Attract More Customers... more cost-effectively

Increased stock value 5x and reduced product development cycle from 24 months to 14 months

Company:
Three hundred person, forty-five year-old company.

Situation / problem:
The company was unable to determine actual performance to budgets due to the way in which projects were planned, cost estimates made and performance during the project was carried out. Project leadership was not defined and finger-pointing was common when problems arose. Limited resources and multiple projects forced all projects to be late, and technical performance suffered. Symptoms of the problems were well known, however the causes were not evident.

Effort:
The course of action used to determine the problems and implement improvements consisted of a multi-phase approach:

     Phase 1 - Requirements Definition
     Phase 2 - Generated the Product Development Process
     Phase 3 - Implemented the Process
     Phase 4 - Provided Follow-up

Training, a pilot project, and hands-on leadership and implementation of new product-development processes were performed.

Value: Real challenges being cost-effectively overcome - for twenty years.

Results

Specific results: The company has reduced its average product delivery schedule from 24 months to 14 months, and realized a savings of over $2 million annually.

Their stock increased from $3 per share at the beginning of my consulting to over $16 per share within 1 � years of consulting assignment. The reduced product cycle shaved $5 million off development costs (per new product) and more competitively positioned their products.

The general results to the company included better planning, improved predictability on a per project basis, better flow-down of customer requirements, and better estimating and risk assessment / mitigation planning.

Cross-functional communication improved creating a better understanding of product and project requirements. Total project requirements were better defined and integrated with the project's objectives