Expanding and Formalizing Internal Processes


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Expanding and Formalizing Internal Processes for a Growing Software Provider
An emerging software developer is poised for exponential growth and understands its current internal processes are not sufficient to handle a significant increase in the number of clients. Strong competition, overseas development efforts, and an evolving roster of savvy Fortune 500 corporations demand that the software company revise and institutionalize its Customer Management and Product Lifecycle processes.

The CEO and SVP of Services firmly believe in the "mission critical" status of the initiative and agree that outside assistance would be the best way to ensure tight implementation timelines are met. They select SimpatiCo based on a long-standing relationship, established redesign methodologies, and our ability to align key constituents across business areas.

SimpatiCo's Role

SimpatiCo worked with an 11 member, cross-functional Operations Council (OC) to define, document, and approve the high-level processes, as well as the detailed sub-processes. Specific project activities and accomplishments include the following:

Facilitated OC agreement on high-level activity steps for both Customer Management and Product Lifecycle
Defined standards for process design, including relevant Six Sigma practices
Ensured design consistency across approximately 30 sub-processes and 25 artifacts
Set and enforced timelines and deliverable targets, which was critical given an unstructured environment
Provided coaching to process owners and users regarding best practices for development of activities and allocation of responsibilities
Established framework for roll-out, and worked with process owners to frame training plans and process measurement criteria
Incorporated customer preferences into processes where applicable
Created a repeatable methodology—including online access to processes, so that they may be revised as growth demands
Prepared OC for Management Team (CEO, VP of Services, VP of Engineering, and CFO) review and sign-off

Results

Within eight elapsed weeks, the Management Team has sanctioned the new processes and implementation is underway. Additionally, the OC's charter has been extended given their success at quickly enabling the company to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding customer base. Looking ahead, the guiding methodologies will be used to enhance and formalize other important, internal processes.