Executive summary
As part of an ambitious, company-wide digitalisation programme, the client initiated a project to build a shared web and mobile platform across roughly 20 magazine titles. Frontwalker led the project with both technical and business focus, delivering the feasibility study and functional requirements that shaped the programme's direction.
The challenge
1. Business challenge
The client needed to establish a shared web and mobile platform across multiple magazine titles while improving cost efficiency and time-to-market and coordinating related digital initiatives.
Key business challenges included:
- The client needed a shared web and mobile platform across around 20 magazine titles to achieve cost efficiency and faster time-to-market.
- The project required close coordination with several related initiatives, including Editorial Digital Business Development and Content Integration.
- The feasibility study needed to provide a credible decision basis for subsequent programme phases.
2. Technical challenge
The project required clear definition of shared platform capabilities, working methods and realistic options for implementation.
Key technical challenges included:
- Functional requirements needed to be gathered for major shared capabilities: My Pages, a payment solution, a content database and content tagging
- The project needed to define working methods for technical development, requirements engineering, procurement and project governance
- Benchmarking against comparable market solutions was needed to ground the feasibility analysis in realistic options
What we did
1) Frontwalker’s approach and solution
Frontwalker led the project with both technical and business focus, delivering the feasibility study and functional requirements while coordinating with publishing, business development and editorial teams.
2) Delivered solution
- A completed feasibility study serving as the decision basis for subsequent development stages
- A consolidated set of functional requirements covering My Pages, payments, content database and tagging
- Proposed working methods for technical development, requirements engineering, procurement and project governance
3) Engineering & delivery
- Close collaboration with publishing leadership, the business-development organisation and individual editorial teams
- Formulation and testing of hypotheses and proposals, supported by benchmarking against market solutions
- Cost/benefit evaluation of potential development projects and investments
4) Collaboration model
- Cross-functional collaboration spanning publishing leadership, business development and editorial teams
- Close links maintained with related programme initiatives such as Content Integration and the Common Technical Platform
Business impact / results
Outcomes achieved
- A shared platform strategy for efficient content publishing across both print and digital channels, including e-magazines and web publishing for mobile and desktop.
- A number of specific development projects spun off directly from this feasibility work during 2014.
- A credible decision basis that shaped the client’s subsequent digital investment priorities.
