How we work
How we do it
We have a general structure that we follow as we address your issues: gather, analyze, propose, and feedback. Repeat as necessary.
Gather
We start by learning as much as we can about you, your organization, your processes, and your programs. This will involve reading any background documents that you might provide, looking at your existing digital learning, and then holding meetings with a wide range of administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
We will have a particular focus on ensuring clarity—from as much of the organization as you can muster—around your problem definition and metrics for success.
Analyze
After gaining some insight into your situation, we go through a process of rapid exploration of possibilities with your leaders and a variety of constituencies. An actual solution to your problem will have to have the buy-in of your organization or it will just sit on a shelf. We will not simply disappear and come back with “the answer”. It will be developed through an iterative cycle of explorations.
Propose
Every week or two (depending on the size of the project) we will meet with your project leaders and owners in order to review a proposal. As time goes on, this proposal will become more detailed in regards to finances, business model, technology, pedagogy, and organizational impacts.
Exchange
After proposing a solution, your team and ours will meet to exchange ideas about it. If more work is needed, then we will come up with a list of specific concerns to be addressed as well as the needed people, any other resources, timeline, and budget for the next cycle.
Who needs to be involved
Three roles will have to be filled:
- Project owner: At the end of the project, this person will sign off on the final deliverable. Best results usually occur when this person is available at the end of every sprint (every 1 or 2 weeks, depending on the size of the project).
- Project manager/champion: During the project, this person will help PI with deciding on and coordinating next steps. This person should be available as needed (possibly daily) to answer questions, provide guidance, and help manage access to your personnel and resources.
- Contributors: This will more than likely be a long list of your personnel that will get longer as the project progresses. Depending on the project, this could include senior administrators, IT leaders, marketing, faculty, students, alumnae, and more.
What we deliver
The final deliverable for a project could be almost anything but will more than likely center on a presentation or written report (depending on which you prefer). Also, it could include involvement in or supervision of a decision or implementation over a period of months.
Travel
We are flexible about travel. If you want us to work in-person, then we will do that. If you want to meet virtually over Google Meet, we will do that as well.
How we charge
This will be decided upon before contracting together. We are flexible:
- Some projects will work better on a fixed project rate. This might be when you have a fairly intense project that the organization is committed to getting done quickly. We will set a maximum time limit, a contract price, and also weekly rates for exceeding the time limit.
- Other projects will work better on a retainer. This might be when the institution has a project that will take a number of months but the intensity will vary over that time. We will set a weekly or monthly rate, a weekly maximum hourly commitment, and a minimum contract length.
- Finally, some smaller projects will work better on an hourly rate basis. This might be when you have a small well-defined problem and a straight-forward delivery (e.g., a written report or data-backed decision). We will set an hourly rate and a minimum number of billable hours.