Agile project management for effective scaling of Circle K’s electric car platform in the Nordic region

In 2011, Circle K was the first fuel station in the world to offer quick chargers – at select gas stations in Norway. Since then, installation of quick chargers has intensified to keep up with the quick increase in electric cars, with current availability at around 15,000 stations worldwide.

At the same time, Circle K is introducing a new digital platform with an app that provides a host of services to simplify fast, easy charging. Using the app, a customer can see how much charging the car needs, which stations have quick chargers – and pay for charging in a simpler way. All the information needed is gathered in the customer’s app.

The ambition is to create the best possible charging experience along the roads. Part of that is introducing the new platform and continually releasing better services through the app – while the company’s business area for e-mobility is simultaneously growing.

Knowit was tasked with driving the go-to-market process in Scandinavia with Circle K.

Knowit was in charge of program and project management, improvements related to payment methods in the app, and coordination of all those involved from Circle K’s group and business units, such as sales, marketing, customer support, operations, and finance.

“It was very inspiring to be part of this project, where the key to success was scaling up operations with speed and flexibility on a market in continuous flux. The main challenge was coordinating both cross-functional teams and business units, with planning and execution being done in an agile way,” says Lars Lindegaard, Director at Knowit and manager of the Circle K project.

Perks with an agile framework for the entire company

The project began with devising a program and management structure adapted to Scrum, the agile methodology that Circle K was using. After some time, they shifted to SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) – a framework, or rather a mindset, for scaling up and adapting agile methods within one’s own organization.

Short cycles with frequent deliveries

SAFe offers a structure for mature agile organizations and makes it possible to implement large projects. The framework contributes to better collaboration and synchronization between agile teams, improves productivity, and leads to a shorter time-to-market – without decreasing quality.

“Interfacing with teams and functions across the organization that were not used to working and planning in an agile way was very interesting. Many did not think we’d be able to implement the changes in the business processes and core ERP system with such short cycles 2–4 weeks,” says Lars Lindegaard (see image).

Circle K also adopted an agile approach in program management, with frequent standup meetings between the steering group and key people in the project.

The meetings were short, lasting no more than 15–20 minutes. The aim was to discover, plan, and discuss matters related to ensuring effective reporting and decision-making.

The platform has now been rolled out in the Nordic region and Circle K can roll out new functionality easily on the various markets.

“With short, frequent touchpoints between the project and the management in the steering committee, we were able not only to keep the main stakeholders updated about the progress on a continuous basis, but also to discuss risks and issues and make quick decisions, Being able to remove roadblocks quickly, as they occurred, increased motivation and ownership in all parts of the organization, and the management team really appreciated being hands-on during the critical phases of the project,” says Lars Lindegaard.

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