Delivery excellence is a broad term. At its most basic level, it means ensuring that projects are delivered on time, on budget and in a way that provides maximum value for the customer. These are important considerations, but our definition goes much deeper.
When we talk about delivery excellence at Daemon, we’re talking about a process of continuous improvement. We want to make sure that every project is delivered not just in line with its specifications, but in line with our values. We don’t just want to change your technological capabilities- we want to change your mindset around technology itself.
This is a lot to ask, and this is where Jimmy Headdon comes in. As our recently appointed Head of Delivery Excellence, it’s Jimmy’s job to ensure that we’re delivering in every sense of the word. We caught up with Jimmy to find out what delivery excellence means to him, and how Daemon plans to keep going above and beyond for its clients.
Connect with Jimmy on LinkedIn
Meet Jimmy- an excellent addition to our team
Jimmy is one of our newer Daemonites, coming to the company as a Principal Consultant in September 2022 and taking on his new role just two months ago. His earlier CV is jam-packed with high-tech, high-pressure roles, encompassing everything from Formula One to mobile gaming. As he explains, he’s always thrived in these kinds of situations:
“I’ve spent the last 20 years working in delivery-focused industries and environments. I’ve always loved those high-pressure, high-cadence, very tangible environments because it’s all about continuous improvement and iteration.”
For Jimmy, the Delivery Excellence job was a natural progression. In his new role, he works across all parts of the business to ensure client satisfaction and involvement. This gives him plenty of scope to keep things varied:
“There’s delivery in the traditional sense- meeting deadlines and making sure you’re within budget, but the excellence part is where it gets really interesting. It’s about determining our principles and practices. What tools and mindsets allow us to bring the Daemon values and the Daemon skills to our clients?”
More from Jimmy: How ‘game days’ can help your business prepare for the unexpected
Setting the right expectations
One of our North Star ambitions is to be client-centric in everything we do, and this is particularly relevant when it comes to project delivery. Today’s clients don’t just want a product that matches their specifications- they want to be involved every step of the way. As Jimmy tells us, this has become a cornerstone of our delivery strategy:
“Clients want to feel like they’re involved from end to end, which is completely understandable. They don’t want change to happen to them- they want to be part of it. Nobody wants to get to the end of a project and find that the outcome doesn’t match the original expectations. Our people-focused approach allows us to build real relationships and to make sure that what we’re doing is what the client really wants.”
Before we begin a project, we create a delivery team charter. This charter sets out the client’s needs and expectations—everything from their preferred level of interaction to the values they wish to uphold. It is mutually agreed upon, ensuring everyone is on the same page from day one.
Constant feedback means constant improvement
The delivery team charter ensures we get off on the right foot, but client feedback doesn’t end there. Feedback loops- the tighter, the better- are a key part of our delivery strategy. Regular check-ins allow us to address issues as they arise rather than leaving them to grow into bigger problems:
“The feedback is quite wide-ranging. It can be something as simple as highlighting a risk or a dependency and then getting suggestions for tackling it, or it can also be something more fundamental, like changing the composition of a team. Whatever it is, we want to hear it warts and all because this allows us to make the right decisions and, more importantly, to make them in a timely manner.”
Our commitment to feedback doesn't end with our clients. We also carry out regular customer satisfaction surveys and monitor the delivery teams' satisfaction. We hold regular catch-ups asking the team how they feel about their current engagement. The same warts and all approach applies here. We see client and employee satisfaction as two sides of the same coin so if the team are unhappy, we want to know about it:
“The two things are dynamically linked. If the team are disgruntled or demotivated, that’s going to affect client satisfaction. Equally, if the client isn’t happy, it’s not long before the team are unhappy. We definitely want to invest in both sides. We want to make sure we’ve got the right people in the team and that we’re giving them the training and support they need, not to mention the right amount of space and agency. We want them to feel valued and have the autonomy to do what they need to do.”
Feedback also serves another function. In such a high-tech industry, it's a way to ensure that the human element isn’t lost. As Jimmy tells us, ignoring this aspect of a project can be a fatal mistake:
“Delivery is rarely late or not delivered to spec because of technology. It’s almost always the processes, the practices, the people and the communication channels. Feedback is a never-ending process, but it’s the core of who we are and how we differentiate ourselves from the competition.”
Excellence in action: read our case studies for an in-depth look at project delivery
An excellent future awaits
Delivery excellence isn’t just about doing what’s best in the current moment. It’s a way to future proof our business by ensuring continuous growth and improvement. We see every project as a learning experience, allowing us to refine our service with every passing year.
This has already paid off in a big way. We’ve established a strong reputation as a dynamic and trustworthy partner, winning industry awards and securing prestigious clients along the way. Through our commitment to delivery excellence, we’ve built an unparalleled level of trust with our clients. As Jimmy explains, this puts us in a strong position for the future:
“We have a wealth of skills and experience and we’re not afraid to challenge you if we think you could be getting more out of our time together. We want you to succeed because our fates are intrinsically linked. People love working with our teams and it builds from there. The question now is how do we sustain it, how do we scale it, and how do we evolve it?”
Don’t settle for anything less than excellent. Talk to our team today or connect with Jimmy on LinkedIn to get your project started the right way.