ABQP: Brexit as an automotive project

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ABQP: Advanced Brexit Quality Planning


It is surely doing the British Civil Service an injustice to suggest that there was no planning process for Brexit. However, what we see in the media strongly suggests that whatever planning did take place was swiftly overcome by politics: the votes upon votes in Parliament, the pontificating and hardening of views, the dreams shattered and still dearly held. We hear of Papers stating one potential outcome or another, but the feeling remains of a Brexit ship veering ponderously from port to port, turning away from each in disgust without ever reaching one.


I'm an automotive engineer, and could imagine Brexit being an automotive project; there would (in my imaginings, anyway) have been a clear baseline for planning, thinking, moulding, approving or even cancelling the project before it's too late.


Comparing Brexit with a VW Polo facelift? Ridiculous! Well, yes, but I feel there are some lessons in the processes that we use in industry that might have been better learned before embarking on this huge undertaking. (Otherwise I won't have writting this, I suppose).


Naturally, the advantage that the auto industry has over the Brexit project is that it can produce many models and, with experience, assuming the company survives (which many didn't ), see what sticks. Brexit is a one-shot action that will take decades to mould after the event. But, anyway, here are my thoughts on the Brexit Project from an automotive perspective:

APQP: Advanced Project Quality Planning


Every automotive company has its own flavour of APQP, but the basics are defined and even - of course - available on Wikipedia. Some key aspects that I would highlight here would be:

  • Planning and Defining the Program
  • Product Design and Validation
  • Understanding the needs of the customer
  • Analysing (/predicting) and mitigating failure

It's a plodding, check-box laden process and certainly not in the vogueish agile development process domain - but therein lies its strength as well as tedious weakness: it enforces slow, measured and team-based thinking, rather than snap decision-making.


Irrespective of whether I think Brexit is a good idea or not, the process appears to have been entrained without even a basic level of planning. Was there any sensible product definition of Brexit before kicking off Article 50 and the two-year negotiation period? (Leave Means Leave is not a helpful definition, at least in my book).

Advanced Brexit Quality Planning: A light-gloom-hearted ABQP Statement Of Work


Project Name


The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to exit the EU.

Project Scope


The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland intends to leave the EU. No other countries will leave the EU. All components of the UK shall leave the EU, including Gibraltar and the Channel Islands. The UK intends not to bow to EU regulations. This normally means not having the same level of access to the European market as available at present. The UK intends to keep the same level of access to the European market. Leaving the EU means developing new alignments with... well, every country in the world, as well as with the EU.

Project Type


APQP: Advanced Product Quality Planning with 5 Phases.

  1. Plan and Define Program
  2. Product Design and Development Verification
  3. Process Design and Development Verification
  4. Product and Process Validation and Production Feedback
  5. Launch, Assessment & Corrective Action

Phase 1: Plan and Define Program


1.1 Identify the needs of the customer


1.1.1 Identify the customer


The customer is all citizens of the UK (including those younger than 25 at the time of voting who, though disproportionately affected, voted at a significantly lower rate their older, perhaps more caring compatriots). Citizens of other EU countries in the UK will... have to lump it. British citizens resident in the EU will... have to lump whatever treatment they are given wherever they are living (they deserve it, the traitors) until such time as they return to the fold.

1.1.2 The needs of said customer


Right. Those needs. Yes. It is absolutely clear that all inhabitants of the UK want the best possible deal. In fact, they want more than the best possible deal, they want the best of everything, which is what was promised.


Also: no more immigrants and no more being told how to run a country by a democratically-challenged council of flouncing Eurocrats.


And: no European Superstate.

1.2 Develop timing plan


Target date: Open-end until Article 50 is invoked, so plenty of time to develop a statement of work, specifications and requirements, a strategy and tactics to achieve an acceptable level of that target.

Article 50 has been invoked


Wha...?

Deadline is now May 2019.


You're kidding... Umm, on what grounds was Article 50 invoked?

None that anyone can discern; negotiations will be the easiest ever anyway. There was something about the EU not showing its hand until Article 50 had been invoked: unhelpful gamesmanship, a trap that the British Government, gleefully bellowing "freedom from!" fell into


1.3 Develop Budget


The EU will be on their knees in a few months. So no real budget is required, no contingency planning, just a few negotiators and the rest is a win for us!

1.4 Assemble Team


See 1.3 above, OK, plus their advisors. No need to listen to the people any more, they've had their vote. And we don't need experts any more, either. We'll ignore the Civil Service, too.

Phase 2: Product Design and Development Verification


2.1 Develop Product requirements


The Brexit product requirement is... Leave! OK, more seriously, there might be some relevant functions of Brexit that we might want to consider:

  • Restore / Increase British national autonomy
  • Restore / Increase national togetherness
  • Significantly reduce immigration
  • Increase internal investment (e.g. NHS)
  • Retain and protect UK integrity (e.g. Northern Ireland)
  • Protect inter-Irish peace
  • Avoid becoming part of the EU Superstate

Are these measurable? Most are. The intangibles (national togetherness) will need more definition as the programme progresses. Can they be modelled? What sort of Brexit would result in maximising the wins across the maximum number of functions?

Predicting and mitigating failures (BFMEA)


The FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis ) is a key engineering tool, initially developed by NASA with the intention of foreclosing failures before they occur.


NASA was also a specialist in one-shot efforts.


... but that we'll save that for my next post.

Phase 2 (Continued)


Oh never mind: Phase 2,3,4 Finished!


LAUNCH

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