Assessment

Organizational assessment and roadmapping

Purpose

Help clients clarify their needs and determine a practical roadmap to meeting those needs.

What problems does this solve?

Our assessment and roadmapping process aims to solve or mitigate two common problems decision-makers face when they are looking for ways to drive improvement in their organizations:

  1. To clarify problems, causes, and concrete objectives that may not be obvious or well-understood. Learn more
  2. To minimize the risk of choosing a path or solution that isn’t truly aligned with the organization’s needs. Learn more

Our assessment is designed to help you understand what your needs really are, and (if appropriate) how to compare different products and services that might help you meet those needs. There’s no attempt to sell you anything as a follow-up. We want to help mitigate the risk of choosing a course of action for your organization.

Value add

  1. Dave brings nearly 40 years of IT experience to the table. A good deal of that time has been spent in a consulting role of one sort or another. He has seen numerous situations in organizations of all sizes and in multiple industries. He has a technical background, knowledge of various processes and methods, and awareness of human factors.
  2. An outsider’s perspective is useful to mitigate the forest-and-trees phenomenon that can occur when people try to understand their organization from within, and when they try to select or craft a formal solution without having direct experience with multiple methods in various contexts.
  3. An approach that is not motivated by the potential sale of a software product, methodology, framework, or certification has a good chance to remain objective and flexible. Dave has nothing to sell, apart from straightforward help.
  4. When specific needs have been identified, Dave can usually connect the organization with the right people in the consulting space to help them address those needs. He knows many of the people involved with consulting, training, and coaching in the lean and agile community. This avoids the difficulty and confusion inherent in parsing different sales pitches.

Description of the service

The relationship usually begins with an email exchange or other form of contact in which a representative of an organization discusses general needs and questions with Dave.

If they feel as if further discussion would be beneficial, then they schedule a conference call or Google Hangout session with key representatives of the organization. This session can be up to two hours in duration.

During the session, the interested parties discuss their present situation, pain points, goals, and vision. Dave is often able to detect potential issues and causes based on the way people speak about their situation and experiences, and can guide the discussion along constructive lines to avoid spending too much time on “venting” (which is a normal part of the process).

During the discussion, if it seems as if it would be useful for Dave to carry out an assessment and roadmapping exercise for the organization, then the interested parties agree on specific areas of focus for observation, workshops, training, brainstorming, and anything else that seems advisable in the particular situation. Dave then puts together customized material for the organization.

Up to this point in the process, no money changes hands.

The assessment and roadmapping service itself comprises a one-week site visit by Dave. The first four to four-and-a-half days are spent in observation, discussion, and any workshops and/or training sessions that were selected. The exercise wraps up with a half-day or full-day workshop with key personnel to craft a roadmap for the organization to move forward.

Cost

This is a fixed-price service for $8,500 US plus travel expenses.