University%20of%20Colorado%20at%20Boulder%20Leeds%20School%20of%20Business

1
University of Colorado at Boulder Leeds School
of Business

• September 21st, 2005

2
Agenda

• Welcome!
• Introductions 500 510
• Status Report Sessions 510 - 530
• Status Reporting Discussion 530 540
• Interviewing for Information 540 550
• Interviewing Exercise 550 620
• Interviewing Discussion Qs 620 630
• Dinner 630 700
• Root Cause Analysis 700 710
• Root Cause Exercises 710 730
• Team Project QA 730 800
• Thank You for Coming

3
Logistics

• Agenda
• Activities
• Dinner
• Facilities
• Follow-up

4
Introductions

• Name
• Personal elevator speech

5
Status Reporting Fundamentals
6
Methodology Checkpoint

                                                            
Pursuit The activities involved in obtaining an
engagement, either at a new client or at an
existing client.   Mobilize The activities
required to begin a project typically involve
work planning and scheduling, project staffing,
job set up from an administrative perspective,
kick-off meetings, etc.   Execute and
Control Activities required to continually
monitor project progress, report status, revise
plan based on actual events, manage project cost
and schedule against budget, control scope, bill
and collect both fees and expenses,
etc.   Close The activities required to close a
project both at the client and for Hitachi
Consulting obtain final sign-offs, prepare
final invoice, move intellectual capital to the
Knowledge Library, perform final knowledge
transfer activities, close the job number, etc.
7
Competency Checkpoint
8
Objectives
Status Reporting

• Introduce (or review) fundamental project
  documentation
• Issues
• Status reports
• After completing this topic you should be able to
• Identify issues and document on the appropriate
  log
• Prepare a status report, written or oral, that
  provides relevant, timely, and concise
  information to your immediate manager
• This topic will also help avert common mistakes
  such as
• Failing to notify your supervisors or managers of
  issues
• Providing too little, too much, or irrelevant
  information when asked to report status

9
Agenda
Status Reporting

• Issue identification and documentation
• Definition of issues
• Types of issues
• How issues are documented
• How issue resolution is documented
• Review of real issue logs
• Exercise on identifying issues
• Status Reporting
• What is a status report?
• Why are status reports needed?
• What are the key components of a status report?
• How is a status report developed?
• Example status reports
• Status report exercise

10
Status Reporting
Issue Identification andDocumentation
11
First, we need to define the term issue
Status Reporting

• According to the dictionary
• Issue a vital or unsettled matter
• With respect to a work plan and project, these
  are items that come up regularly throughout the
  course of a project that require a decision to be
  made, usually by bringing several people
  together. An open question is not necessarily an
  issue its just a follow-up point. An issue
  implies that the individual identifying the issue
  either cannot or will not make a decision or find
  the necessary information without additional
  assistance. Failure to resolve the issue will
  usually hold up other work.

12
Issue Identification and Documentation
Status Reporting

• Identification, documentation and resolution of
  issues is critical to the success of any project.
• When issues are identified it is critical that
  you follow the protocol set up by the project
  management team.
• Written documentation of the issue
• Oral communication of the issue
• Quantitative or qualitative evaluation
• Proper reporting using agreed upon templates,
  tools or databases
• If you have identified a situation that you have
  concerns about and are not sure if it is an
  issueASK

13
Issues occur in any project theyre expected
Status Reporting

• Types of typical project issues include
• Recognition of business processes or systems
  outside the project scope that affect the
  in-scope efforts
• Disagreements about what is in scope or out of
  scope
• Individual tasks or deliverables falling behind
  schedule
• Team members who dont have time to participate
  as planned
• Process or system requirements that appear to
  oppose each other
• Incorrect assumptions
• Missing information and no idea as to where or
  how to obtain it
• Required tasks that werent identified and now
  must be completed
• In summary, all issues require some sort of
  further research and resolution. Some issues are
  critical failure to resolve them increases
  risk. Other issues have lower priority Yes,
  we know this is an open question well solve it
  in good time.

