Future Digital Tech & Labs Project Alternative Jaxlha Assignment Brief 2025

Future Digital Tech & Labs Project

Axlha is a market leading professional services company, offering best in class consulting, digital solutions and labs to customers around the world.

There is strong competition in the marketplace. Jaxlha is committed to offering customers competitively priced consulting and assurance products and services, with improved accessible digital solutions and labs. An organisational change programme is underway to optimise their services and operational effectiveness.

Jaxlha has used their expert labs to work with customers on important subject areas such as security, digital apps and innovation, as well as holding customer events for key engagements or knowledge share. However, staff and customer feedback has identified that some of the digital technology as being behind the curve, adversely affecting customer experience, solution performance and response times.

The executive team intend to launch new technology and lab functionality to better support customers evolving needs, coordinating lab and technology teams to design new solutions mindful of lead times and impact. Jaxlha believe it is essential to ensure their digital solutions and labs remain ‘cutting edge’ and innovative to meet and exceed their customer needs, to retain its outstanding reputation across the marketplace and industry regulators.

A project team has been formed consisting of the lab owners and subject experts, internal IT developers, partner supplier (Rubellite) and customer ‘expert users’ to plan and implement the transformation of the digital technology and lab service offering. Their collaboration, communication and an Agile approach will be essential to successfully deliver the project and improve customer service and experience; without disrupting the current ongoing lab services.

This may require new roles and skills to support the launch of the new digital technology and lab functionality, and to establish new innovative ways of work and improved customer services. It is important that regular communications are established to keep everyone updated and engaged in the project’s progress; collaboration activity will also need to be aligned to Hybrid Working, with many staff splitting their time between working from home or the office.

The executive announcement about the project was hugely appreciated by staff and customers, however there have been several challenges in its initial mobilisation, which has led to a breakdown in communications and working relationships between the parties involved and could potentially lead to the project’s failure!

The lab owners and subject experts have been collating their design ideas, prototypes and user journeys; however, this is based on experience and feedback to date. The partner supplier (Rubellite) has been working around the clock to set up and configure example labs at their premises to demonstrate the ‘art of the possible’ using the very best new digital technology and devices; with costings for a variety of options whilst they wait for information on their client’s potential budget. Selected customers were excited when first invited to participate in shaping the new labs for the future. However subsequent project communications and invitations to ‘plan and design’ sessions at the nearest Jaxlha lab, appear to have only been sent to a small number of the target customers, leaving others feeling frustrated.

The project management office has also complained about the impossibility of establishing a project plan, project communications, meetings and shared file spaces for collaboration, when senior management have not yet confirmed which personnel are assigned to the project.
Complaints have also been received from staff contacted by the PMO, as they did not know they had been assigned to the project and still have other important work they need to continue to deliver.

Whilst the partner supplier (Rubellite) had seen an early draft of the lab owners’ ideas and feedback for improvement, they had not seen the later more detailed requirements and lab designs issued by lab owners to the PMO, nor have they been advised on any target implementation approach and schedule.

As a result, there is a significant risk that they may not be able to source the new technology in time or have sufficient staff with the right skills when needed.

The PMO has had to take a best endeavours approach to respond to frustrated staff and customers however this has adversely impacted their previously excellent Customer Satisfaction statistics.

As part of their public commitment to Sustainability and Social Value, Jaxlha intends to collect old lab equipment and any wipe data, to gift the equipment to charity partners to support community projects. However, with the rollout dates and project execution being unclear, the Sustainability and Public Communications team are concerned this may start to erode goodwill with partner charities and the community.

A Remedy Action Plan is urgently required!

Our CTO has decided to bring you in to identify the best approach to bring the parties back together, to work collaboratively as one team toward the successful delivery of the project; improving engagement and satisfaction amongst customers engaged on the new labs and the charity and community partners  benefitting from the reuse of the old lab equipment!

Your recommended approach must be supported by best practice techniques including brainstorming, starbursting, mind-mapping and coaching.

It is essential that you work collaboratively with colleagues, taking a structured approach to determine the best solution.

There are some key performance indicators she wants to see evidenced in your recommended solution and your engagement in this task:

Strategic thinking, to understand and support the company’s objectives Teamwork leveraging diversity of skills and knowledge, to create high quality solutions

Information analysis and use of best practice techniques Planning, organisation, and decision making to identify and manage activities Critical thinking and problem-solving skills, to create and develop solutions Identifying and managing Critical Success Indicators Strong engagement and communication skills, articulating a compelling proposal for execution.

Your sponsor has also asked that you complete the following assignment within the agreed deadline:

• A Recommendation Report using the template provided must be submitted which is 2000 words in length, excluding references and supporting graphics included in your appendices (i.e. starbursting, mindmapping, brainstorming etc).