Case Studies
All engagements are customized to meet your exact needs. Here are some examples of past engagements, chosen to give a flavor of the range of services available.
You can also download a brochure. Or contact us for a complimentary consultation and evaluation of your needs.
Support Organization Audit
- For numerous support organizations, both successful and troubled
- Deliver an unbiased assessment of current performance
- Benchmark organization to best-in-class support teams with similar markets, sizes, and maturities
- Provide a prioritized list of recommendations for improvements including investment required, target timeframes, and likely outcomes
- Identify issues outside the support organization that impact successful performance
- Suggest initiatives to reach the next level of performance
- Ideal for preparing for the various support industry certification programs
Support Portfolio Definition
- For a large software company that grew through acquisitions
- Define tiered support offerings to serve clients ranging from Fortune 50 to mom-and-pop shops with just one system
- Ensure that the offerings compare favorably to the competition
- Recommend changes to the delivery team to deliverer the new offerings successfully and profitably
- Define pricing and discounting methodology compatible with product discounts
- Define a transition strategy for the large established user base
- Suggest positioning approach for new customers
Process Implementation and Tuning
- Revamp case resolution process to increase customer satisfaction and cut cost
- Remove unnecessary layers and handoffs
- Define service-level agreements for internal groups such as Engineering
- Implement an effective escalation management process
- Define effective knowledge management processes in both low- and high-complexity support environments
- Set up metrics and dashboards to monitor success going forward
Outsourcing and Offshoring
- Create business case for outsourcing or offshoring
- Recommend strategy appropriate for size and maturity of the support organization
- Suggest appropriate vendors and locations
- Help negotiate the best rates and contracts
- Implement outsourcing contract
Coaching and Mentoring
- For executives, managers, and individual contributors
- Private, confidential sessions to focus on individual needs
- Regular schedule or ad-hoc
- Phone and email consultations available for flexibility
- A wonderful tool for newly-promoted individuals
- Often combined with soft skills training to boost the effectiveness of the group workshops
Support Tool Selection
- For Beyond.com, Nokia, and many others
- For tracking cases, knowledge management, and self-service
- Orchestrate the requirements gathering process
- Create the RFP
- Recommend vendors best suited to the requirements
- Manage the selection process
- Coordinate the implementation including user acceptance testing and training
New Support Center Setup
- For numerous startups, including GroundWork Open Source Solutions
- Define support offerings including SLA (service-level agreements)
- Define support processes including case resolution and knowledge management
- Define job descriptions and compensation
- Recommend and implement a support-tracking tool
- Establish a staffing model and budget