14
Issues are documented in a log or database to
which all team members have access
Status Reporting

• Regardless of tool or format, the following
  information is typically captured about an issue
• Issue description need enough information to
  understand the problem and why its an issue.
  Two words wont do it!
• Issue date
• Issue reported by
• Issue assigned to
• Issue type (varies by project, there will be a
  set of type codes)
• Issue priority
• Issue status (new, in process, on hold, resolved,
  etc.)
• Issue resolution description
• Issue resolution date

15
Example of an issues database
Status Reporting
Project management uses the tool to review and
follow up on issues requiring resolution.
Individual team members can find the issues for
which they are responsible. Anyone can look up
the final resolution of an issue.
16
Issues are frequently topics in status meetings
Status Reporting

• Issues are included in status reports and status
  meetings in several ways
• Counts of open issues and issues resolved to date
  may be included in written status reports. These
  counts indicate progress in both opening and
  closing issues. (No issues on a project is a bad
  sign!)
• New issues may be individually listed in status
  reports
• Specific issues may be included as discussion
  topics for a status meeting

17
Issues are frequently topics in status meetings
Status Reporting

• Most frequent reason for not resolving an issue
  is failure to have both the individuals who have
  the necessary information and the individuals
  with the authority to make a decision in the same
  place at the same time.

Wheres Joe? He knows why we have to run these
reports every quarter.
18
Why are we discussing issues with you?
Status Reporting

• The individuals doing the detailed work on a
  project are often the first to find new issues.
  They pop out in seemingly insignificant
  conversations, meetings, and documents. You will
  usually see them before project management does.
• You need to be actively listening to your client
  be on the lookout for issues. Use deductive
  reasoning to recognize what was implied or what
  wasnt said and dig for it.
• Less experienced individuals may be asked to
  review the open issues log and call the
  individual assigned with an old issue to see
  whats happening lingering issues can come back
  and bite us.

When in doubt, log it!
19
Status Reporting
Status Reports
20
Status reports communicate project progress
Status Reporting

• Status reports communicate project progress and
  performance to project management and client
  management.
• Hitachi Consulting standard is to have written
  project status reports given to client management
  no less than every two weeks. These status
  reports are a summary of lower level status
  reports.
• Frequency and format of individual or sub-team
  status reports differ by project management
  requirements and style.

21
Status reports usually contain three types of
information
Status Reporting

• Project progress and performance against schedule
  and budget
• Highlights of activity currently taking place
  What have we recently completed? What are we
  working on right now? Whats coming up in the
  near term?
• Topics or issues that require management
  attention now

22
Status reports serve several purposes
Status Reporting

• Standard vehicle for raising issues to the next
  level of attention (project management, project
  steering committee, client management, Hitachi
  Consulting management)
• Force everyone on the project team to reflect on
  their work see their forest as well as their
  trees
• Provide a documentation trail for issues,
  concerns, problems, etc.

Why are you surprised? We said the same thing
in the last three status reports.
23
Status reports often contain the following data,
for an individual, a team, or an entire project
Status Reporting

• Status Date
• Reporting Period
• Overall status
• Comparison of budgeted hours or cost to total
  current estimated hours or cost (remember ETCs?)
• Assessment of whether project is on schedule (in
  text)
• Other statistics that could indicate status, such
  as open issue count , open test incident count,
  number of training classes conducted, procedures
  written, specifications completed
• High level status narrative
• List of tasks or deliverables completed since
  last status report
• Tasks or deliverables planned for the next period

24
Status reports often contain the following data,
for an individual, a team, or an entire project
Status Reporting

• Brief description of issues identified since the
  last status report
• Status changes on high priority issues logged in
  previous reporting periods
• Items requiring attention at the next level
• Amount of detail depends on the audience for the
  report

25
Be concise brief but complete in preparing
your status reports
Status Reporting

• Use a status report template provided by your
  supervisor or project manager if you werent
  given one, ask for it
• Fill in all the requested data
• Use bullet points, not paragraphs
• Remember to include old, unresolved issues if
  they are impeding your progress
• Get your status reports in on time they are
  usually needed to complete team, project, or
  program level status reports

Dont wait for the status report to talk about
critical issues project managers dont like
surprises, and may not have time before their
status meeting to get the details they need.
26
Status reports may be delivered orally as well
Status Reporting

• Project management may schedule meetings to
  review the status reports from several teams.
• Status meetings reinforce the integration and
  interaction needed to make projects successful.
• Be prepared to deliver your status report orally
  focusing on key milestones, activities, plans for
  next period and issues.

27
In Summary
Status Reporting

• Status reporting is the primary communication
  tool used to inform the Project Management team
  and helps to ensure project control
• Issue identification must happen on a timely
  basis to allow the Project Management team to
  take corrective action
• It is your responsibility to accurately report
  status and promptly report issues to your
  supervisor and/or the Project Management team.
  Ask your Project Manager about the correct
  protocol to follow on your project.

