Project Managing an R&D Project

Phil Ratcliffe, Project Manager at 3EN

Late last year our CEO, Dale, began a series outlining our advance into research and development (R&D) for AI in cloud technology.

As a continuation of that series, we spoke to project manager Phil Ratcliffe about the project, its impact on his role and the potential for AI usage for 3EN and our clients.

Phil is a project manager at 3EN and works closely with the technical services (software engineering) team on Oracle NetSuite implementation projects. He oversees the development of custom integration projects, including streamlining processes in clients’ existing Oracle NetSuite accounts.

Phil’s main responsibility is to assist with resource allocation for the technical services team, ensuring that each member has a manageable workload. He is also focused on process improvement at 3EN.

Phil got involved with our AI R&D project to provide a point of view from a team member working adjacent to the technical services team.

Speaking on the project, he said:

“3EN’s AI project explores the possibilities of the technology and its application to our business and our clients’ businesses. There’s no explicit list of requirements from a client that we’re working to deliver, as in this context, we’re investigating the potential of the technology and its application within our industry. In terms of delivery there are big differences to a traditional waterfall project, as you can’t plan out the work in advance and set timelines for it.

“Instead, we’ve had to be reactive to the research findings and flex our approach accordingly. There is much more time spent reflecting on the feedback from the team to confirm the project is pursuing the right avenues and moving in the right direction than there would be for a client project, where the client leads the way.

“AI is starting to impact everyone’s life in various forms and so to be able to understand it better and leverage it for our benefit is really exciting.”

Since 3EN’s R&D project launched internally last year, the team has developed an AI product for the cloud computing industry and is working towards releasing it in its first phase. Phil elaborated:

“We already have a number of phases planned beyond the launch of our AI product for our industry, to enhance the product and improve its functionality. We also have a number of other concepts and ideas to use AI to address different pain points our clients may have which will start the R&D cycle again.

“Working with new and emerging technology to help customers overcome the problems they face is really exciting. There are myriad possibilities and applications for AI, and being able to explore these with the 3EN team has been fascinating.

“It’s like a peek behind the curtain to see how things work and what might come next. I love to know how things work, and while I would never claim to be an expert on AI, having the opportunity to learn more from our team has been great.

“The idea that we could come across an application for AI, that no one else has thought of, brings real excitement and energy to the project. I love our project meetings as we make discoveries and advancements weekly.”

The 3EN R&D team continues exploring the potential for a product launch later this year.

Follow along in our series to find out more.