The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate changed its name to Norwegian Offshore Directorate in record time, using agile methodology

Written by Editorial staff | Oct 9, 2024 7:27:50 AM

During a hectic month, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (Oljedirektoratet) changed its name to Norwegian
Offshore Directorate (Sokkeldirektoratet). At the same time, the directorate restructured technical debt and improved IT security. With the help of agile methodology, Cegal brought the project safely to port in a very short time.

The government set the date: From January 1, 2024, the "Norwegian Petroleum Directorate" would be replaced by the "Norwegian Offshore Directorate" (Sokkeldirektoratet)

This name change needed to be reflected across both internal and external solutions and IT systems. Concurrently, Sokkeldirektoratet seized this opportunity to address and reduce technical debt.

Ensuring the Directorate's portals and systems are available 24/7 is crucial. All oil and gas companies operating on the Norwegian continental shelf engage in almost daily communication and information exchange with the directorate.

This was far more than just a name change. We should have had at least twice the time, but the deadline was fixed, and failure was not an option.

Jan Thomas Urke, project manager at Cegal.

CCS, offshore wind, subsea minerals and oil and gas

In September 2023, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) visited the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) and announced that the Directorate, which is located in Stavanger, would change its name to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate from January 1, 2024. The new name reflects the fact that the directorate contributes to the further development of the Norwegian continental shelf, both in oil and gas and in new industries such as seabed minerals, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and offshore wind power. For example, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate has mapped potential CO2 storage facilities on the Norwegian shelf and assists the Ministry of Energy in facilitating the further development of CO2 transport and storage.

When a company changes its name, it usually has several implications. It often leads to a new name for the website, domains, name servers, databases and more. If things are done incorrectly, it can have major financial consequences. Employees can lose access to emails, calendars, collaboration solutions, office support apps and business applications. Customers can lose access to services and interaction opportunities. Partners and suppliers can lose access to systems and communication channels. In addition, IT security can be compromised.

Agile methodology ensured success

In addition to a few in-house IT staff, and employees from Cegal, among others, the directorate ensured that the transition to the new name, "Sokkeldirektoratet", was successful despite the short deadline. The directorate brought in a project manager from Cegal, who, together with the directorate's own employees, carried out the transition. In addition to the name change, the project also focused on increased security.

"In practice, we had to start the project and also solve the usual operational tasks without additional resources," says Jan Thomas Urke, who works as Business Service Manager BI & Data Management at Cegal.

With agile methodology, the project is broken down into smaller tasks and stages. The methodology is about making rapid changes, solving tasks in short sprints and completing small deliveries on an ongoing basis, instead of waiting with the delivery until the entire project is completed. Progress is measured regularly along the way.

Read more about Agile methodology here >

Nearly 500 tasks

A total of 442 tasks were identified and planned in the project. 380 of them were ticked off before the end of 2023, while 40 less important tasks were moved to after the New Year.

The following main tasks were among those done:
● Build new domain.
● Build test environment to test all the changes, reduce risks and prepare new services. Can be used for later projects.
● Migration of users and applications from old and new environment, including email migration and licenses.
● New and improved security setup.

When the employees, who in 2023 worked in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, returned from their Christmas holidays to a new working year in the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, the services worked as they should, and Go live went as planned. The directorate changed its name and now has a modern and future-oriented IT platform.

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