28
In Summary
Key Takeaways

• Status reporting is the primary communication
  tool used to inform the Project Management team
  and helps to ensure project control
• Be concise brief but complete and know your
  audience when preparing status reports
• Issue identification must happen on a timely
  basis to allow the Project Management team to
  take corrective action

29
Project Name Weekly Progress Ending Date
Green Light On Target (quality and time) no
key issues
Yellow Light Some Slippage (quality or time)
key issue resolution required
X
Red Light Significant Slippage Requires
revised approach
Summary This Space is provided to give a broad
stroke summary of the Projects weekly progress
Template
Major Activities/Milestones Major Activities/Milestones Major Activities/Milestones
Target Date Complete
7/15/05 95
7/15/05 90
7/15/05 75
7/15/05 15
7/15/05 5


Key Issues and Risks

• Key Issues and Risks that your project may face

Key Activities Next Week

• Key Activities that the project will accomplish
  next week

Action Plans for Risk Mitigation

• Plans to Mitigate the project issues and risks

Key Financials
Total Approved Hours/Budget
Spend to Date
Remaining Hours/Budget
Percent Remaining
30
Status Reporting Exercise 510 530

• One Hitachi Consulting Representative per CU Team
• CU Team
• Please present status report to Hitachi
  Consulting Representative
• Hitachi Consulting Representative
• Ask insightful questions about the status
• What may a client ask?
• What may a project manager ask?
• Answer project specific questions
• Discuss potential project specific risk
  mitigation strategies

31
Status Reporting Discussion Questions 530 540

• Why do we give status reports?
• Why do we document risks and issues?
• Who might fill out a status report on a project?
• Who might receive status reports?
• How might status reports be used on your
  projects?
• What are some potential benefits to your project
  of using status reports?

32
Interviewing for Information
33
Interviewing for Information
Client Perceptions
34
Food for Thought
Perceptions
Explanation
Rationale
In every meeting I attend I consciously make the
effort to introduce myself to everyone in the
room AND STAND UP
Gives you a presence in the room shows that you
are engaged regardless of whether you have
content expertise
Mr. Social
When I have to visually present something in PPT
or Visio it ALWAYS helps me to sketch it out on
paper first
If I try to start the drawing in software I get
caught up in the appearance and I start editing
too early also helps me get something going/
take a step off the curb
Pencil Stupid
When you roll onto something new take in as much
as you can use basic memorization techniques
and begin to open your mouth only when you know
the call
When you roll onto a project you're not supposed
to know anything practice active listening not
active speaking 2 ears one mouth
SpongeBob SquarePants
It Aint Free Suga
You cost 1200-1400 A DAY
Ask yourself on a daily basis Did my client(s)
get what they paid for?
You signed up for a dynamic environment when you
became a consultant. Dont be surprised when you
get it. Flexibility ALWAYS matters
Roll With It
BE FLEXIBLE
Consultant Guard
ALWAYS keep up a professional front with your
clients the one time you let it down you may
permanently regret it
Never become too comfortable with your clients
remember, you are always on stage
35
Food for Thought (cont.)
Perceptions
Explanation
Rationale
True to life, an impression stays with
peopleespecially clients and co-workers
In our business, we are judged quickly and often
by our initial interactions. Sometimes, clients
and co-workers only see you so often. Reversing a
bad impression can be difficult
First Impressions Last
Always be detailed oriented, even with what seem
to be mundane or routine tasks.
As a new consultant, or new team member, often
you will be given tasks to gauge your style and
abilitymake an effort to be polished, even in
your emailspeople notice and may tailor future
assignments according to this
Devil Is In the Details
People equate value with intensity and effort.
Walk the halls with a purposedo not hang out
Clients expect you to be busy for the hours you
are charging. There will be down time, but stay
active and intensify your busy look when
clients are observingposture and body language
contribute to this
Urgency - Look Busy!
The Sky is Falling!! Get a Net
Recognizing and communicating risk is important.
Equally important is providing mitigation ideas
or solutions
A good consultant will recognize and communicate
risk. A great consultant will also suggest how
to deal with it. Know how to gauge risk and when
possible, provide suggestions for dealing with it
Most of us provide visual indicators regarding
our attitude toward something. Many co-workers
and clients will perceive you based on these
visual indicators. Know how to send the right
message
Attitude Adjustment
Your attitude is visible. Be aware of how you
wear your attitude
Dress for Success
Look good, feel good, do good. Like it or not,
your dress code can influence how you are treated
by clients peers
Dress code is critical. Learn to match your
client environment. Always dress professionally
clients and VPs especially notice this
36
Perceptions
Perceptions

