Case Study 1
A joint venture between two major US banks had been formed to broadcast, via satellite, certain real-time financial instrument pricing to subscribers. The Chairman of the Board needed a review of operations resulting in recommendations for technology change that would bring the company to profitability. Feeling hostage to the technology environment and existing technology management, he also felt that in order to effect changes he would need someone he trusted to document operations so it could be transferred to the appropriate new employees if necessary.
Our initial task of reviewing operations was followed by a request to document the technology and operations and to submit formal recommendations regarding technology change. Our role was subsequently expanded to that of General Manager during which time the MIS departmental operations were revamped and new management hired. All technology was documented and improved software was written and disseminated to the field.
Case Study 2
A software company was developing a set of software development tools for application and graphical user interface development. Their product was based on MS Windows and they wanted to move to UNIX and C. They had discovered a company that was developing a competitive tool in the UNIX environment and wanted to negotiate a favorable licensing arrangement which would enable them to incorporate the code in their own product.
We were asked to evaluate the software and negotiate the best possible licensing arrangement. An arrangement was consummated in which the company we represented was given source code rights with very favorable royalty payments. We were then hired to clean up the code and design, and complete the development of the product using the licensed source code. The company later successfully completed an IPO.
Case Study 3
A major producer of medical devices had decided to enhance their offering by selling a distributed, real-time, hospital equipment data collection and monitoring system bundled with their devices. We were initially hired to assess the product and quickly discovered that the system design was inadequate from a performance standpoint, was not scalable, could not be produced at the target costs, was developed on an inadequate system of hardware and development software, and its user interface was poor. We were then contracted to develop the required product.
We completely redesigned the network architecture and user interface and rewrote all the software. After successfully completing the project we oversaw the installation in several prestigious hospitals. Following that we were hired to train the sales force and to help put in place a proper go-to-market strategy. Finally, after overseeing the general release of the product, we helped staff the support group and provided ongoing support.
Case Study 4
A well regarded VC firm had recently invested over $10MM in a pre-product startup company. After a failed version 1 release, the board of directors and investors required answers to specific critical questions before additional funds could be released: Is the technology really there? In what condition is it? Does it work? How well was it designed? How skilled are the people? Did a proper development and QA process exist?
We were contracted to analyze and report on the overall product development organizational set-up and processes, and efficacy of the value proposition. Additionally we were to make determinations regarding appropriate levels of staffing and skill sets and to provide feedback regarding developmental risks, probabilities of meeting release schedules, and overall support issues.
It was concluded that the company plan was inadequate for supporting the product on an ongoing basis, the initial release feature/function set was inadequate and the company was not capable of predicting installation, configuration and integration requirements in customer environments. The current direction would prevent the start-up from successfully bringing the product to the commercial grade required for deployment.
|
