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How to become a change agent

Elmarie Esser, 8 minute read

Did you know that Pega Express™ is the best approach to deliver Pega solutions? And what is more, you can become a Pega Express change agent in just seven minutes. That is how long it will take you to read this blog and get the details. 

We all love James Bond, code name 007 (double-oh-seven). A fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming. He featured the secret service agent in twelve novels and two short-story collections. 

Much like the writer’s short stories, depicting the James Bond persona on his multitude of exciting journeys and interactions with villains, Pega Express is a customer-focused approach. We help clients break complex business problems into smaller pieces – Microjourneys™ – each delivering an outcome, and when combined, creating a seamless end-to-end customer experience like no other. 
 
Want to become a change agent with Pega Express? Here is how you do it. 

001 – Dr. No 

If you are a client or partner, we are not asking you to change how you implement projects. We are asking you to adopt Pega Express for Pega projects. You may find our best practices beneficial for other types of projects too. Our approach equips you and your delivery teams to discover, prepare, build and adopt new Pega capabilities faster and with more repeatable success. Pega’s consulting practice is implementing with Pega Express and getting extraordinary results for our clients. 

“Never say 'no' to adventures. Always say 'yes,' otherwise, you'll lead a very dull life.” 

 ― Ian Fleming 
 
So, say “yes” to know more about Pega Express and what we offer to enhance your delivery experience. 

002 – State it clearly, confidently 

James Bond never misses a beat when asked how he takes his martini. “Shaken, not stirred.” We want you to be as clear and confident in articulating the value of Pega Express to clients, partners, and each other.  

If you are a client, you know we use design thinking techniques to help you align and prioritize internally on what you need; this helps you get to market faster, more confidently. Focusing first on the customer journey to solve the business problem before you look at technology is the right way to solve business problems. 

If you are a solutions consultant, then you know how we leverage design thinking techniques and Microjourneys to design business outcomes and customer experience our clients love. You know that using Microjourneys helps our clients get value fast and scale smart. It supports conversations with key stakeholders, and you have confidence in your proposals and advice because you are focusing on the outcomes, not the features. 

If you are part of a delivery team, Pega Express captures the client’s vision in a way that helps you deliver outcomes faster, because we are all aligned on what is possible and you are the best in the craft of making it real. 

003 – Don’t be shy about commitment 

Our clients want to empower their people and continue to build Pega applications, getting the most out of their investment. We need our clients and stakeholders to be active participants in the journey. Not only do we need to understand the current situation, but we need to collaborate on the new business capabilities to ensure the expected outcomes are realized.  

If you are a client that selected coproduction, then your people need to be trained and build up new skills; it takes time and commitment. Without training, you will not get the best experience. You have access to the best resources to coach your people and give them the skills needed to build more value over time.  

004 – Plan like a hero 

In most Bond movies, the villains have elaborate plans, but the hero always wins because heroes plan for what happens next. Outsmart your competition. As a best practice, we focus on priorities first to ensure immediate value. However, we help our clients to plan a roadmap with several releases to ensure scalability in the right way. Crafting the customer journeys and business outcomes ensures you build applications using out-of-the-box capabilities to accelerate time to value and know when to customize to suit your specific needs. Upgradability is the key to success long term. 

005 – Ensure everyone is in the know 

If you are an account executive or part of the delivery team, you know how important it is to understand who is necessary to build an informed coalition. The most important part is to ensure everyone is on the same page. Things change; time goes by fast. The delivery teams need to make sure that we keep our immediate stakeholders and sponsors up to date on progress. Communication at a regular cadence is the best way to prepare the teams for the big event – go live with a new capability that achieves the business outcomes.  

If you are a client, you need to leverage your internal communication and marketing teams to create awareness about the change within your organization. Set expectations and prepare your employees to do their work differently. We Build for Change; you need to prepare and manage the change. 

006 - How to drive a 007 car 

In your dreams! But really, the Aston Martin is a car that elicits excitement from the drivers and pretty much anyone who sees the car in action. Similarly, when done right, our clients see unbelievable results with Pega. Pega Express is the best way to bring your vision to life with Pega solutions. Not only is it the way we ensure the end-to-end customer experience is fantastic, but it also helps our clients see what’s under the hood, which is just as powerful.  

Pega technology has diagnostic tools to analyze the health of your applications, guardrails to identify any rulesets that are not optimized, and a continuous integration and delivery pipeline to minimize the risk of releasing new capabilities into production. 

Pega Express helps you take advantage of all these capabilities to ensure you get the most out of your investment by iteratively releasing new capabilities and adapting to change as it happens. 

007 – One is never enough 

The James Bond story did not end with the death of the author in 1964. Not only did the Ian Fleming Publishers commission writers to continue the novels, but many derivative works on television, radio, and other channels came to life and continued to fascinate our imaginations. 

Similarly, one Pega application or project is not enough for your digital transformation. It is imperative to keep building out your business capabilities. Pega technology makes it easy. You can expand to provide your business capabilities across multiple channels, add new capabilities, and extend your customer experiences. Plan your next Pega journey with Pega Express! 

Recommended resources: 

Don’t forget 

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About the Author

Elmarie Esser joined Pega in early 2020 to lead the adoption and change management efforts with the methodology team. Before Pega, she spent 10 years in one of the big four consulting firms focusing on global services, data migrations, innovation, transformation, vendor relationship, and risk management. She has more than 25 years’ experience in building business capabilities, application and process optimization, program development in healthcare, financial services, and the public sector. Elmarie has two master’s degrees, one in IT and another in entrepreneurship, as well as an undergraduate degree in psychology. She is a Prosci change management certified practitioner.

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