Accenture Helps BBC's Digital Revolution Get Personal

myBBC Accenture helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal. myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 2 OVERVIEW

In a speech BBC Director-General, The BBC’s mission is to ‘inform, Tony Hall gave on “the BBC in the internet era” on 2nd March 2015, educate and entertain’. Fulfilling that the broadcaster was declared at “the start of a real transformation remit requires the BBC to remain – the myBBC revolution”. One key challenge and opportunity relevant for its broad audience, for the BBC, he noted, was “How to reinvent public service serving both specific niche tastes and broadcasting through data.” To support this vision, myBBC formed delivering more populist content. the foundation that would enable the organization to harness the power of data to deliver true personalization for virtually every online user, provide advanced tools and capabilities to drive a two-way relationship with its audience, and leverage the power of analytics to support and inform decision-making for editorial and creative teams throughout the organization. It’s a bold strategy. myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 3 OPPORTUNITY myBBC is a significant and Asking users to sign-in enables the substantial strategic leap for the BBC to coordinate experiences BBC. In an age when audiences across every audience touchpoint. are becoming more fragmented And by learning from audience across multiple forms of digital behaviors and preferences, the media, the BBC set out to drive BBC is able to continuously a more personalized relationship increase the relevance of what it with its audience. To achieve this, offers. It can help the BBC learn it is looking to big data analytics about its users as individuals, to build a truly one-to-one understand their likes and dislikes, personal relationship across its and make suggestions about online product portfolio including other digital products and content BBC iPlayer, BBC News and BBC they would find interesting and Sport that is radically different appealing. This helps promote from a traditional broadcaster. a high level of engagement and repeat visits, both essential KPIs for BBC’s suite of digital products. myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 4 SOLUTION

Delivering personalization requires a strong value proposition that offers previously anonymous audience members a strong incentive to sign-in. Achieving that lies in ensuring a compelling set of features, whose benefits far outweigh the “hurdle” of registration and sign-in.

Becoming a data-driven media organization that constantly myBBC uses the information it receives Anayltics Services provide insight and data to all other from users across all its content parties in lifecycle and services to innovate and develop new services is core to the myBBC experience-led transformation.

A common platform accessible to all of BBC’s digital products was therefore essential to allow the BBC to make data-driven decisions Usage Monitoring & Analytics User Activity Service Providing better understanding of Enbabling cross-device pause based on what audiences love how well the BBC’s service are being functionality, “favouriting” content and why. It requires tools that used, and who by and powering advanced analytics help online products to build Content Commissioning SSO Identity loyalty and a true sense that the Editorial teams able to commission A single user identity to facilitate user experience is tailored to audience- and tailor content based on detailed identification across the entire BBC specific needs. insights about their audience estate, powering value-added services such as voting, user comments & Content Recommendations other future media services And that’s the goal that informed Directing the audience to content all of Accenture’s work with depending on their vierwing habits Notifications Providing personalized notifications the BBC. of new content and features, based on what a user follows with the UAS

To help the BBC reach its goal, featured and highly reliable online voting for programs like Accenture and the myBBC teams solution, personalization would Strictly Come Dancing) and worked to deliver: be impossible. Accenture helped introducing token-based OpenID to address challenges arising connect authentication. The from an ageing identity system latter opened BBC ID to native Identity management with custom integration into mobile applications for the first more than 30 products and time; providing a major step in A simplified, flexible, web- apps across the BBC estate. cross-device personalization for scale identity platform was The initial roadmap focused on the 6.4 million signed-in users critical to achieve the goals bolstering capacity to support since May 2015. of myBBC – without a fully high-volume events (such as myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 5

Seamless Sign-in across within the BBC’s online estate. The platform ingests over one Public Service and BBC Products can make use of billion events on a daily basis Commercial Products functionality from User Activity from real behavioral data in the Service like pause/resume across user activity service, sign-ins and devices, voting, commenting, registration information and other Working with BBC user experience, bookmarking, and favouriting BBC analytics services, to provide product management and – while myBBC explicitly and a wealth of information on the technology staff, Accenture implicitly learns more about its BBC’s audience. Bringing all data enabled seamless single sign-on audience. This ‘symbiotic’ data together in one place enables the across all BBC’s public service store provides a cloud-based BBC to start asking more complex and commercial digital products, record of activities and enables questions to which the previously enabling such initiatives as BBC services to offer personalized siloed data stores could provide the launch of BBC Store, a key recommendations, notifications only partial answers. Additional strategic initiative to make full and lists of favored content. sources of data can be rapidly use of the BBC’s rich history of added to enrich views and further premium content. Following on User Notifications refine the BBC’s understanding of from this, Accenture continued to its audience, promoting curation work with the BBC to develop and and production of increasingly operate the new BBC Account; A platform that allows audiences relevant and inspiring content rolling out a leading-edge Forge to know when content they’re informed by the resulting Rock based solution to support likely to be interested in becomes segments they are able to devise. BBC’s broader capabilities around available is critical to deliver audience identity management. an ongoing, engaging digital Accenture leveraged resource experience. The notification and experience from its Video User Activity service provides a pan-BBC Marketing and Monetization solution to send users an alert Services offering to provide when new content is available. Creating a relationship with expertise in selecting the best As the service expands, making every myBBC user depends on technology solution, constructing more and more content types knowing what they do across all the infrastructure, and integrating from across the BBC available, services and associated content. the data sources. experiences across the web, This means not only what people mobile and other devices will watch or read, but their other seamlessly join together to help interactions, such as commenting users get the latest updates on and ‘favouriting’ particular their favorites wherever they are services or even individual pieces – creating a stronger relationship of content. Amassing data with the audience regardless of about an individual’s activities device or BBC Product they are creates the possibility of making relevant recommendations and interacting with. suggesting other items of interest - such as forthcoming events or Single Customer View programs. It enables the BBC to transform from an anonymous Being able to build one-to-one service to a trusted, informative relationships with every user and valued companion. rests on the ability to gather comprehensive data about every Accenture helped to create a User audience member’s activity. Activity Service that provides To that end, Accenture helped a common repository for the create Single Customer View, storage of audience interactions a next-generation data supply while simultaneously providing a chain and data lake built entirely number of digital capabilities to in the cloud. BBC Products, wherever they are myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 6 HOW WE DELIVERED

