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The Battle of Britain: A Reengineering Success

The Battle of Britain: A Reengineering Success

Sept 95 By Wayne Hanson Mention the Battle of Britain, and the picture that most often comes to mind is of brave pilots in tiny planes, lifting off to meet the Luftwaffe

Compared to the drama of life and death in the skies, the coordination and planning behind the scenes is fairly dull stuff. And yet it was coordination and planning that ultimately won the battle

While the Germans used radar in a limited sense, as a sort of automated lookout around airfields, the British understood the strategic importance of this new technology. An extensive system of radar towers was built, so overlapping radar coverage surrounded Southern England. Since fighter craft could fly underneath the radar canopy, citizens were mobilized as plane spotters to report type and numbers of enemy aircraft flying overhead

Radar sites and plane spotters were connected by telephone to a series of command centers. Reports of enemy aircraft numbers and locations came in, and were transfered to large maps. Fighters scrambled and gun crews went on alert. The thin ranks of England's defenses were thus effectively mobilized. British planes arrived exactly when and where they were needed, and the rest, as they say, is history

Today, there are some striking parallels as to how technology is employed

We can use information technology as the Germans used radar - as an aid to business as usual. Or we can emulate the British, who conceived an integrated strategic plan that made use of radar's potential. They reengineered their defenses

In this issue Dr. Michael Hammer looks at the broad scope of reengineering

"Reengineering is not about profit and loss," he says, "and it's not about the stock market. It's about how work is conducted." Some of the best ideas come from observing other kinds of organizations, he explains

Blake Harris, in a story coming next month in our Desktop Resource Guide to Emerging Technology, tells how Xerox did just that. Company staff went to L.L. Bean, the mail-order clothing store, to find out how they filled orders so quickly. L.L. Bean organized stock so that items which sold more frequently were shelved closer to the order desk. Also, incoming orders were sorted by computer, so staff could combine trips for a number of items shelved close to each other. The system allowed L.L. Bean to fill orders three times faster than with the traditional category-based shelving scheme

The British plan wove civilians, pilots, artillerymen and technology into a cohesive and effective system of defense. Today, we work to build teams of federal, state and local agencies, that will employ new information technologies, and reengineer government operations to better serve the public. To paraphrase Dr. Hammer, it's not about technology, it's not about getting rid of paper or employees. It's about taking a fresh look at what we're trying to accomplish, and finding a better way

Mention the Battle of Britain, and the picture that most often comes to mind is of brave pilots in tiny planes, lifting off to meet the Luftwaffe

Compared to the drama of life and death in the skies, the coordination and planning behind the scenes is fairly dull stuff. And yet it was coordination and planning that ultimately won the battle

While the Germans used radar in a limited sense, as a sort of automated lookout around airfields, the British understood the strategic importance of this new technology. An extensive system of radar towers was built, so overlapping radar coverage surrounded Southern England. Since fighter craft could fly underneath the radar canopy, citizens were mobilized as plane spotters to report type and numbers of enemy aircraft flying overhead

Radar sites and plane spotters were connected by telephone to a series of command centers. Reports of enemy aircraft numbers and locations came in, and were transfered to large maps. Fighters scrambled and gun crews went on alert. The thin ranks of England's defenses were thus effectively mobilized. British planes arrived exactly when and where they were needed, and the rest, as they say, is history

Today, there are some striking parallels as to how technology is employed

We can use information technology as the Germans used radar - as an aid to business as usual. Or we can emulate the British, who conceived an integrated strategic plan that made use of radar's potential. They reengineered their defenses

In this issue Dr. Michael Hammer looks at the broad scope of reengineering

"Reengineering is not about profit and loss," he says, "and it's not about the stock market. It's about how work is conducted." Some of the best ideas come from observing other kinds of organizations, he explains

Blake Harris, in a story coming next month in our Desktop Resource Guide to Emerging Technology, tells how Xerox did just that. Company staff went to L.L. Bean, the mail-order clothing store, to find out how they filled orders so quickly. L.L. Bean organized stock so that items which sold more frequently were shelved closer to the order desk. Also, incoming orders were sorted by computer, so staff could combine trips for a number of items shelved close to each other. The system allowed L.L. Bean to fill orders three times faster than with the traditional category-based shelving scheme

The British plan wove civilians, pilots, artillerymen and technology into a cohesive and effective system of defense. Today, we work to build teams of federal, state and local agencies, that will employ new information technologies, and reengineer government operations to better serve the public. To paraphrase Dr. Hammer, it's not about technology, it's not about getting rid of paper or employees. It's about taking a fresh look at what we're trying to accomplish, and finding a better way



Wayne E. Hanson served as a writer and editor with e.Republic from 1989 to 2013, having worked for several business units including Government Technology magazine, the Center for Digital Government, Governing, and Digital Communities. Hanson was a juror from 1999 to 2004 with the Stockholm Challenge and Global Junior Challenge competitions in information technology and education.