Strategy Toolkit

1. Strategy Toolkit Oyibo & Co.

2. Acknowledgement. The content of this deck is drawn from lectures and presentations in the International Consulting Project of the EMBA program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

4. Framework

5. Define the Problem • Scope Definition • Stakeholders • Scope Management • Drivers & Metrics • Issue Definition • Issue Decomposition • Issue Tree

6. Plan & Schedule Work • Activities & WBS • Efforts & Durations • Relationships • Resources & Assignments • Triple Constraint • Milestones & Metrics • Communication Management

7. Gather & Analyze Data • Analysis vs. Data Gathering • Hypothesis Driven • 80/20 Rule • Primary & Secondary • Verified & Validated • Summarized & Articulate

8. Deliver • Deliverable Focus • Credibility • Issues > Answers • Storyboard • Graphic Representations • Executive Summary • Standalone Deliverable

9. Manage Your Client & Project - Deliver Value

10. Framework Details

11. Scope Definition • Scope: what needs to be done (Work) or produced (Deliverables) to achieve stated project objectives. And nothing more. • Driven by client goals or needs • Identifies what will and what will not be accomplished • Ensures work and deliverables meet client expectation • Helps avoid unnecessary work • Keeps everyone on “the same page”

12. Triple Constraints on Quality • Time • Resources • Scope

13. Scope Changes • After scope has been defined, changes to scope become more expensive and more difficult over time • Project goal should be to minimize, or better—eliminate, scope changes • Therefore, take time to verify and confirm scope with clients/stakeholders up-front

14. Scope Definition

15. Issue Tree Define Scope Define Issue Set up problem Develop Solution

16. Issue Definition Considerations • To define overall issues, have to uncover the real problem • Often what is believed to be the problem is a resultof the problem • The problem presented by the client is often biased; or the problem may be understood in terms of its symptoms • May have to gather facts to elucidate and determine the real problem

17. Issue Definition Approach

18. Issue Definition • Assess the current situation • Define the business success measures and metrics • Identify business drivers of the measures • Identify key elements of the business context / environment • Define the overall issue in the form of a question

19. Issue Decomposition • State problem in the form of a question • Brainstorm categories of questions from the key problem • Use Frameworks/Models/Tools (see next slides) • Within each question ask the following questions to create additional layers: • Why? • How? • What? • When? • Where? • Think about the key business drivers and components and the business context / environment • Comprehensively answer / address the problem • Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive (MECE)

20. Frameworks/Models/Tools Strategy Finance & Accounting Financial Ratios: liquidity, P/E, etc. Issue decomposition/isolation: PROFIT=REVENUE–COST DuPont Analysis Shareholder Value Analysis Budget, Pro forma Analysis (Cost-Benefit Analysis) Cash Flow Analysis, NPV, IRR, payback period, etc. • PESTLE Analysis (environmental scan) • Porter’s 5 Forces Model (industry analysis) • SWOT Analysis (firm/organization analysis) • Twos

21. Frameworks/Models/Tools Marketing Operations Ratios: inventory turns, asset utilization, etc. • STP: Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning • Marketing Mix: 4 Ps: • Price, Product, Promotion, Place • See 7 Ps, 8 Ps • Customer-driven replacement of 4 Ps Marketing Mix: 4 Cs: • Customer, Competition, Communication, Convenience • Commodity, Cost, Communication, Channel

22. Issue Tree: MECE Questions • Ensure all aspects of the business problem are considered so that no overlaps exist • No. of primary and secondary questions depends on the issue being decomposed • Ensure questions Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive (MECE) MECE Questions

23. Driving MECE Questions • After each sub-question category is defined, more detailed questions are developed until all of the key issues have been identified EXAMPLE: • Who is the target customer(s)? • What are the demographics/ key characteristics of the target customers? • What segments of the target customers exist? (e.g., buy for themselves, buy for others, etc.) • What are the buying behaviors of the target customers (e.g., where do they buy, how much do they buy, how often, etc.) • How do the buying behaviors differ by customer segment?

24. Example Question: Can ACME increase profitability? Logical Decomposition based on Problem/Question… Using 4 Ps Model to further flesh-out analysis…

25. Map Relationships Among Questions • Do prices varies vary by sales channels? • How do sales volumes relate to advertising? • Etc.

26. Issue Tree Example: Hypothesis & Assertions Hypothesis Rationales—i.e., answers to question “Why?” Primary Assertions Secondary Assertions Tertiary Assertions

27. Issue Tree Example: Hypothesis & Assertions, Fleshed-out Hypothesis Rationales—i.e., answers to question “Why?” Primary Assertions Secondary Assertions Tertiary Assertions Update boxes as answers as found

28. Project Plan • A Project Plan is set of steps required to accomplish a goal. It comprises of the following items: • Activities (Tree or WBS) • Effort & Duration (Primary vs. Secondary Information) • Activity Relationships (i.e., Dependencies) • Resources • Roles & Responsibility • Milestones

29. Issue Tree as Driver of the Project Plan Task Task Task Activity or Work stream Project

31. Issue Tree as Driver of the Project Plan • The assertions from the decision tree become assignable tasks • The whole team can see how the part fits into the big picture and a clear understanding of priority is formed • Dependent tasks must be considered when prioritizing (how getting one task done affects the other assertions)

32. Work Plan as Driver of Scope

33. Communication Plan • As part of starting a project, interview Stakeholders to determine their information needs • A typical Communications Plan includes: • Stakeholder Information Requirements • Information to be Communicated • Sender and Receiver • Timing and Frequency • Method to Distribute Information (reports, meetings, group meetings) • Many Stakeholders will have the same requirements • Group Requirements by Information Content and then by Stakeholder

34. Appendix Checklists

35. Scope Definition Checklist • What is the problem? • What is/are the client’s objective(s)? • What is the issue context (“situation”, “complications”)? • What will make a successful outcome? • What is in/out of scope? • What are our constraints? • What are our resources and do we have enough? • Can we deliver what is being asked? • Will each deliverable create (significant) value?

36. Problem Definition Checklist • Is the problem clearly defined as a question? • Are all stakeholders identified? • Did scope change? If so, how did it affect the work plan? • Are key business metrics, components and drivers considered? • Are all aspects of the problem defined as in-scope and covered by the issue tree? • Is the issue tree MECE? • Will the effort create (significant) value for the client?

37. Planning Checklist • Create Work Plan • Define activities (Tree or WBS) • Duration • Activity Relationships • Resources • Assign roles & responsibility • Milestones & Metrics • Create Communication Plan

38. Sample Project Food Co.