We often get asked by clients to describe our process in advance of an engagement and, like many design agencies, we’ve spent a lot of time discussing how to communicate it.
The truth is, when it comes to how we actually work, our process often shifts in different and unexpected ways.
It’s more of a set of principles than a series of steps we follow dogmatically. We’re constantly evaluating process—before, during and after projects—and what we’ve observed is that our design teams custom tailor it for each client, rather than following a pre-determined plan.
It’s more of a set of principles than a series of steps we follow dogmatically.
Why this diversity of process? The reality is, many things are out of our control: the culture of our clients’ organizations, their internal processes, the specific needs of the problem space, and the timeline and budget of individual projects. The one recurring theme that continually emerges is the impact of our engagement model on how we solve problems with our clients.
Arriving at this realization was a breakthrough for us, enabling us to accept and embrace the importance of getting an engagement model right, rather than obsessing over a uniform process that neatly ties everything together.
At Comrade we work to design our engagement models to match the needs of our clients, structuring them with an inherent flexibility that allows us to easily adapt as circumstances change.
We can be working in a number of different ways with a single client at the same time, depending on the type of project, contact or other criteria.
Loosely, our teams take the form of five types of engagements:
Rapid Innovation
We’re a hired SWAT team that enables you to work like a start-up by testing and proving the validity of new concepts quickly, with a focus of seeking out and getting new revenue streams to market fast.
Strategic Program
We apply our deep industry expertise, business analysis and a long-term strategic approach to complex, long-term, enterprise-level programs.
Project Work
We deliver strategy, research and design solutions for projects with a defined scope, large or small.
Team Augmentation
We provide small or large (often onsite) teams with functional expertise to partner with your internal team or other vendors that can help you execute a project against a tight timeframe.
Maintenance & Product Optimization
We translate customer insights using data, analytics and research into continuous improvements in the customer experience with a focus on consistency and brand alignment.
In any of these models, you get to know every comrade on your team, and you can contact any one of them directly to answer questions, provide a file or respond to any need. When you’re the size we are, you can’t afford to have a B team, and there’s no place for the old bait-and-switch. That’s what makes us invaluable to every one of our clients. In short, our approach is the one that’s best for you.
Four things we learned at the American Banker Digital Banking Summit
Four things we learned at the American Banker Digital Banking Summit
