From working with an agency to working with a freelancer
Another example of figuring out how to work in a more Agile way in a risk-averse culture.
When you’re risk-averse, finding the right agency takes months. You follow the Procurement Policy, go out to tender to get five responses, do Dun & Bradstreet assessment, negotiate the contract, and then eventually you get to work.
When you embrace the uncertainty, finding a freelance developer takes days. You message a few on LinkedIn, have an informal phone interview, pick which one can do what you need and get them started.
There’s risk in moving from building a website with a reliable agency who you can have faith will be there tomorrow and next week and next month when you need them, to using freelance developers who can move on and take their knowledge with them at any time. So, how can you manage this risk?
Embracing the uncertainty, you make decisions quickly with what information you have, you break the work into small chunks, do a few pieces of work and then decide what’s next rather than creating a plan at the beginning of the project.
Will it work? We’ll find out over the next few months.