Williams F1: Product Development

Accenture collaborated with WilliamsF1 to enhance its product development cycle to support improved performance on the track. We worked to a tight deadline with Williams F1 to analyze the entire development lifecycle for the FW25 (the current race car) and establish a pilot that would serve as the model for production teams throughout WilliamsF1.

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Accenture and WilliamsF1 have a unique relationship, which is now in its ninth consecutive year. This includes both a sponsorship position with the team as well as a partnership through which Accenture provides WilliamsF1 a wide variety of innovative e-commerce and strategic consultancy expertise. During 2002-03, Accenture worked with WilliamsF1 to enhance its product development cycle to support improved performance on the track.

Williams F1 believed that to match pace with its competitors, the company needed to increase the rate of its product development process, and indeed its process sustainability. Due to the success of WilliamsF1 and the increasing competitiveness of Formula One, employee numbers doubled between 1995 and 2002, resulting in a more complex product development process. The old, informal ways of working and communicating did not work well in this much larger organization and employees found it difficult to relate their day-to-day to the performance of the cars they produced.

Accenture worked to a tight deadline with Williams F1 to analyze the entire development lifecycle for the FW25 (the current race car) and establish a pilot that would serve as the model for production teams throughout WilliamsF1.

The company needed to change the way project management was handled across the entire development lifecycle of the FW25, but could not afford to lose one day of development time in the process. The team chose to focus on the design and production organization (the departments responsible for defining and making the car) and break down the functional walls between departments. Senior management was asked to clearly communicate their expectations in terms of:

• Technical performance
• Reliability
• Quality
• Delivery to plan

Management was also tasked with ensuring that team members understood the roles of their co-workers.

The pilot team was focused on composite suspension production (a component part) with a broader team established to project manage overall suspension development. The team comprised representatives from eight functional teams, including aerodynamics, design, stress and composites research and development.

In the new pilot, each functional department assigned a representative who, in turn, worked together with other designated point-people from across relevant functions. This single reference approach promoted better communication among departments and created the more informal style the company had operated in when it had fewer employees. This new mode of working together also minimized the need for frequent meetings and enabled the departments to coordinate efforts.

Accenture additionally implemented simple yet innovative "visual" techniques to provide constant updates for managers which enabled better communication with workers. The system provided information in terms of: what people were working towards; how the team was progressing; and what was still to do. This simple but effective method has helped to highlight potential problems early, and manage expectations both ways.

As a result of Accenture's automotive industry and supply chain expertise, the pilot program was a huge success. Employees report having more satisfaction in their work, and a clear connection to the value they add to the cars' performance.

Some of the measurable results include:

• 44 percent increase in "good product" made before the first race, compared with 2002.
• 80 percent reduction in scrap.

In addition, visual management techniques made it easier for managers to understand progress and spot problems early.

Following the success of the pilot program, work is underway to roll out the new ways of working to other car modules and to simultaneously introduce new project management processes in the design office.