• Based on input taken from actual staffing calls
  and conversations company wide, here is what we
  heard in terms of positive traits that are sought
  after and improvement areas to be considered

• Improvement Areas
• Shows too much emotion
• Just is not articulate
• Very junior presence, cant put in front of this
  client
• Acts young, looks young
• Too self confident, over inflated ego
• Needs a lot of direction setting
• Very risk averse cautious
• Rough around the edges needs polish
• Poor communicator
• Lacks self awareness and emotional intelligence
  cannot dial it up or down based on situation

• Positive Areas
• Super Smart Person
• Hard working, would take them even without
  background on client/solution
• Strong sense of urgency
• Broad skills
• Flexible
• Mature, older than age
• High likeability
• Takes risks
• Emotionally Intelligent
• High desire to please hunting dog mentality
• Imaginative and creative

37
Fundamental Behaviors

• Exhibit enthusiasm and an appropriate sense of
  urgency to your clients
• Present yourself professionally - in dress,
  punctuality, and by keeping your commitments
• Engage in every meeting you attend always know
  your role and contribute as appropriate
• Be aware of who is in the room - always
  maintain client and Hitachi Consulting
  confidentiality
• Keep the broader context in mind
• Take ownership and assume personal responsibility
• Be flexible find an appropriate way to say yes

Always behave a notch above your clients
expectations. Consulting is rarely a 9-5 job -
10-20 overtime is typical.
38
Objectives
Interview for Info

• Introduce you to the basics of interviewing
• How do you prepare for an interview to ensure you
  get the right information?
• After completing this section you should be able
  to
• Understand the basic interview types and what
  type is appropriate for each situation
• Understand and use an interview methodology
• Prepare for and conduct an interview to collect
  information

39
Agenda
Interview for Info

• InterviewingThe Basics
• Choosing the Type of Interview
• High Value Interviewing Techniques
• Using an Interview Methodology
• Conclusion
• Case Exercise
• Appendix Gathering Requirements

40
InterviewingThe Basics
Interview for Info

• Objectives
• Select the information you would interview for
• Identify the types of information you might
  expect to obtain
• Select who you would interview

• Why Learn This?
• To get the right information, you need to be
  able to select and organize the information you
  need, then find the people who can give it to you.

41
The BasicsGetting Started
Interview for Info

• Some Interview Types
• Employment
• Counseling
• Information Gathering
• Coaching
• Depositions
• Performance Reviews
• Corrective Action

• Typical Goals
• Facts
• Opinions
• Feelings
• Statistics
• Ideas
• Anecdotes

42
Know what outcome you are trying to achieve

• The deliverable you are trying to create will
  help you define what information you want to
  gather. Some potential deliverables include
• Business process maps of current and/or future
  business processes
• Inventory of business requirements for a new
  system
• Inventory of business problems related to a
  current business system or process
• Quantitative data for spreadsheet analysis
• Once you know what information you need, you can
  determine the best way to structure your
  interview to get it

43
Choosing the Type of Interview
Interview for Info

• Objectives
• Describe the difference between a structured and
  unstructured interview.
• Determine when to use a structured or an
  unstructured interview.

• Why Learn This?
• The types of questions you ask influence the
  quality of information you receive. Knowing when
  to use a structured or unstructured interview
  allows you to select the one that will get you
  what you need.

44
Structured Interviews
Interview for Info

• A set list of questions to cover
• Planned sequence
• Little diversion from the structured path to
  the information you want

45
Unstructured Interviews
Interview for Info

• Established goals, but interviewees allowed to
  explore many different issues, across multiple
  topics
• Asking few questions, all of which are very
  open-ended
• Helping the participants to open up, sharing
  lots of information that may not be very focused

