Services

Doman Vaughan Consulting provides services to transform the way your business works and at the same time improve your ability to solve your business problems in a rigorous manner. Our experience has taught us that this is a critical skill for organisations to develop and maintain in-house. For this reason, our model aims to support your people in developing and applying these skills so that they can succeed as a team and bring out the best in each and every member.

We provide the following services to transform the way your business works :

• Business planning and implementation: how to move from strategy to action - rapidly
  
• Transforming service and cost: how to exceed your customer expectations - profitably
  
• Re-engineering the organisation: how to align accountabilities and responsibilities for seamless operation - and enhanced staff satisfaction
  
• IT management and e-development policy and planning: how to transform goverment and business with the help of technology, e-commerce and knowledge
  
• Program design and launch: how to structure, manage, and deliver complex business projects - on time and on budget
  
• Managerial governance and decision making: how to make better managers and better decisions - ethically
  

Business planning and implementation

Whether you are embarking on a multi-year program of initiatives in support of your corporate strategy or launching a single strategic initiative, mobilising the organisation to deliver on the strategy is often the biggest challenge. Long delivery timeframes tend to foster complacency and early slippage is seldom recovered later in the project.

Our approach is to break the program down into components that deliver outputs progressively (quarter by quarter) so that business returns are also realised progressively and the organisation remains focused.

Once the plan is complete and execution begins, this modular approach will also allow the project work to be less remote from day-to-day work which in turn enables resources to be shared between business as usual and projects.

Example scenarios :

• Developing a business plan for the development and launch of an e-commerce platform for the business.

• Launching new products involving significant new operational capability (people, process, and technology) . [Top]

Transforming service and cost

Businesses playing in markets which are undergoing or anticipating major structural change, need to change their operating model - processes, people, technology - so that they can compete effectively in the new environment.

The key success factor in embarking on such a process of change is to quickly define the new model and then develop a migration and investment plan which can deliver the returns in the timeframe needed.

Our approach is to quickly diagnose the key factors constraining your ability to compete effectively - process, people, technology, cost structure, aligning revenue with cost - and then to redesign the operating model to remove these constraints. This is a pragmatic, focused, issue driven approach.

The service provides an analysis of the key constraints in operational and economic terms, a new design, economic impact assessment, and business case.

Consistent with our "coaching in action" engagement model, we deliver this service working collaboratively with your team. They provide the subject matter expertise about your business and we provide an analytical approach which gets to the answer as quickly as possible.

Example scenarios :

• Developing breakthrough business models that challenge established industry practice.
• E-enabling core customer processes to transform the cost base through scale economies and offer a new competitive customer experience.
• Developing a strategy for the use of diverse channels which meets customer needs profitably. [Top]

Re-engineering the organisation

The seamless and efficient operation of your business depends on every part of the organisation and every individual having clear responsibilities which align to their accountabilities. When these become disconnected, processes break down, the customer is let down, and the business falls short of its goals.

Re-engineering is a term typically used with reference to processes. However, in our experience, it is generally a mix of process change and organisational re-design which solves many operational issues.

In re-engineering the organisation, we begin by mapping the current organisational roles and accountabilities to the target process(es) to identify inhibitors to superior performance. We then re- align the functional boundaries in the organisation so that people and teams are empowered, measured and incented to perform the roles for which they are accountable. Finally, we address process specific issues (gap between current and target) that constrain performance.

Example scenarios :

• Re-designing the go-to-market business process, involving marketing, product, and sales functions, to improve an organisation's capability to get the right product to market at the right time and price.
• Restructuring an entire organisation post-merger. [Top]

ICT management and e-development policy and planning

The policies and plans that you put in place to leverage Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for sustainable growth and the way in which you organize and manage your ICT initiatives, are fundamental to achieving your intended outcomes.

Maintaining a tight link from policy through to implementation, effective plans, appropriate governance and implementation methods, will ensure that your intent is preserved and goals are achieved. To do this you will need a structured approach to developing policies, plans and designing the most appropriate management, operating, and sourcing models, whether it be centralized, distributed, or centre-led.

These choices are as valid for Governments and development agencies working on ICT for development or e-development, as they are for business.

The partners in DVC have extensive experience in IT management, and are founding members of Partners in Micro-Development, an non government organisation (NGO) working in the ICT for development / e-development sector in developing countries.
We hold professional and academic qualifications in IT and international development. We are able to draw on this expertise to help business, government and development agencies in scenarios such as:

Example scenarios :

• Developing a program of work to implement a sector specific national ICT policy or business led IT strategy
• Designing an IT management and governance model for a multi-division business or a multi-sector national ICT plan
• Developing strategies to e-enable key business processes or Government administrative processes in any sector
• Developing strategies for taking businesses online or delivering government services online[Top]

Program design and launch

Clear definition, scoping, and agreement on the business problem to be solved or challenge to be met is the foundation stone for any project. We will facilitate this process using a logical, structured approach. This provides your project team with a precise anchor point for detailed work planning and analysis.

For large, complex projects spanning multiple aspects of your business, we can move to the next stage with you to structure the project into streams of work, plan the work, form the project team, and establish governance processes.

In cases where you need to move quickly but do not have the staff readily available to lead the project, we will take on this leadership role for a period, recruit and on-board the new project leadership and then transition out.

The over-use or inappropriate use of consultants can sometimes divert much needed investment away from developing in-house the capabilities which are essential to your business. This is a difficult tradeoff to make especially when timeframes for delivering projects are tight and skills are limited.

Our model is very flexible. As we work with you in boosting your business or projects, we will coach your staff and transition to them as and when appropriate.

By engaging us to support your team, you ensure that your project is well organised, properly governed, running smoothly and productively. Your project risk is minimised and you are set-up for success. We can continue to support your team on an ongoing basis, be available on-call to trouble-shoot, or conduct periodic reviews with the team, prior to key milestones, to ensure their continued success.

Example scenarios :

• Developing a comprehensive launch plan and business case for new business line, product, or service offering.
• Undertaking a major transformation project in the business.
• Undertaking a major ICT project. [Top]

Managerial governance and decision making

In projects, and in the day-to-day running of the business, the ability of managers at all levels to make well informed, well thought through, and timely decisions is a critical success factor for maintaining momentum and focus. Decisions taken in haste, without consideration of all stakeholder interests, or after lengthy delays can cause disruption to the work and disaffection of staff.

There are two important capabilities which organisations develop to ensure that they make the right decisions at the right time. The first is a system of governance which ensures all stakeholder interests are factored into decisions - transparently. The second is a structured approach to decision making which is based on principles of ethics and which over time becomes second nature.

Our experience in large, time critical, programs involving hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, provides us with a set of principles and techniques for designing effective governance structures and decision making frameworks. Our approach is based on an ethical decision making framework which aims to reach the best possible outcome recognising in the process the interests of all stakeholders.

Example scenarios :

• Establishing a governance model for a joint venture.
• Establishing a governance model for a large program spanning multiple business units with discrete P&L accountabilities. [Top]

"When solving problems, dig at the roots instead of just hacking at the leaves"

Anthony J. D'Angelo