Accenture began working with the Program Mobilization Accenture led the definition BBC in mid 2013 and was tasked and rollout of the program to support mobilizing the overall delivery method, developing Program Management program at speed and to support roadmaps and agreeing the the design and implementation of and Methodology governance approach. This was the myBBC engineering delivery Accenture supported the BBC crucial to meet the standards organization. This involved key with the skillsets and experience of transparency that are vitally Accenture personnel being to drive an effective approach important to the BBC and seconded into senior program to program management and involved liaising effectively roles in the short-term, fulfilling execution. In a highly creative with BBC management as well three main objectives: environment like the BBC, as other staff, consultants and • To mobilize the engineering it was essential to provide contractors. Achieving that function a framework for continuous required Accenture to work as a • To define and shape the solution delivery and rapid evolution truly embedded seconded team, and technical architecture of products and features, working in a way that aligned • To support the core program enabling the BBC to respond with the BBC’s culture, processes office by designing and swiftly to audience feedback. and methods. implementing the programme’s underlying delivery approach, governance and processes

In early 2015, the BBC wanted to Feasability Procurement Delivery Design/Build accelerate the technical delivery Concept Operate of the myBBC products and & Definition (Optional) Planning /Test/Deploy services. Accenture built upon the experience of helping myBBC Innovation Projects to mobilize and proceeded to provide digital engineering support in some of these key strategic areas, helping the BBC to establish its delivery operating model, leveraging Accenture’s Digital Delivery Factory framework. myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 7

Engineering management Setting up the factory involved:

As well as program management, 1. An a aggressive ramp up of engineering teams – Accenture also supported from 0 to 70 people in less than two months the approach to leading and 2. Collaborative operation of multiple parallel agile operating its engineering delivery streams management teams. This 3. Transitioning back to the BBC for ongoing initially involved working with product development and the operation of BBC leadership to integrate a live services number of teams working across existing personalization projects, into one common engineering factory of over 100 people. It was essential to ensure that the work of all those teams delivered to a common agile culture, methodology and cadence. Design Ramp-up Factory Transition Service That made it possible to track 3-6 Weeks* 2-3 Sprints Running 2-3 Sprints* Running progress and guarantee that any new requirements, products and Design Success Configure Plan Monitor teams relevant to the work of a the Linked to Roles Sprints Delivery specific team could be integrated Factory Transition effectively and consistently.

Accenture leveraged its Digital Delivery Factory (DDF) capability to introduce best practices for agile, multi-team delivery. The DDF is a combination of methodology, tools and enablers aimed at accelerating large- Enabling Agile Roles and Structuring Defining the Governing and scale digital programs and Teams Responsibilities the Backlog cadence and Managing the ensuring that multiple teams in the Team methodology Factory can work independently with a • Agile best • Balancing • Structuring • Picking Support delivery high level of predictability and practice and “Top Down” and breaking the right teams through: interoperability. The DDF is built methodologies Product and down the methodology • Constant • “The 2 pizza “Bottom Up” roadmap into for teams backlog around effective breakdown rule” - optimum Technical deliverable • Combining prioritisation of roadmap items by feature team sizes priorities with chunks Srum/ and a healthy • Balancing Kanban/ negotiation and by architecture, ensuring a • Planning and tension measuring short/long Waterfall... • Delivery constant flow of development- to support • Having the term goals, governance ready tickets. These concepts performance right roles debt, and to measure and people making work enabled the myBBC management • Stakeholder and unblock to ‘feed’ the finishable performance engagement to factory team team to make quick decisions support teams based on relative complexity of • Measure, the services being built, allowing manage and teams to work with autonomy recognise while simultaneously promoting cohesion across the program. myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 8 HOW WE DELIVERED

Accenture supported the development of technology Audience Facing Operational roadmaps across a number of Components Components core services to enable multiple parallel streams of development. The resulting roadmap provided a clear plan and picture of the capabilities required in order to meet the program’s goals. Platform Services Accenture strove to break down barriers between teams in order to avoid a siloed approach to each platform service, fostering a more collaborative environment driving towards common program goals. Architectural Support Services Architecture development

