Presentations, followed by the last stage of our journey - the Prototype phase.