Inside Scrumconnect’s AI in Practice Event

At Scrumconnect, we believe the most effective learning happens through hands-on experience. That belief was at the heart of our recent AI in Practice event, hosted at Portland House in Newcastle, where professionals came together to explore how artificial intelligence is being used in real, meaningful ways across product, design and delivery.

Designed for people who want to understand not just what AI can do, but how it is already being used responsibly in practice, the event combined expert-led panels with interactive workshops. The focus throughout was on transparency, ethics and real-world application, moving beyond hype to share practical insight.

The panel sessions were led by Fay Cooper, Chief Product Officer at Scrumconnect, who opened the day by setting out how AI is embedded across the organisation and how it is shaping the development of our own AI platform, AttiFin. Fay emphasised that Scrumconnect’s approach to AI is grounded in user need, robust governance and a strong sense of responsibility, particularly when working within the public sector.

‍

AI in Product : Supporting Better Outcomes in the Public Sector

One of the standout sessions focused on AI in product delivery and took the form of a live conversation between Fay Cooper, Chief Product Officer at Scrumconnect, and Hannah Butterworth, Lead Delivery Manager. Chaired by Fay, the session explored Scrumconnect’s work with HM Courts and Tribunal Service to develop and enhance its Common Platform, with questions from the audience shaping the discussion throughout.

At the heart of the work was a clear user problem: judges spending countless hours reading and interpreting lengthy legal documents. Hannah explained how user-centred design principles guided the team’s approach, exploring how AI could be used to summarise documents accurately while preserving the integrity and ethics required in a courtroom environment.

An audience member asked how the team managed risk when introducing AI into such a sensitive setting. In response, Hannah outlined the extensive safeguards built into the solution, including testing AI outputs against example cases, iterating continuously once deployed in live environments, and implementing technical controls to ensure all AI-generated summaries were traceable back to their original source documents. The aim, she explained, was not automation for its own sake, but to reduce cognitive load and support better decision-making.

Another question from the audience focused on the challenges of working with highly sensitive legal documents. Hannah described how Scrumconnect addressed these concerns through strict data handling practices, robust governance and close collaboration with stakeholders. By embedding security, accuracy and transparency into the design from the outset, the team demonstrated how AI can be responsibly developed for public sector use, delivering meaningful benefits while maintaining trust.

‍

AttiFin: Building a Trusted AI Legal Assistant

The conversation then turned to AttiFin, Scrumconnect’s AI-powered legal assistant. David Clark (Head of Marketing) chaired the conservation with Fay Cooper, Prashant Kale (Head Engineer at AttiFin) and Dishank Ganvir (AI Intern) to discuss how the platform came to life.

Through ongoing conversations with local law firms, the team identified a clear gap in the market for an integrated, secure and reliable AI legal assistant. The panel discussed how stakeholder concerns around risk, security and accuracy shaped the product from the outset. AttiFin was designed to help users interrogate complex documents and receive answers to nuanced legal questions in seconds, without compromising trust.

During the session, Dishank also shared his experience as an AI Intern at Scrumconnect, reflecting on his journey from university into real-world AI development. He spoke about the shift from theoretical learning to working hands-on with live data, and how this practical exposure accelerated his understanding of how AI systems are built and deployed. Dishank highlighted the close collaboration with Prashant, explaining how they worked together to develop AttiFin from a technical perspective, translating complex requirements into a secure, reliable product built for real users.

The pair spoke about how security and access control were handled when working with sensitive legal data. The team described how APIs are used to maintain strict access controls, protect data and ensure compliance with government and industry regulations.

When asked about the risk of AI hallucinations, Prashant explained how every response generated by AttiFin includes a verifiable citation. This allows users to trace answers directly back to the source material, reinforcing confidence in the accuracy and reliability of the tool.

‍

Dynamo: Giving Back Through the Tech Community

The event also highlighted Scrumconnect’s wider commitment to the North East tech community through our involvement with Dynamo, the region’s largest tech sector business network. Dynamo plays a key role in promoting collaboration, knowledge sharing and inclusion across the digital economy.

As part of this commitment, Scrumconnect donated £500 to Dynamo’s Digital Exclusion Fund, which supports charities working to improve access to technology and digital skills across the wider community.

‍

Product and Design : AI With Purpose

Later sessions brought the focus back to practice. Fay Cooper led a product and design discussion on the values that should underpin AI adoption, including how to structure an AI Opportunity Assessment and identify genuine operational problems. 

Drawing on her experience introducing AI into government departments, Fay spoke candidly about the challenges, trade-offs and lessons learned, particularly when balancing innovation with policy, ethics and real-world constraints.

A question from the audience focused on how AI can be used to support vulnerable people. In response, Fay shared an example from the public sector, describing how AI can simplify and streamline user journeys for people with low digital literacy. By reducing complexity and removing unnecessary steps, AI can help make processes such as applying for Pension Credit more accessible, ensuring services are designed around the needs of the people who rely on them most, resulting in more individuals receiving vital pension credit. 

‍

Technical Product Delivery : Understanding How AI Works

The day concluded with a technical product delivery session led by Prashant Kale and Dishank Ganvir, offering a high-level overview of how Scrumconnect uses AI internally to improve services.

The session covered large language model fundamentals, common AI terminology, human-in-the-loop approaches, secure-by-design principles, support tooling, and the importance of ethics, standards and strategy when delivering AI-enabled services in the public sector.

An audience question explored whether large language models can be used safely on closed data platforms, particularly within public sector environments. In response, the speakers explained how controlled data environments, access restrictions and strong governance frameworks enable AI to be used responsibly, even when working with sensitive or non-public information.

Together, the sessions reinforced a clear message: AI works best when it is practical, purposeful and people-focused, and when organisations are willing to invest in doing it the right way.

‍