What are good problems for the Accelerator?
We’ve defined a list of criteria for business problems that are a good fit for the CSPS Digital Accelerator. This list will help guide the selection of business problems for your organization. We’re looking for problems that:
- are actual problems, not solutions
- have room for exploration, space to pivot and flexible timelines
- don't have an obvious, simple solution
- have a business owner open to solution ideas that go beyond the usual
- have usable data, accessible by the team, to inform the problem definition and solution
- go beyond the purely technical, and can potentially result in a deep change in the way people think about or do their work
Our Partner Success Lead can help you select problems. Feel free to reach out to Zoe at [[1]].
What do we mean by team?
Product team. These are the 5 to 10 people from your organization who will frame the problem during the Discovery phase, and work full time on prototyping a solution during the Alpha phase of the Accelerator.
It’s up to the participating organization to decide who will make up the Product team: employees from a single work unit, or employees from different parts of the organization assembled for the duration of the project. Either way, an ideal Product team is:
- multidisciplinary, with expertise and knowledge in different areas
- diverse (e.g. age, gender, background, experience), toensure multiple perspectives
The Product team is empowered to make decisions and iterate freely. Although it generally includes a Product owner, this person plays a different role than what is typically expected of a government manager. The managers assigned to Product teams in the context of the CSPS Digital Accelerator will be exposed to this new role and what it implies.
Supporting team. This team is made up of all the specialists (e.g. UX, AI) and corporate enablers (e.g. IM/IT, HR, comms, legal) who support the Product team throughout the Discovery phase and especially the Alpha phase of the Accelerator. They are not expected to work full time on the project.
Steering team. This team is composed of EX01 to EX03 who play the role of champions, guides, connectors and “roadblock busters”. Each project has its own steering team of 3-5 people, including the executives (director general, director) attached to the Product team, and the primary stakeholders of the potential solution.
Exploration phase - for learners
The Exploration phase is when teams are onboarded, and learners start preparing for the Discovery phase by completing the Digital Readiness Self-assessment and engaging in self-directed and classroom learning focused on the five Government of Canada Digital Standards most closely aligned with the objectives of the CSPS Digital Accelerator.
Self-directed Learning
Once you’ve completed the Digital Readiness Self-Assessment you will be invited to bridge your knowledge gaps by selecting the self-directed learning we have curated for you, based on your overall and Digital Standard-specific scores.
Meet the Digital Accelerator team
