Services

(or, just what are you getting yourself into?)

I use a powerful process called the "Critical Results Partnership" to work with my clients.

If you already have a functioning IT or development staff, maybe you want my hourly consultation offer instead.

Purpose

I call it "Critical" because organizations don't usually rely on my services for ongoing operations. Managers call me to solve unusual problems, to create extraordinary opportunities, or to step up operations. For that reason, I usually work very intensively while your needs are most critical, then disengage as any new routines become formalized and you reach a "new normal."

It's a "Partnership" because I integrate software and services with what you already do, instead of applying a preconceived notion of the "solution" you need. As the outcome of our project becomes fully operational, I'll debrief with your management and/or staff to empower them as much as possible through knowledge transfer. I'll work as needed with trainers and technical writers to provide resources and documentation.

If it was not for Mark, my multi-million $ project idea to port an old DOS-based POS package to Linux would not have succeeded, thereby rejuvenating a multi-million dollar software product at our POS vendor and providing extreme value for Things Remembered. Mark was key to integrating the porting of the code by someone who understood both the application and the porting environments, and who could provide the kind of close cooperation and creativity that this very challenging project needed. --Jim Lynes, Things Remembered

And the "Results" are what it's about--we work together to transform the things you are already doing, to make them perceptibly and measurably better.

Intended results

The outcome of the Critical Results Partnership is the achievement of an agreed-upon business goal: the launch of a new product, a speculated cost reduction, improvement in capacity, or rollout of upgrades to your software product. When you partner with me, you get results that are concrete, sustainable, cost-effective, and creatively efficient.

What happens

We create a new Critical Results Partnership by meeting face-to-face at your location, with management and stakeholders at the table. We take this time to brainstorm problems, not necessarily solutions. Depending on your company and the scope of challenge, this could be anywhere from two hours to two days. We leave that meeting with, at the very least, a bullet list of problems and priorities.

We first identify any low-hanging fruit--actions that can be taken quickly to provide the most productive results. This might take the form of retraining on existing software, easy server upgrades, or simply some "duct tape" scripting that gets disparate systems working together.

Within a few days, most likely after a few phone calls and emails, I'll meet again with your key decision-makers over a hardcopy proposal: identified problems, proposed solutions, timeframe, and estimated cost. There will be some sort of solution for each identified problem and priority, whether it is technical, procedural, educational, or managerial. We fine-tune that proposal to match your needs and budget. When possible, I like to leave this meeting with a start date for planning purposes.

The first phase of a typical Partnership, performed on a time and materials basis, combines all the information we've already gathered into a detailed plan for creating the solutions we've envisioned together. There may be some additional information-gathering such as visiting your physical plant, interviewing line managers, or getting up to speed on some of your software infrastructure. This phase might be just a few days for highly specific point solutions, up to a month for the most complex projects with many moving parts across your enterprise.

The deliverable from this phase always includes a Partnership Guide dedicated to management. Its executive summary will provide time and cost guarantees, as well as a commitment of your resources and inputs that are required for success. We use this Guide as the touchstone for future development and problem-solving. My unique use of fosWiki online collaboration software guarantees that the Guide and all spinoff documents are current, available, secure, and version-controlled.

During the execution phase, I'll remain in communication with your management contacts, with brief biweekly status meetings the norm. Often I will also collaborate on-site with your technical or business analysts. We'll continually mark up the Partnership Guide to indicate progress and interim decisions, so it will accurately reflect the contributions made to date.

(Often, clients call with problems that are extremely time-critical but of relatively short-term scope. That's why I may work in what you might call a "burst mode"--dedicated exclusively to the one project until your results are delivered.)

Finally we schedule a handoff meeting, where we again gather with your stakeholders to set up training, tech support, or help desk services. These services can be time-limited or ongoing.

Pricing

I price projects on a time and materials basis, or by value, depending on your goals. Together we will agree on project goals, requirements for your participation, milestones for payment, and the timeframe in which it all is to be accomplished.

Next Step

Call me now at 216-661-2000 to discuss your critical needs, or use the simple contact form. If your project is already stuck, though, consider my new Critical Results NOW!℠ offer, and get past your obstacles right away.