- Division wide implementation of the iterative approach.

In 2006 the demand organization of Achmea division Social Security decided to further professionalize it’s project execution capability. The initial focus was on the workflows for system design and system development. Earlier, Achmea had decided to use Prince2® and the RUP® as company standards. Another division already achieved good results by applying these standards. This was the reason for management of Social Security to test drive this new way of working in a pilot project. The original scope was enlarged to also include project management and automated testing. Product centered acting and thinking was to become an important theme.

Empulsys was already active at Achmea in tailoring and taking care of a practical implementation of the principles behind Prince2® and the RUP® and was asked to also apply this knowledge and experience to the professionalization programme at Social Security. In close cooperation with project management, the project team and quality management, guidelines were tailored for the pilot project and consecutively put into practice with the guidance of Empulsys. This cooperation proved to be very successful. Within agreed schedule and budget more functionality was delivered than initially planned. The deployment of the produced software also proved flawless. This success lead to the implementation and support of the new way of working at a larger scale.

At the end of 2007 a decision was made to apply similar practices to a large scale progamme, partly on customer request. The customer had also embraced this approach himself, not only encouraged by the results, but also because of the traceability and control it offers. Empulsys was again asked to help in tailoring the approach to the specifics of this much larger scale challenge. Top priorities were a verifiable risk driven approach, keeping promises and making well founded plans.

In 2009 the foundations that were made together during this period of time are still being used. The integral approach and the the integral control of and by project management have proven to be essential.

Achmea Social Security and Empulsys therefore still maintain an active relationship. At the center of this relationship is keeping current project teams focused, training of new team members and providing counterweigh against the natural tendency to fall back into old patterns.

“Empulsys taught us how to transform the potential of iterative development and project management into tangible results.”
- Gideon Beijk, Project Manager Achmea, division Social Security