A day in the life of a Delivery Analyst

Grayce Analyst, Emily Harrison shares her experience as a Delivery Analyst at a leading technology company.

I joined Grayce in August 2019 and my first client assignment is at a leading technology company in Cambridge. Currently, I'm working as a Delivery Analyst within the Delivery Management Office (DMO) in IT.

In simple terms, my role is to support the IT department to ensure they deliver their work as efficiently and effectively as possible. This means training new starters in the software tools and processes we use, reporting regularly on each team’s performance, weekly risk management work across IT, and performing ad hoc support work across software platforms. I use Jira frequently, along with MS projects, and have just started independent learning about Power BI to report further into the DMO’s performance.

My assignment is very important as, over the last two years, Digital IT at my client has undergone a major Agile transformation. So there is a real need to ensure the Agile way of working is implemented effectively across Digital IT and that the Agile mindset is understood by everyone.

The assignment is also important as Digital IT deliver some very significant deliverables, which directly affect my client's end customers. So the DMO are needed to ensure that every team in IT has the right tools and knowledge to perform the best job possible for the final customer.

My role requires a delicate balance of data-driven, analytical work alongside strong people skills. Luckily, I have a massive interest in both, so trying to tie the two together is a challenge that I really enjoy and will hopefully continue improving on.

My Grayce highlight

There have been a number of achievements that I’m proud of since starting my client assignment. One of those is the opportunity I had to attend the Delivery Community Conference (DCC), at the start of November. The conference brings together primarily project managers from across the client and I was asked by the Senior Director of IT to attend.

It was a fantastic experience to network and learn a lot! Although I was the most junior person attending, I was trusted to facilitate a focus group that addressed the complexity of trying to deliver in an ever-changing environment.

It was a really interesting group, with people from all different backgrounds at the client, and there was a lot to unpick about the topic we were given. We came up with a few very exciting ideas, and I really gained a lot from the two-day event as I was able to ask lots of questions, think critically, and get to know some senior staff from the business.

The conference also included mindgyms, which were hour-long sessions led by a psychologist to encourage us to think in new and alternative ways. These sessions were great fun, very insightful, and another good way to network in a more informal setting. At the end of the conference, I got to present our thoughts and findings to the audience - a nerve-wracking but also exciting experience!

On my Grayce journey so far, the biggest challenge for me has been the steep learning curve, especially all the acronyms that the client has! This is my first experience working in a technology company, and also my first experience of a truly Agile style of working. So there was a lot of new learning around terminology, Agile ‘events’ and intellectual property. The good thing is that the office culture is very open and friendly, and it’s an easy environment in which to ask for further information.

I think Grayce offers a reliable and trustworthy route for finding the right graduate for the role. Grayce candidates are adaptable and communicative, and we’re from a variety of academic backgrounds, meaning we’re able to offer a fresh and unique perspective in the workplace. I think that Grayce can offer more certainty and consistency about the calibre of candidates a client is hiring, which is an appealing prospect to a company like my client.

Community at the heart of Grayce

For me, the most valuable part of the Grayce Development Programme has been the Community it offers. There are five Grayce Analysts at my client, and we all started within a few months of each other. It has been great to share and compare our knowledge, learn from each other, and offer advice when needed.

At my client, the Grayce Analysts have created a knowledge sharing session that occurs once every two weeks. In this session, one or two of us will spend about 30 minutes discussing our role, what we do, and what we’ve learnt. It’s been really interesting to learn more about the client and also highlight some of the cross-over in our work. It has also been really useful to connect with Grayce Analysts working in other areas of Cambridge, to gain a better insight into the opportunities and roles offered by Grayce.

This is the first time I’ve worked in the technological IP industry, and also my first experience of such an Agile style of working. I have a really insightful manager, who has encouraged me to think in new ways when I’m met with an issue or a task. I’ve started learning to take a step back when faced with problems, to try to figure out the root cause rather than immediately trying to find quick solutions.

Looking ahead

I’d love to develop my Agile capabilities further to become a really successful Scrum Master. I’ve enjoyed working in such an Agile environment and feel like there’s still a lot for me to learn about how best to deliver in an Agile way.

I also really enjoy training people, as it blends together both technical and people skills. My current role allows me to do this, so I’d love to develop that further and become really confident in the software we use, to then improve the way I train and teach others to use it too.

In the future, I could see myself in a hybrid Analyst & Scrum Master role, being able to work with both the analytical side of business and the people side of things too.

Find out more about how Grayce Analysts are adding value to organisations nationwide