46
Comparison of Styles
Interview for Info
STRUCTURED UNSTRUCTURED
The consultant proceeds through a defined sequence of questions. The consultant primes and prompts with a few questions and key issues, but encourages wide-ranging conversation.
The consultant is in full control of the interview at all times. The interviewee may lead the consultant through a variety of issues, more at the interviewees pace. The interviewer cedes more control to the interviewee.
Virtually the identical track will be followed with the next interviewee, to ensure consistency and completeness. A complete picture may only come from the total of the interviewees conducted, as different interviewees may cover different issues.
Structured interviews tend to yield factual, specific answers in response to narrow, specific questions both open and closed questions. Unstructured interviews are more effective at generating feelings and ideas than facts and data people open up more in an unstructured interview.
Efficient, straightforward, less time-consuming than unstructured. Relatively inefficient often many tangents to pursue and extra listening to do.
47
Structured vs. Unstructured
Interview for Info
Advantages Disadvantages
Structured Better control More focus May miss important information left out of structured questions
Unstructured Get more feeling and emotions from people More flexible format Less control Time consuming
48
High Value Interviewing Techniques
Interview for Info

• Objective
• Describe selected interviewing techniques and
  explain the value of each.

• Why Learn This?
• When planning and conducting interviews, you must
  have a toolbox of techniques to select from.

49
The Interviewing Techniques Toolbox
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
Direct Question Seeks specific information. Which positions in the I.S. group do you believe lack clear accountabilities?
What If/ Just Suppose Helps people move beyond their limited, well-defined, present circumstances to consider creative alternatives. What if we could start over? How would you design this system differently? Just suppose budgets were unlimited . . . what could you do to improve the networks performance in the next 18 months?
Summarize Periodically, recap the key points the interviewee has raised. This helps ensure mutual understanding. It also serves as a prompt to elicit more. So if Ive understood you correctly, there are three key issues here funding levels, talent gaps in the group, and the tight deadline. Is that all?
50
The Interviewing Techniques Toolbox
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
Reflect Restate whats been said in different words to clarify and elicit more. Youre saying theres a gap in some key skills to get the project done?
Open Question Requires more than a yes or no answer, stimulates thinking, usually begins with what, how, when, why. What recommendations would you have for improving the accuracy of the data at the input stage?
Closed Question Seeks one-word answers closes discussion usually begins with is, can, how many, etc. Do you understand the usage requirements? Do you think the changes are, overall, good or bad? How many times does this happen in an average month?
51
Toolbox (cont.)
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
Pro/Con Ask people to address both sides of an issue, not just one, to help them fully explore the topic. What would be the advantages and the disadvantages, of moving up the deadline? What are two pros and two cons of changing the project team at this stage?
Note Taking We think well remember all the key points but we dont. Notes are essential, especially when conducting multiple interviews. Also, its a sign to the interviewee that you value what they have to offer. It may be beneficial to assign someone from Hitachi Consulting to attend in the role of scribe.
52
Toolbox (cont.)
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
Challenge Keeps interviewees alert that you are not simply taking everything offered without critical thinking. Im having some difficulty with that idea. Would you give me an example or two of how that would work in the real world? Can you cite a few specifics to support your position, or are we working with beliefs only at this stage?
Ice Breaker Starting with hard-edged questions can be intimidating to people, hindering open discussion. But dont spend more than a minute on these ice breakers, or you risk being seen as a time-waster. Sports, weather, etc.
53
Toolbox (cont.)
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
3-Layered Sequence Macro Business and / or Organization Level People Processes Personal Most problems, or issues, can be explored on three levels, shown at left. Be sure to explore all three when the interviews goal is to get information related to problem solving. It is often easiest for interviewees to explore a problem by moving through the three layers in sequence. Problem Should we invest in new software now, or try to wait two years? Layer One Tell me how you think the current programs help or hurt the company in serving its customers? Layer Two Can you describe how the order fulfillment process in particular suffers? Or the operators who work within the process at different stages? Layer Three How is your work personally affected by this package? What changes would most help you personally to perform at higher levels?
54
Toolbox (cont.)
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
SAILR (pronounced sailor) Scope Assets Issues Liabilities Recommendations Expert interviewers tend to have a favored track they follow a pattern, or sequence, that helps them move through diagnostic interviews efficiently and smoothly. One of these is the SAILR. Each of the five elements is a topic area, within which specific questions are posed to draw out the interviewee. Scope (Get your bearings) Tell me about the scope of your responsibilities. Assets In looking at your company, or group, what would you cite as their best assets, or strengths? What should we try to build on moving forward? Issues How would you describe the specific issues, or problems, under investigation here? What are the most important questions to be resolved?
55
Toolbox (cont.)
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
SAILR CONTD (pronounced sailor) Scope Assets Issues Liabilities Recommendations Expert interviewers tend to have a favored track they follow a pattern, or sequence, that helps them move through diagnostic interviews efficiently and smoothly. One of these is the SAILR. Each of the five elements is a topic area, within which specific questions are posed to draw out the interviewee. Liabilities And the converse what are the companys major weaknesses, or liabilities? The things we should be working to improve? Recommendations What specific ideas can you offer to help resolve the issues, or solve the problems?
56
Toolbox (cont.)
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
Work from easy-to-tough, general-to-specific, and neutral-to-contentious This pattern leads interviewees along in a far less threatening way.
Open with clarity Explain the agenda, the content, the objectives, the time, and your expectations for this interview. In the 45-minutes we have this morning, I expect well focus on the data cleanup effort underway. Im particularly interested in your views as to how we could speed up the process to meet our deadline.
57
Toolbox (cont.)
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
Build rapport Use your ice breakers. Dont be afraid of humor, or being a bit casual. Eye contact, tone of voice, and body language are actually far more important than words in building rapport. Trust and comfort are essential ingredients if people are going to open up to you, and their sense of trust and comfort derive from your tone, your eyes, and your overall body language.
Use your body language to advantage Keep solid eye contact and straight-up, Im-interested posture. Dont encroach on the interviewees space.
58
Toolbox (cont.)
Interview for Info
Technique Description Example
Use prompts and probes The first answer you get is rarely all of it. Learn to follow-up on a question, and to prompt more from people on the meaty issues. - Really? Can you be more specific about that? - Thats good, but it would help if you could give me a few examples. - Oh? And then what happened? - And, how did you feel about that?
Convert low-value answers into high-value answers Dont settle for low-value responses. These are too general, or abstract, to give you much useful information. When you get one, use follow-up questions to convert them into high-value responses. Low-Value Examples 1) People are really stressed out about this system. 2) We just dont have enough resources to make that kind of program work here. 3) Customer complaints are higher than anytime before. Things are getting worse.
59
Using an Interview Methodology
Interview for Info
Goals