Accenture provided skilled resources to support the architectural definition of myBBC, performing a mix of conceptual and more practical delivery of Accenture’s architects helped myBBC to define the overall architecture support. This meant architecture and more granular architectural patterns and switching between, for example, defining high-level principles and services across four key areas: models to working with technical teams on the best way to build, 1. Audience Facing Services: 3. Platform Services: test and deploy modern web-scale The services that combine platform The services that provide micro- digital products. services to either collect or surface services for collecting engagement data as part of the engagement data and, more importantly, with BBC Products. They also surface high-value capabilities create a compelling reason to informed by that data to drive sign-in and therefore allow the engagement across BBC Products. BBC to personalize the Products Examples of these include for audiences. Examples of these recommendations, notifications, include commenting, voting, and activity and identity services. activity aggregation services. 4. Architectural Support Services: 2. Operational Components: The services that underpin the The services that are used platform from a non-functional by internal or operational perspective. These are cross- teams to manage the overall cutting Platform services that platform. Examples of these provide security, scale, flexibility, include analytics and reporting and resilience. Examples of these dashboards and editorial tools to include encryption services, control the various platform and API management and tools audience facing services. Also to support the development includes personalization support and environment pipelines for tools like moderation, vote DevOps capabilities. creation etc. myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 9

Architecting for web-scale involves careful consideration of consumption patterns and volumes, and requires the adoption of modern cloud-based architecture components and services.

Key characteristics of the myBBC architecture are: • Repeatable, rapidly deployable cloud-based infrastructure stacks • Flexible, rapid expansion to continuously deliver new functionality • Repeatable integration with identity services across multiple digital products • Highly configurable integration with platforms • Micro-services based architecture providing high performance even with low levels of compute resource • Highly scalable cloud-based platforms as a service (PAAS) capabilities • Enabling continuous delivery through automation, containerization, and developer accountability • Modern front-end, web-based frameworks and technologies

In addition, Accenture helped to govern architectural decisions across such issues as security, scalability, cost of ownership, functional responsibility and risk of commoditization. This ensured that on such a large program of work, teams worked collaboratively with the BBC’s whole architecture community to align with BBC Product’s roadmaps, plans and objectives. myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 10 RESULTS myBBC has transformed how all The BBC’s 400 editorial staff now consuming BBC content on. online BBC products and services have access to better audience Marketing teams are also able engage users. The result is a analytics tools and insights to monitor social media more personalized online experience, with real-time data provided to effectively to understand better tailored marketing and improved journalists, while they can also how audiences are responding content discovery which drives up understand what audiences to TV, radio and news stories relative time spent and increases are doing across the different and content. audience loyalty and appreciation. devices and platforms they’re

Accenture has helped the • Over a billion personalised BBC to provide real value notifications have been sent to the license payer by to fans via the BBC Sport app - along with tens of billions of providing: breaking news alerts from the BBC News app • Access to a personalized • Millions of users signed in content experience across to BBC News and BBC Sport multiple devices, products and mobile apps, with tens of services built on a seamless millions of topics and content Identity platform items selected • Exciting notifications upon • Over a billion BBC programs new releases of their favorite were recommended to viewers BBC content and listeners based on what • Tailored recommendations of they’ve previously watched/ new content driven by analysis listened to and are interested in of previous activities • Audiences are using or • Safeguarding the future benefitting from personalized relevance and license payer experiences - including value of BBC content, through BBC iPlayer play, pause and providing comprehensive and resume; notifications and meaningful data to producers recommendations - hundreds of and editors millions of times a day • Enabling personalized • The number of people signing up coverage of the Olympics and to the pan BBC newsletters has key cultural events increased by many times over • In the last quarter of 2015, The initial benefits of signed-in users consumed myBBC have already proved almost fifty percent more BBC popular with audiences: content than those who weren’t signed in • In the year following May 2015, over six million users signed in to the BBC – with over a third of users coming back to the BBC on a monthly basis to benefit from personalized signed-in experiences myBBC | Accenture Digital Video helps BBC’s digital revolution get personal | 11

As myBBC continues to expand its service catalogue across BBC Products, the BBC will continue to ensure it can reach all the different segments of the audience in a way that is highly relevant – continuing to drive its transformation from a traditional broadcaster into a leading digital company. ABOUT ACCENTURE

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions— underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network—Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 394,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com

ABOUT ACCENTURE DIGITAL VIDEO

Accenture Digital Video is an Accenture business unit focusing on helping companies build successful digital video businesses by enabling them to capture new growth opportunities while maintaining profitability in their traditional business in a rapidly changing market. Working closely with clients, Accenture leverages a portfolio of highly relevant integrated business services enabled by open technology platforms to deliver successful video business outcomes; from thinking to planning to doing. A global industry leader, Accenture Digital Video has a 20 year track record of advancing video technology and business innovation, supported by a global workforce of more than 2,000 dedicated professionals helping clients succeed in a complex, volatile landscape. Visit us at www.accenture.com/us-en/ accenture-digital-video