‘See What You Mean’

Winning a large Government contract

Client: EADS FireControl
Sector: Government infrastructure
Deliverables: Dual-mode interactive Rich Picture

Brief: The Government sought bids to design, develop and run a new operations system for England’s Fire Services. The bidders, including systems manufacturers EADS, were asked to submit detailed proposals; large documents which would be seen by a small decision-making team. But what about other stakeholders? How do you get the key benefits across to the wider audiences within both Government and the Fire Services?

Process: There was very little visual material available, so we read the EADS tender and discussed it with the team. Our aim was to develop a picture of what it would be like when it was right. How would it feel for the Fire Services?

Solution: Having listened carefully to the users’ needs, we developed a dual-mode solution. Firstly, it works as an animated presentation with a voiceover to tell the story. It walks you through the benefits that the EADS solution would provide and, as a 7-minute overview, it can be shared with all stakeholders: Government, partners, the Fire Service and others. It ensures that the key benefits come across consistently, in an easy to understand and persuasive format. Secondly it works in manual mode without voiceover, as an interactive Rich Picture. This format is ideal for workshops as it allows discussion with stakeholders and encourages input and conversation.

Result: EADS won this contract, worth over £200 million.
The Rich Picture approach was widely praised, and has been continued as part of the implementation of Firecontrol.