Teaming with Innovation
Innovation can take a village. A person could have an amazing idea, but it takes collaboration to bring it to life. That’s the basis of the inaugural WOW Accelerator programme, which brings together the brilliant minds of tech experts, programming interns and innovation mentors to achieve success as a team. The first WOW Accelerator programme concluded in August with nine accelerator teams presenting their solutions after 12 weeks of ideation and development.
We learn more about being a part of the WOW Accelerator from DBS Technology & Operations Singapore Customer Centre’s Vivien Ong, who sponsored a team of innovators in the WOW Accelerator to develop a smart bot to train customer service operators.
Hey, Vivien! Can you share why you decided to sponsor a team in the first-ever DBS WOW Accelerator?
We believe that time is of the essence when it comes to implementing innovative solutions. The WOW Accelerator was able to bring together a team with different expertise to think out of the box, challenge the status quo and swiftly design creative solutions to solve complex challenges within a span of three months. That promise of speed was very appealing since we wanted to maximise the first-mover advantage.
What were you most looking forward to and did the results meet your expectations?
Going into the programme, we had an initial vision and high-level concept, so we wanted a team of experts to help us further crystallise the outcomes and measure of success through a structured iterative approach. We also wanted some outside-in perspectives to bring fresh ideas and elevate our solution to the next level, since being close to the project could sometimes mean missing out on blind spots.
After seeing the final presentations, we definitely felt that our accelerator team added extra ‘oomph’ and we couldn’t believe that they managed to deliver such great results within such a short time. The WOWTech interns did a tremendous job considering they had to learn everything from scratch — and we definitely had some pretty high expectations. I really liked that the team built on our initial ideas and came up with additional features.
The WOW Accelerator programme was entirely virtual this time — a first for DBS. What was your experience collaborating with the team virtually?
There was definitely some uncertainty in the beginning as it was my first time as a project sponsor for an accelerator programme, much less one run entirely virtually. But in spite of the unusual circumstances, I would say that communication is still the key to a successful project. The Agents of WOW business mentors did an excellent job bridging the communications and the regular check-ins were also very helpful in keeping the deliverables on track.
What were your key takeaways from your WOW Accelerator experience?
Clarity of the product vision and open communication are the key factors to build a solid foundation for the project. When the destination is clear, it’ll be much easier to collaborate and figure out the best way to get there. Communication is also important to ensure that everyone in the team stay on track and keep the project going in the right direction.
Having trust in the accelerator team and mentors was also important to ensure a fruitful partnership and rewarding outcome.
What inspires you to constantly push innovation in your daily work?
It’s the thrill of pushing the envelope and going into unchartered terrains. I love that rush you get when you turn a seemingly routine task into something extraordinary.
The DBS WOW Accelerator is a three-month virtual accelerator programme focused on addressing challenges faced by various business units in the bank. Launched by the DBS Innovation team, the programme unites DBS talent with external partners to develop game-changing and human-centric solutions that drive innovation in the bank.