• Objective
• Explain how to use the interview methodology.

People
Logistics

• Why Learn This?
• You will want to use this methodology to avoid
  reinventing your processes and to be able to work
  consistently with others at Hitachi Consulting.

Communication
Technique
Script
60
MethodologySet goals
Interview for Info

• I. Set goals
• What will you try to get from these interviews?
• How narrowly focused should you be, versus
  exploring a wider range of issues?
• What are the minimum outcomes youll need?

Goals
61
MethodologyPlan the people
Interview for Info

• II. Plan the people
• Whom should you interview?
• In what sequence?
• What do you expect to get from each?
• Who should lead the interview?

People
62
MethodologyPlan the logistics
Interview for Info

• III. Plan the logistics
• When should these interviews occur early or late
  in the week, early or late in the day? How long
  should the interviews go?
• Where should they be held a neutral site,
  conference room, the interviewees offices?
• Should the interviews be conducted in group or
  individual sessions?

Logistics
63
MethodologyPlan the logistics
Interview for Info

• III. Plan the logistics
• How many consultants need to participate in the
  interview? Include such factors as
• What skill sets need to be represented
• What industry experience should be present
• What roles need to be played
• What relationships exist
• How the presence of certain individuals will
  affect the information gathered

Logistics
64
MethodologyCommunicate
Interview for Info

• IV. Communicate
• What should participants know in advance to
  maximize the results agenda, expected outcomes,
  topic areas, timing and location?
• Who will notify participants that they have been
  selected for interviewing Hitachi Consulting,
  the client?
• What is the best time and medium to communicate
  to people?
• Do re-cap and indicate action items.
• Dont avoid questions.
• Use silence.

Communication
65
MethodologySelect type techniques
Interview for Info

• V. Select type and techniques
• Given the situation and the nature of the
  participants, which interview type (structured or
  unstructured, or hybrid) and techniques (from the
  toolbox) will work best for you?

Technique
66
MethodologyScript your part
Interview for Info

• Script your part
• What is your introduction/opening how will you
  clearly explain goals, conduct, timing,
  note-taking protocol, etc.?
• What are your core questions the ones you want
  to be sure are asked and answered?
• What is the best sequence for your interview
  content how will you move from
  general-to-specific, neutral-to-contentious,
  easy-to-tough?
• What questions will take you through the
  3-layered sequence (see the previous section for
  details on this technique), from organization
  level, to people and processes, to the personal
  level?

Script
67
MethodologyScript your part
Interview for Info

• Script your part
• What is your closing how will you end the
  interview in a positive way? Are there next steps
  to outline, or follow-ups to be scheduled?

