Project Title: Consulting Methodology System
Client: Large Communications Consultancy

Background:
In a large consulting organisation, individuals form teams for a project and then disband for the next. As consultants move around, the knowledge acquired becomes the most valuable company asset.

By gathering those knowledge assets in one place and making those available to all we will achieve a central source of best practice

To use that source to its potential we need to ensure it becomes the easiest way to operate, be easily accessible and consistent with the consulting methodology that we promote.

We want to tap the best of our brains and make that available to everyone. Making it so easy that to “go-your-own-way” becomes a harder path.

Challenge:

• Our client needed a tool to be able to see all elements of the consulting best practice, arranged logically in process steps.
• By selecting the steps and elements of work, a consulting engagement could be designed.
• Adding timeframes and resources against the work elements would enable outputting of reports and provide estimates to clients.
• By linking work elements with each other, recommendations can be made of which other works should be undertaken and hence promote the consulting methodology
• Very visual, easy to use, powerful.

Development Approach:
A windows based approach was approved, and a number of design iterations delivered a screen presentation that was aligned to the consulting methodology, very visual and the design outcomes included;

• Clear buttons and an intuitive interface
• Two separate visualisations of the methodology and work elements depending on the users preferences
• Pre-defined templates so that a consultant can get a “boiler plate” engagement up and running in minutes
• Helper “mini engagements” at each stage assist with selecting the right works for a particular outcome
• e.g. select “engage management” will trigger recommendations of Management meeting, stakeholder maps, business case works to be completed

Once an engagement has been designed (by selecting the work elements) it can be printed to provide a consolidated document showing

• all of the works that are going to be completed
• expected Client outcomes
• Consulting team outcomes
• team resources required
• timelines
• risks that need to be addressed

As all activities have a timeframe and a resource against them, at the press of a button the plan can be exported to Microsoft Project.

The Outcome:
The consulting approach tool has delivered on the original brief. Best practice pieces were gathered and managed centrally. Each piece of best practice is categorised and the consulting plans generated can be saved and shared with the rest of the team.

The application is loaded on each Consultants laptops and the methodology and best practice documents and tools are automatically synchronised to ensure everything is up-to-date, ensuring; 

• consistency across all consulting engagements,
• always up-to-date with best practice,
• simple to use
• documentation writing is massively speeded up
• interface is intuitive and grows to accommodate new best practice elements

Bottom Line:
The project was conceived and delivered over a 20 week period on a fixed budget. The application has delivered many benefits to the business through consistency of delivery and ensures methodology is adhered to. 

A consulting engagement plan that may originally have taken 3 days to draft can now be completed in less than 30 minutes.

Technologies employed:

Microsoft Vb.Net

ASP.net

Cirrus Application Server – Application Architecture

Windows 2003

SQL Server

XML

Encryption technologies.