Principles – Anticipate

These principles guide how we design, operate, and evolve IT—both within our own team and in partnership with the organizations we support.

  1. IT is co-created with the organization, not imposed on it.

    Initiatives are developed through close partnership with stakeholders, grounded in business context, operating realities, and shared accountability. Outcomes align directly with organizational strategy, not abstract technical ideals.

  2. Technology decisions are outcome-driven, not tool-driven.

    Work begins with clear definition of desired outcomes, success criteria, and constraints. Technology is applied only where it measurably advances those outcomes; non-technical approaches remain valid options.

  3. Productivity is enabled through systems design, not enforced behavior.

    Secure, reliable, and flexible ways of working are enabled through systems that accommodate different roles and workflows. Success is measured by output and resilience, not adherence to prescribed work patterns.

  4. Asynchronous work is our default operating mode.

    Work is structured around documentation, ownership, and tooling that allow progress without constant real-time interaction. This enables focus, resilience, and better decisions across teams. Real-time interaction is reserved for high-value discussion.

  5. Technology recommendations are evidence-based, not habit-based.

    Options are evaluated against client-specific requirements, risks, costs, and operational impact. Prior experience informs judgment but does not predetermine outcomes.

  6. Durable solutions are prioritized, with pragmatic sequencing.

    Long-term architectural integrity is the objective. Interim measures are used deliberately to stabilize operations or unblock progress while permanent solutions are designed and implemented.

  7. Security is an architectural foundation.

    Identity, access control, data protection, and compliance requirements are embedded from the outset. Security controls are designed to be effective without unnecessarily impeding usability or productivity.

  8. Documentation is inseparable from execution, not a post-delivery task.

    Architectures, decisions, configurations, and operating procedures are documented incrementally as work is performed. Documentation evolves alongside implementation, preserving context, enabling continuity, and reducing dependency on individual knowledge.

  9. Operational transparency is required to build trust and alignment.

    Work is conducted visibly and in the open wherever possible, allowing the broader organization to understand priorities, tradeoffs, and decision-making as they occur. This builds trust, reinforces shared ownership, and ensures technology decisions are made with organizational context rather than in isolation.

  10. Every change must lower the future cost of operations.

    Improvements are evaluated on their ability to reduce manual effort, operational complexity, and recurring support burden. Net reduction in toil is a core success criterion.