Approach
Methodology
Drawing upon a wide variety of systems and procedures and years of experience, we quickly customize the optimum methodology for each client and project.
Methodologies employed by Performance Operations are customized on a project-by-project basis to include the following elements:
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Business Alignment
A critical part of a successful technology project implementation, particularly those which address multiple functional areas or involve users, is the fit between the way people need to do their jobs to be productive and the way the system works. Performance Operations has evolved a set of techniques for defining how the system is going to work during the design process and ensuring it fits the new operations model. -
Separate Requirements and Design
Requirements are the “whats” and design is the “how”. Too often implementation teams get caught up in the “how” too early in the project, thereby losing sight of what needs to be done. By prematurely focusing on how the system is going to function, the overall objective can be forgotten, resulting in goals that are never realized. KISS
Performance Operations teams believe that the simplest solution which meets the high level goals and detailed requirements is always best. Complexity leads to higher cost, risk, difficulty with training and for users, and will lead to a reduced life of the system. These costs compound across the installed life of the system and result in a much higher cost of ownership and reduced return on the investment.-
User Interface Prototyping
Prototyping or iterative implementation methodologies are used to get users involved sooner, help them see how things are going to operate, and have the added benefit of preparing user documentation sooner. This is a key element in business alignment. -
Detailed Design
In areas where complexity or customization cannot be avoided, solid detailed design work will pay back in reduced risk and less rework. Testing
It is extremely rare to see user teams test enough, let alone too much. More testing almost always pays back right away; besides bringing issues to light which were missed in earlier stages, it provides experience in a practice environment prior to going live. Sports teams and the military practice and while American business typically provides little or no budget or time for such efforts, testing, which is fundamentally required, can provide much of the same result.Development of the Team Members
Performance Operations projects attempt to align the individual goals of the team members with the activities required in the project. In this way the team members develop themselves, which is better for both the individuals and the organization because it leads to improved results and less requirement for consultants and contractors on future projects.-
Leadership and Management
Performance Operations provides the leadership to achieve the result using the maximum amount of the client’s team. Professional management of project activities, either directly or through the client’s team, follows prescribed methods. Documentation
The right amount of documentation is different for each industry and type of project. This is decided upon jointly during the project planning and the Performance Operations team ensures it actually gets done by making it a key ingredient in the early stages of project implementation instead of leaving it for the end.-
Phased Implementation
Performance Operations teams help client teams break the project into phases so that more is achieved earlier. Additionally user expectations are managed so that people remain satisfied and willing to put in the extra efforts required to make systems achieve desired results. Training
Training often gets too small a budget, or even more commonly goes out the window altogether, when project schedules compress. Performance Operations blends training with testing to ensure it actually happens.-
Professional Project Management
Performance Operations provides the right amount of project management to fit each organization’s specific needs. Instead of just managing the project directly, we can often help to develop the client's project manager through the benefit of our experience.
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Cause and Effect
Performance Operations believes strongly in identifying the root cause of issues instead of simply addressing symptoms. Systems thinking is part of a Performance Operations engagement. This reduces or eliminates multiple attempts at addressing issues. Storyboarding
Storyboarding is the key ingredient in ensuring systems being configured are going to be efficient to use and that users understand these systems before the systems are already built. Performance Operations’ storyboarding methods have been in continuous use and optimization since 1988 and are a standout in the Performance Operations arsenal.-
Open Communication
While being sensitive to “need to know”, HR and professional ethics, Performance Operations teams believe in full disclosure on projects. We encourage emotional discourse, passion for the job and solid discourse, as it always leads to improved results. Designing and implementing in a vacuum without the facts about how things really work, or letting one stubborn personality drive the implementation are discouraged on Performance Operations projects.
Gene was instrumental in helping us build out a new warehouse facility and implement a new warehouse management system. He was with us from the initial vision through go live and optimization. Gene was instrumental in identifying weaknesses in our proposed processes that would have seriously impacted the implementation if left unchecked. His experience and expertise was invaluable in bringing the solution online, in time and processing correctly from day 1 of go live. During this project Gene helped us work through several key staffing changes, quickly adapting to new team members and reducing their learning curve. Gene's efforts helped us improve all of our warehouse metrics, I highly recommend Gene and his team for any manufacturing advice and I am available as a reference at any time.
- Joe Morris, Controller, Big Train Corporation
We have partnered with Performance Operations on dozens of projects over the years and have loved working with them. Their deep industry experience blended with a great 'bed-side' manner makes recommending them and introducing them to our clients easy. They have impressed our clients so much that we now use them as a primary resource in various aspects of the work we do.
- Morgan Harris, Co-Founder and Partner, Dynamic Methods, Inc.