A Simple, Useful Consulting Framework

Here is the consulting framework I use to help me manage projects. I learned this during my MBA and found it useful to reference. So when should you use it? When you’re tasked with addressing a business problem or picking between various options to address a problem. As an example, due to a decrease in net revenues…company xyz is deciding which of four different investments they should pursue to win customers back.

Let’s start from the top - there are four primary steps to this framework.

1. Defining the Problem 💭 #

1. Define your project’s scope.
2. Identify your stakeholders.
3. Identify the drivers and metrics you’re working with.
4. Build an issue tree and well define the problem you’re looking to address.

You should always start with defining your project’s scope. Scope is simply setting project parameters. What goes into the project, what is the focus, how much time and money do you have, and what defines success? Once you figure those out, pivot your focus towards defining the problem you’re hoping to tackle with an issue tree.

2. Work Planning & Scheduling #

1. Establish work activities.
2. Set effort expectations, durations, and deadlines.
3. Understand your project’s triple constraint dynamics.
4. Set project milestones and metrics for success.
5. Establish how your team is expected to communicate with one another and how you’ll manage updates.

Giving some thought around work planning and scheduling can help keep your project on schedule and keep all team members happy. Predictability is the name of the game here. Everyone should know what is expected of them, when deadlines are due, and how they should communicate with you and others to provide updates, address challenges, etc.

3. Data Gathering & Analysis 🔍 #

1. Your analysis should be hypothesis driven and tie to your issue tree.
2. Don’t forget about the 80/20 rule - roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. This is important as you’ll want to prioritize solutions and initiatives that make the most impact.
3. Use both primary (first hand gathered data) and secondary (collected by someone else) data sources in your analysis.
4. Verify and validate your findings before sharing them!
5. Summarize and clearly articulate your findings so they can be used for your presentation.

Many people skimp out on the data gathering and analysis step. Often rushing it to focus more on the story element than the truth. Spend time collecting data that truly helps you understand the dimensions behind your project and ultimately the problem you are looking to solve. Prioritize what is most impactful and back up your claims with your own data and outside data, if possible. Lastly, present your data in a clear, direct way. Check out information is beautiful for some data visualization inspiration.

4. Telling the Story (Presentation) #

1. Set the stage by reviewing what makes you credible.
2. Highlight the focal issue and dive into your proposed solutions quickly.
3. Backup your arguments with data and use graphic representations where possible.
4. Prepare an executive summary.
5. Have a standalone deliverable ready as you may not be able to cover everything during your presentation.

Telling the story is your chance to showcase all your efforts and deliver value to your stakeholder. Not everyone you are presenting to will know you. So always start off with something about yourself and why you are credible to give this presentation 📢.

Start with your executive summary and don’t focus on re-capping the problem itself. Chances are those listening already know the problem. You want to focus your time on exploring the answers you have found to the problem. Show them your data and explain what you’ve inferred. I’ve also found the storyboard approach works well towards building a strong narrative.