STRATEGIC SERVICE SOLUTION DESIGN FOR MARITIME SEARCH AND RESCUE

THE CHALLENGE

The Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) was seeking to award a new ten-year contract for its Search and Rescue (S&R) services, prompting the collaboration between an aircraft manufacturing company and an aircraft operating company to bid for this significant opportunity. Whitetree was brought in by the aircraft operating company to fill key positions within the bid team, including the critical role of Service Solution Architect (SSA). The SSA's task was to oversee the integration and coordination of a comprehensive service design, which necessitated expertise from various Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) across multiple domains.

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THE SOLUTION

To meet the demands of the tender, an integrated approach was required to delineate the intricate service design in a manner that was clear to all stakeholders and which could be accurately costed for the bid. Whitetree's SSA orchestrated a structured plan involving SMEs to craft the service solution through individual, group, and workshop sessions. These sessions led to the creation of rich-pictures, functional models, and a detailed operating model, utilising tools such as MS PowerPoint for visual representations and 2c8 for business process modelling.​

 

IMPLEMENTATION & RESULTS

Over five months, the SSA and SMEs collaborated intensively to develop the Service Operating Model at both strategic and granular levels, producing three types of visual aids:

• Rich-Pictures: Offering a high-level overview of the service design, highlighting key functions and relationships.

• Functional Models: Detailing the interaction between various service components and their roles.

• Business Process Model: Providing an in-depth operational blueprint, capturing the project scope, activities, and dependencies.

 

These visualisations were meticulously version-controlled and made accessible via web browsers, MS Word, and Excel, allowing bid team members and stakeholders to rapidly comprehend the operational dynamics, dependencies, and individual responsibilities. Excerpts from the models were instrumental in conducting cost analysis, pricing for the bid, and enriching the bid documents.

 

The end result was a set of mature, detailed models that formed the backbone of a robust bid submission, offering the stakeholders a clear, comprehensive view of the proposed service operation, and greatly enhancing the quality and competitiveness of the bid for the MCA’s S&R service contract.