OUR THOUGHTSHYPR

HYPR celebrates 10 years of The Pursuit of Relevance

Posted by Gillian Clark . Sep 03.24

Gillian Clark, co-founder of HYPR with Gareth Evans, celebrates HYPR's 10-year anniversary with the team and looks back on the company's journey in The Pursuit of Relevance...

Gareth and I founded HYPR NZ in 2014 with a simple yet powerful mission – The Pursuit of Relevance. This focus on understanding and addressing the complex technological and human challenges our clients face remains our core purpose. It’s a commitment shared by everyone at HYPR to continually learn and evolve to best support our clients.

Our journey began with a dream – to help companies regain confidence in their digital future. Many of our clients were struggling to transition from outdated systems to modern, scalable platforms. We saw an opportunity to not only transform technology, but also company culture. This vision has been our guiding star for the past decade.

Looking back, a few key highlights stand out… being nominated for the Deloitte Fast50 in 2018 and navigating the significant challenges of the 2020 COVID lockdown. We’ve also witnessed significant shifts in how organisations work.

2014-2016 – The rise of Agile

Agile frameworks and methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, XP) were gaining momentum, but scaling them across entire organisations was a challenge. We were among the early adopters of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) and realised that building strong, agile teams was the foundation for successful scaling.

2017-2019 – Flow and focus

The focus shifted from optimising individual practices to optimising the entire value stream. Value Stream Management and DevOps became buzzwords, but we were already deep into measuring and improving flow metrics. Mik Kersten’s introduction of the Flow Framework® was a game-changer, providing a clear structure for our work.

2020-2023 – Covid, remote work and digital acceleration

The pandemic forced rapid digital transformation, with remote work becoming the norm. We saw the emergence of Lean Portfolio Management as organisations sought to align strategy with execution. AI, cloud and a product-centric focus gained traction.

What lies ahead?

While we can’t predict the future, we know that data-driven decisions, modern engineering practices and the power of AI will shape the industry. HYPR will continue to experiment, learn and adapt, always driven by our Pursuit of Relevance.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my journey. There have been some highs and lows and lots in between. Lifelong friends made with clients and colleagues. Learning every day is the norm. Here’s to 10 more!

We'd love to hear your HYPR memories. Share your stories with us and let’s celebrate together!

Gillian Clark

Gillian Clark

Co-founder and Director of HYPR, strategic transformation adviser and one of the first fully-certified SAFe® Programme Consultant Trainers (SPCT). Gillian is always in pursuit of the 'moments' that make us love what we do.

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