Script
68
Other Tips
Interview for Info

• Note Taking
• Always tell the interviewee that you are going to
  take notes
• Create a note-taking template
• Use delayed note taking with sensitive
  information
• Schedule at least 15-30 minutes between
  interviews to write and review notes
• If alone
• When writing, try to keep notes brief and use
  your memory
• Dont be afraid to stop the interview to clarify
  what you heard
• If you are the scribe in a team interview write
  word-for-word (within reason)
• Send notes to interviewee for review to make sure
  you got it

69
Other Tips
Interview for Info

• Be Prepared
• Bring a copy of the agenda and objectives
• Prepare an introduction to your project
• Provide business cards
• Prepare questions that are direct and meaningful
• Bring a notebook and two pens
• Make sure you are appropriately dressed (at least
  as nice as the interviewee)
• Discuss next steps and required follow-up

70
Organizing Your Interview Results
Interview for Info

• Youve Interviewed All of Them ... Now What?
• When the interviews are done, what will you do
  with the results? If youve been effective,
  youll likely be overwhelmed with information in
  many forms (documents handed to you, ideas,
  feelings, recommendations, etc.). What to do next?

• Debrief with another team member
• Organize your information
• Use high-value tools to evaluate

71
Gathering Requirements
Interview for Info

• Requirements gathering is one of the primary
  outcomes of interviews that we conduct
• See the Appendix of this deck for more
  information on requirements gathering

72
Gathering Requirements
Interview for Info

• Objective
• To introduce user-oriented approaches to
  gathering requirements.

• Why Learn This?
• User-oriented requirements gathering techniques
  help uncover the real requirements and
  differentiate them from the gathered
  requirements.

73
The Spin Genie Technique
Interview for Info

• What is the SPIN Genie technique?
• SPIN Genie is a questioning technique used to
  uncover and crystallize issues and problems into
  real system requirements
• SPIN Genie is most useful at the beginning of
  requirements gathering to help define which
  systems or solutions you need to concentrate on
  defining in more detail using Drill Down
• SPIN Genie can be used both horizontally and
  vertically although horizontally is recommended
• What are the key concepts?
• SPIN is an acronym and represents four different
  types of questions that can be asked during a
  requirements gathering session
• Situation questions are about the interviewees
  current situation
• Problem questions probe for issues and problems
• Implication questions uncover the full
  implication of each problem and issue
• Need questions crystallize the interviewees
  requirements into needs, which are used for
  solution recommendations later
• The Genie portion of this technique is one final
  question to ask to help understand what the three
  biggest requirements are so that recommendations
  can be prioritized and a solution can be achieved
  later on

The Spin Genie Technique quickly and
effectively uncovers and crystallizes issues and
problems into system requirements and needs
74
The Spin Genie Technique
Interview for Info

• How is it performed?
• The first step is to schedule an interview or
  requirements gathering session and explain the
  objectives of the meeting
• Once the objectives are clear, begin the SPIN
  Genie technique with situation questions (see the
  following page for examples)
• After there is a good understanding of the
  current situation, start probing for issues and
  problems with problem questions
• Now that a good list of issues and problems is
  compiled, start probing further using implication
  questions
• At this point, the interviewee will have realized
  the problems they are facing and the need
  questions can be asked
• Once all issues have been uncovered, and
  implications and needs explored, ask the Genie
  question
• Document all of the findings and prioritize the
  needs for further investigation and requirements
  gathering

75
The Spin Genie Framework consists of five key
components
Interview for Info
COMPONENT QUESTIONS
Situation How are you currently handling product requests now? How many resources do you currently have staffed to support this process? What tools are you currently using to achieve your objective?
Problem Are you having any problems with the tools that you are using? How does your staff feel about the current process that is in place? What kind of support issues do you have to deal with from day to day? Do you find that you cant handle all of the requests?
Implication So, if the process is cumbersome, I guess your customers get irritated and complain? Are you losing customers to competitors because of the current process? How many requests are lost per day?
Need Would I be right in thinking that if a more efficient method was implemented you would solve a lot of your problems? So, you either need a more advanced tool or a complete reengineering of the process? Obviously having a better tool will also help address some of the staff morale issues, but do you also see a need for a new business process
Genie If I was a genie and granted you three wishes that you could use to help make your life easier at work, what three things would you wish for?
76
In Summary
Interview for Info

• Know your audience
• Select the appropriate type of interview
• Information Gathering will be most frequently
  used
• Structured vs. Unstructured
• Use the Interviewing Techniques Toolbox to plan
  your interview approach
• Use the Interview Methodology
• Helps avoid reinventing the wheel on every
  project
• Helps ensure consistency in approach across
  Hitachi Consulting

77
Interviewing for Information Mock Exercise
(550 620)

• TBD

78
Interviewing for Information Discussion
Questions (620 - 630)

• Key Points
• Why do we do interviews?
• What are key considerations prior to an
  interview?
• What can you do to make interviews more
  effective?
• What determines the audience for an interview?
• How can this be applied to your project?

