Background
Working with dev teams, product owners, clients, and a big group of diverse stakeholders requires a curious mind and a willingness to listen.
Implementing a new CRM-system, database, accounting system or any other digital transformation journey starts with mapping out the current situation, needs versus “wants” but most importantly – gaining the support of those who will be the end users, internal users and developers and anyone who’s active participation in the transformation journey is key to its success.
Challenges and how Amira helped
You can have any number of well thought out feasibility studies, criteria and plans – these will fall short if the organization is against them. Another key factor for succeeding with a project is working iteratively (more known as agile) and following up on the work done and results achieved.
I work using evidence based methodologies, as well as classical management consulting tools, adapted to the case at hand.
I have in the past planned and executed projects such as:
- Conducting interviews and workshops in order to create a buy side needs list and procure a new intranet for a Group Treasury department. The implementation was a success. The devil is in the details, right down to the choice of copywriter for the material in the intranet and marketing material to the exercises conducted for the workshops.
- Another intranet project was at a bank, where I acted as a product owner and liaison between the IT department (IT project coordinator) and the structured products sales team. The end goal was to collect the end users needs in terms of features in the new intranet to be programmed and implemented by the IT department, in-house. How did the current system work, what was good and bad? How did the day of a structured products sales ops day look like? How did the day of the back-office team look like, those who assisted the sales team? Once the needs and interview phase was done, weekly meetings were conducted with the IT and sales reps to see that the project was going in the right direction. Once it was time to implement the new intranet, I conducted educational workshop sessions to make sure everyone was onboard and knew how to use the new system.
- As a CEO of a start-up, you need to be a jack of all trades and work on your feet. One of the many tasks I needed to execute my first few weeks as a CEO was to implement a new CRM-system. It took three weeks (done by me, single-handedly), including mapping out alternatives, and needs. There is no reason not to be efficient when you can, and one of the great assets of being a small firm is agility.
SERVICES
– Management consulting
– Digital transformation
– Project management
– Process development