Project: Program management consulting
Location: N/A
Client: Office Depot
In 1998, we were asked by the newly-hired VP Design & Construction Dan Booher to help him evaluate their store development program and identify areas for improvement.
Store development process
Information technology & reporting
Document management
Process
We interviewed representatives from each of the key functions: real estate, finance, design, construction, legal and lease administration to determine how the process was working and identify key deliverables, decisions and customer-supplier relationships. We then proposed an integrated process that would knit together the functions for each project type (new, relocations, remodels, minor remodels). We then trained all the key participants in the new process. This resulted in a process manual that was distributed to all key participants. This time we developed a web-based process manual that could be accessed and printed on demand.
Information technology & reporting
Concurrently, we found all the spreadsheets, lists and ad-hoc data sources that were being used to track the various processes related to development. In this search we found an existing database that we could “remodel”; we then worked with the client’s existing database consultant and designed a new user interface and normalized the data fields with the new process. We also designed new management reports.
One key business problem that Dan wanted to address was the storage, management and access to documents related to the process. “Where’s Waldo?” We assisted Dan in evaluating then-current document-management technology to determine an appropriate solution to partner with.