Digital transformation: Helping Archives keep our country strong

Archives New Zealand plays a crucial role in keeping our country strong. Responsible for the nation’s official records, they ensure that government is transparent and knowledge is not lost. To see the difference this can make, think back to the Christchurch earthquakes, when early maps held by Archives provided vital insights into the city’s long-buried watercourses.

Archives realised that ensuring everyone can easily access these records required a digital transformation. Understanding the power of an Agile approach, they’re tackling it one step at a time.

Boost is delighted to have helped lay the foundation for this transformation with a ground-up rebuild of the Archives website. A one-stop shop for interacting with Archives New Zealand, the new site is accessible anywhere, anytime, by anyone regardless of device or disability.

The new website is already making Archives more accessible and engaging. A post-launch survey run saw a 34% increase in user satisfaction.

To find out how Archives achieved this, we’ve put together a case study on the project.

Working successfully with stakeholders

Our post on how Scrum product owners can best work with their stakeholders is one of our most popular of all time. That’s probably because much of this work happens outside the Scrum process, so isn’t covered in detail in the Scrum Guide.

The post looks at the different types of stakeholders, and how to work with each group. It shows how to set expectations, plan your work together and get the support you need to succeed.

Only one Agile Professional Foundation left

Just a quick heads up: We’re only running one more APF this year. 

Even though the course is run online, we limit numbers to keep the course personal and productive. So, book now if you want to avoid missing out.

The deets

When: 9–noon 14–17 December

How: Via Zoom

What: ICAgile-certified interactive workshop

Why: Develop the Agile mindset that lets you consistently deliver more impact, more often.

Happy 25th birthday Scrum

Scrum turns 25 this year. To celebrate a quarter of a century helping people deliver more value, faster, the creators of Scrum are coming together to launch an updated Scrum Guide.

Scrum Guide update

Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber wrote the paper that introduced Scrum in 1995. This update is the first since 2017.

The launch is on November 18 and is a partnership between Jeff Sutherland’s Scrum Inc and Ken Schwaber’s Scrum.org. For us here in New Zealand, it kicks off at 4.00 AM (10:00 AM EST) so maybe we’ll wait for the highlights package ;-) 

The aim of the changes is to make the Guide leaner and less prescriptive, so it's easier to use outside the world of software development.

Once the changes have been announced, you’ll be able read about them on the Scrum Guides revision page.