Consulting Engagement Guidelines
My mission is to help my customers gain and sustain a competitive edge. I provide agile training and consulting services in a variety of areas and forms. Here is my operating model – the framework I use for consulting engagement.
Step 1 – Stage
- 1–3 days visit in the company filled with discussion and observations. Interviews with all the key stakeholders – company leaders, team members, and any other interested parties. Researching organizational structure, processes, policies and their impact on company effectiveness. Researching business context, product(s) and service(s), competition, projects, and company needs.
- (optional) Assessing the state of organizational agility and calculating Agility Index™ score using Scrum.org proprietary tools.
- (optional) A detailed report consisting of observations and recommendations regarding possible scope and form of the engagement.
- (optional) Interactive workshop to process the findings and framing the change program.
Step 2 – Optimize
- Day-to-day engagement in company activities.
- This step could be limited to one selected team or project (start-small or pilot approach) or full-blown roll-out where the number of consultants work in parallel with multiple teams and roles within the organization.
- This step lasts from a few months to a few years depending on the starting point and scale of the company.
Step 3 – Inspect
- Monthly progress assessments against previously agreed goals.
- Quarterly assessments of the overall transformation progress summarized in the form of a report.
- Assessing the state of organizational agility and calculating Agility Index™ score using Scrum.org proprietary tools.
- Interactive workshop to process the findings and reframing the change program if needed.
Modules
Each organization is different. Each transformation is different. Nevertheless, there are similarities and repeating patterns. I believe focusing on the areas and the goals presented here helps my customers to introduce the new way of working in a coherent and persistent manner.
- Disciplined Change Management
- Change Catalysts
- Reliable Teams
- Continuous Value Delivery
- Effective Leadership
Disclaimer
One may use these guidelines as a checklist but it is not excessively significant to reach each and every goal described here, particularly not in the order presented. What is more important is the discussion around the goals. It is vital to agree on the meaning of the goals in the context of a particular organization. It is vital to decide on which goals will be reached, by what means, by when and who will be involved. This discussion and actions taken as a follow up is precisely the purpose of these guidelines. It is also the reason why a seasoned agile coach's expertise may be helpful to guide the discussion and follow up process.