79

• Dinner Break
• 630 700

80
Root Cause Analysis
81
Tools Snapshot Root Cause Analysis (Fishbone
Diagrams)
Root Cause Analysis

• What is Root Cause Analysis?
• Technique to explore complex problems thoroughly
• May utilize Cause Effect Diagrams (a.k.a.
  Fishbone Diagrams) to think through the causes of
  a problem thoroughly
• May utilize other sorting and grouping techniques
  to think through the causes of a problem
  thoroughly
• What are the Benefits of Root Cause Analysis?
• Allows full decomposition of a problem allowing
  for consideration of all possible causes, not
  just the obvious ones
• This tool is great for grouping ideas together
  and is also beneficial to figure out what to
  target next for more detail
• It facilitates further analysis and examination
  of the identified causes and aids in
  prioritization activities

82
Process Overview
Root Cause Analysis

1. Validate Problem Statement
2. Brainstorm cause and effect
3. Group into Cause Categories
4. Apply Root Cause Analysis
   
   via Fishbone Diagramming
5. Develop Key Findings Linkages
6. Prioritize top 3 causes with highest impacts
7. Develop Recommendations on top 3

83
Client Example Root Cause Analysis (Fishbone
Diagram)
Root Cause Analysis
The client
84
Client Example Root Cause Analysis Key
Findings
Root Cause Analysis

• Strategic Direction
• Lack of project portfolio management
• Too internally focused vs customer/market focused
• Non actionable and unfocused strategic measures
• Environmental Barriers
• Highly resistant to change blame, fear, passive
• Complexity Mindset
• Accountability subset of environmental but key
  cause factor
• Lack of mid-management involvement
• Unclear business ownership
• Perceived lack of strong leadership

• People/Organization
• Ineffective organizational structure silos
• Lack of communication due to silos
• IT vs business
• Project Execution
• Lack of project management methodology and skills
• Limited understanding of impact of projects
• Lack of expectation management
• Poor resource management
• Improper use of consulting resources

85
Client Example Root Cause Analysis -
Prioritization Results
Root Cause Analysis

• Start with Strategy
• Align Organization
• Develop and drive Accountability
• Will result in changes to the environment and
  ability to focus on project execution instead of
  continually battling environmental factors

86
Tools Snapshot Root Cause Analysis (Affinity
Approach)
Root Cause Analysis

1. Develop your Problem Statement/Hypothesis
2. Gets the juices flowing helps you think through
   the approach you need to take
3. Validate your Hypothesis
4. Focus Interviews
5. Focus Groups
6. Independent Research Benchmarking
7. Document all Issues
8. Who loves to take notes? -Basic note taking
   during interviews will do amazing things to build
   the need for your case later on
9. Nothing is too anecdotal if your client
   communicates it theres probably a root cause in
   there somewhere document it all
10. Affinitize the issues
11. Use logic to group similar issues
12. Document and be able to defend your logic
13. Determine Root Cause of Issue Grouping
14. Brainstorm potential solutions to Root Cause
15. Lean on your colleagues for help
16. Present Options

87
Tools Snapshot Root Cause Analysis Exercise
710 730
Root Cause Analysis

• Review the issues provided to you
• Issues TBD
• Apply the Fishbone or basic affinity approach to
  determine root causes
• Brainstorm Solution Options

88
Team / Project Q A (730 800)

• Discussion/QA session

89
Thank You

• Thanks for joining us this evening!!
• Please forward all Benefits / Concerns from
  tonight to Jim Marlatt
• What was done well?
• What could have been done better?
• What suggestions do you have for the next
  session?
• Please feel free to contact me, or any of the
  other Hitachi Consulting Representatives with any
  questions
• ROrton_at_hitachiconsulting.com

90
Question and Answer Session
Hitachi Consulting Panel