MAKE BETTER DECISIONS USING CASE STUDIES

Project managers today often propel enterprises through courses of strategic change—into the wild blue yonder—where there may be limited organizational experience and many unknowns. The challenge is to get smart during project initiation and planning so that execution is successful and achieves the desired outcomes.

I have found that the case study method is a reliable tool for making decisions and charting the course for strategic change. For investments in information technology, it can provide an objective assessment of:

• Impact of change on the enterprise and business processes
• The true scope, cost and schedule that is likely to occur
• Alternative technologies and vendor solutions
• Real-world risks and the efficacy of risk mitigation approaches
• Best practices in managing similar project and enterprise change processes
• Outcomes in terms of validated advantages and disadvantages of alternative approaches.

Case studies are especially important when preparing for ambitious ventures such as cross-agency, government-wide initiatives.

As a management consultant, I have used the case study method for decades with good results for public and private sector clients. It can be applied to very general policy issues—like organization and governance structures, and to highly focused topics—like business processes, technology, and customer satisfaction.

Independent case studies are particularly helpful in information technology, because far too many decisions are based on information from vendors and integrators who understandably have a less-than-objective perspective. Even outstanding vendors and integrators want to make a sale, and the estimates for costs and schedules tend to be overly optimistic, overlook contingent cost impacts, downplay risks, and may overstate benefits.

Here are nine steps for developing meaningful case studies that support good decision-making practices:

Conduct Preliminary Research. You will need to research what other organizations are doing to address analogous challenges and opportunities. This may include market research, white papers of best practices, contract awards, news, journal articles, and proceedings of professional and technical societies. In addition to your own industry, take a look at what others are doing, both in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Develop a Study Plan. Take the time to define what information you need and how you will gather the facts. At the P2C2 Group, this results in a formal design or plan, and we share it with stakeholders to make sure that it covers all the essential elements. Generally this includes screening criteria for the cases, draft interview questions, and an outline of the resulting reports.

Search for Potential Cases to Study. We recommend identifying about a dozen candidates for case studies. You will need to establish screening criteria: They should be projects that have actually been implemented, or are well along in implementation—so that you can validate successes, problems, costs, risks, and benefits.

Identify Cases. Not all potential cases will actually be used for a variety of reasons, but we recommend that three to six cases be selected for detailed follow up if at all possible. That gives you a chance to synthesize an overall model of best practices, to survey a wide range of risks and implementation issues, and compare several variations in technology.

Gain Cooperation. One of the big hurdles is getting other organizations to agree to participation in case studies. You will want valid data on some pretty sensitive issues, and you will need to establish a high level of trust to achieve the openness you need. Over the years, I have used a variety of approaches to gain cooperation and participation:

• I have sometimes set up expert panels of nationally-recognized leaders who can collaborate about the study design, review draft findings, help establish credibility, and open the doors of their colleagues.
• Professional and technical associations will sometimes put me in touch with well-positioned individuals who are committed to extending the knowledge base and identifying best practices
• Leaders in other organizations may want recognition for what they hope to accomplish and are willing to share their lessons learned
• A prestigious Federal agency or institute may be able to open doors, as the former congressional Office of Technology Assessment once did for one of my projects

I also find that commitment to the codes of ethics of relevant professional organizations helps to establish trust. For me, this includes the Institute of Management Consultants and Project Management Institute. Having written policies and procedures about confidentiality is also important. For example, in case studies of customer satisfaction, it may be appropriate to assure the anonymity of respondents.

Collect Data.  Our general approach at the P2C2 Group will be to contact the groups cooperating in the case study, brief them about the process and what to expect, and to schedule data collection. It helps to identify a single contact point for coordination and follow up. Normally, we ask for background documents whenever available and will also conduct a limited number of interviews with knowledgeable contact persons.

Develop Case-Level Study. Based on data collection, we develop written reports for each case. We seek to organize the information according to the same report structure to enable as much comparability between cases as possible. The information may also be “sanitized” if there are confidentiality or sensitivity issues. We will usually ask the participating organization to review and confirm the accuracy of its case write up before preparing it for our client.

Synthesize Findings. After we have developed all case studies, we will prepare a synthesis of findings based on all research—resulting in a high-level report of general findings and best practices, with recommendations for the client organization. We will also prepare an executive summary that is suitable for distribution to the participating organizations who volunteered the data for the case studies.

Presentation and Follow Up. Based on the findings, the case study project comes to a closure with briefings of decision makers and planning follow-up action steps.

REFLECTIONS ON PAST CASE STUDIES

Multi-Disciplinary Approach. My first case studies were intended as policy and program evaluations, conducted in collaboration with two outstanding scientists—one an anthropologist and the other a psychologist. A multidisciplinary approach added significantly to the perspective of the resulting case studies.

Input for Strategic Planning. In addition to defining best practices and program guides, case studies can serve as input to strategic plans. During a research project for the Indiana Commission on Higher Education, case studies of community-based organizations provided the baseline for determining how educational counselors might use an online information service to help students seeking options for higher education and vocational training. The cases helped to provide explanation and context for variables associated with a large quantitative market survey that we conducted. The outcome of the work was a strategy for launching a statewide fee-for-service information system.

Decision-Making. One of the more interesting case studies that I performed was for a national association whose board was considering changing its governance structure to a “Delegate Assembly” system. I was able to work through American Society of Association Executives to contact major associations that had made the conversion within the previous five years. The cases provided outlines of how to phase the change, timelines, and relative costs of operating a Delegate Assembly structure, compared to a conventional board. In the end, my client decided not to do it.

Organizing Good Practices within the Enterprise. Another series of studies involved a large Federal department seeking to establish a consolidated case management system for complaints. There were nearly two dozen sub-agencies, and interviewing some of these provided the means for documenting and comparing best practices – with the idea that promising practices of multiple sub-agencies could be consolidated into a Department-wide business process reflecting best practices and a consistent technology platform.

MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

Come join me for a Dutch Treat at the National Capital Chapter meeting of the Institute of Management Consultants. Dinner is at 6:15, and the program is from 7 – 8:30. The meeting is on the second Thursday of most months. You can register and pay the meeting/dinner fee online at
http://www.imcdc.org/forConsul_MonthlyChapMeet.html.

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I have been a fan of WGMS, Washington’s only classical radio station, and quite a few of my work activities are done to its melodies. Yet all of that could change, with reports of Redskins owner Dan Snyder in preliminary discussions to purchase the station and change the format.

Rather than complain, I’ve been looking for alternatives. One real winner is http://www.live365.com/, which doesn’t have the mobility of XM or Sirius because it’s piped over the Internet. On the other hand, live365 is cheaper at $4.95 a month and offers thousands of radio choices. In addition to classical music, I can indulge some other musical itches. Right now, I’m listing to the offerings of Daddy Cool, a DJ in Palm Springs, who’s spinning Kenny Burrell’s Stolen Moments. Burrell is a jazz guitarist who debuted on records with Dizzy Gillespie in 1951. According to Wikipedia, Burrell now serves as Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA, and recorded his 100^th album on December 2^nd at UCLA's Royce Hall.

Life is cool. Have a great 2007!

Jim Kendrick, PMP
Enterprise Management Consultant
P2C2 Group, Inc.
4101 Denfeld Avenue
Kensington, MD 20895
301-942-7985

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