Short BI Assessment Checklist

By Evan Schmidt

Here is very simple requirements gathering and BI assessment checklist.

Key items to discuss with the client

·  Business goals and objectives for the project:

o What is the job role of the project sponsor and organizational structure of the business group?

o Who are the key stakeholders?

• Users

• Support Staff

• Management

o What decision will be made and what actions can be taken?

o What challenges and risks may arise?

o How will success of the project be measured?

• scope, time, resources

• proof of concept

• iterations

 

·  Systems involved in the project:

o Which systems are used for the business?

o When and why are these system used?

 

·  Current state of reporting:

o How do you measure current performance?

o Which reports are used?

o Which reports are dreamed about?

o How do you measure change in performance over time?

o What are the strategic vs. operational use cases?

o What are some other big and long-term reporting ideas?

One Key to Consulting Success: Make your client number one

By Evan Schmidt

To become a great consultant you must have the ability to build a great reputation within your client organization. Building this reputation will ensure customers spread your name and help ensure your business grows. To build this great reputation it’s critical to make your clients feel good about you and your work.

 

Know Who You’re Trying to Make Happy

·       Who’s Number One?

o    The Client: They hired you

·       Who want to feel smart and in control?

o    The Client: They want to feel good

·       Who wants to feel like they are making all the decisions?

o    The Client: They should feel powerful

 

Serve your Client

·       How can I make the client feel like they are number one?

o    Respect them

§  Describe things in simple terms and don’t dumb them down too much.

o    Trust them

§  Have faith that the client will ask questions if they are confused.

§  Don’t restate the same thing multiple times.

o    Give them control

§  Ask clear simple questions.

o    Prepare them ahead of time

§  Send them emails ahead of time so they can review ahead of time and make their own decisions.

 

Consulting with Charisma

·       How can I spin the product to make the client feel like they are number one and ensure I am addressing their needs?

o    Call out the differences ahead of time

o    Anticipate their concerns and say “I know this raises some concerns”

o    Ask if they have further concerns

o    Listen

o    Recap there response and decisions so they have faith

·         How can I present our knowledge and ideas tactfully?

o    Build examples

o    Show various options

 

Running a business is about helping people

By Evan Schmidt

My view is that the primary goal of a business is to help people.

 

A healthy business should support all of its stakeholders:

Customers: by providing business benefits which far outweigh the costs.

Employees: by rewarding them through compensation, job satisfaction and quality of life.

Owners: by generating a fair profit which encourages future innovation.

Other Stakeholders: by promoting fair business practices which benefit suppliers and communities.

 

In turn, these stakeholders will support the business and the business will thrive. The stakeholders are like the four corner pillars of a great building. To ignore any one of the pillars will create a lopsided business which is likely to crumble during storms.

 

Running a business is about helping people. Making money will follow.

 

Simple but effective scheduling tips

By Evan Schmidt

The following tips are sure to make your next consulting engagement less stressful.          

·       Schedule extra time for meetings. Schedule one hour instead of 30 minutes and give time back rather than going over.

·       Schedule work blocks for critical deliverables.

·       Schedule travel time between distant meetings.

·       Schedule lunch to ensure a healthy break each day.

·       Schedule far in advance. It’s a lot easier to cancel a meeting that it is to create one at the last min.

·       Schedule an online meeting in addition to a conference room. In person meetings are still the best but it’s always nice to have Lync conference session available for screen sharing.

 

Email: Best practices for a BI consultant

By Evan Schmidt

Here are some best practices regarding email which I have learned over the years.  

 

Improve Content

·       Determine the actionable items

o    Use words like: Respond, Provide, Complete, etc.

 

·       Put the main recipient who is responsible for the action item on the TO line

o    Address the main recipient by name  e.g. Bob,

o    Move other names to the CC line.

 

·       Use bullet points to list the most important information or action items

o    Always number questions so they can be easily referred to

 

Increase Efficiency

·       Keep older threads going whenever possible

o    If no one responds then go to your sent items, dig up the old email, and reply all to ‘bump’ the thread

 

·       Review CC list and avoid blindly copying managers

o    Help limit the email load for managers by removing them or putting them on the BCC line

 

·       Respond inline when appropriate

o    When you respond inline try to respond to all questions even if your response is a simple “correct”

 

Document Your Work

·       Send meeting notes to document key outcomes

o    Keep notes short and simple

o    Put action items on top

 

·       Close the loop, and wrap up ongoing threads, by documenting the work you have completed

o    Write a summary of the completed work

o    Add a link to the task on the SharePoint team site

o    Add attachments