Before you buy software
Know what problem the system has to solve, and write the requirements from evidence, before you sign.
Fixed-scope diagnostic
The Operating Diagnostic.
A three-week, fixed-fee look at how your organization actually runs. You leave with a clear account of what is slowing the work down, what it is costing, and an action plan to fix it, with owners and clear target dates.
- Timeline
- 3 weeks
- Fee
- Fixed, in writing
- Your team's time
- About 45 minutes each
- Ownership
- The plan is yours
Findings
- F1Approvals wait on a single reviewerEvidence: request logs, interviewsOperations
- F2Two reports answer the same question differentlyEvidence: reporting samplesFinance
- F3Intake arrives through several channelsEvidence: traced requestsProgram office
NextAction plan with owners, sequence, and clear target dates
What it answers
Five questions leadership needs answered before it acts.
Findings are based on traced examples, documents, and interviews, so the next decision about people, process, or technology rests on evidence.
- 01
Where is it slowing down?
Where time, cost, and visibility are being lost, traced through real requests and decisions.
- 02
Why is it happening?
The root cause behind each issue, with the evidence to support it.
- 03
What should we fix first?
Findings ranked by impact and effort, so the first moves are the right ones.
- 04
Who owns each fix?
An owner, a sequence, and dependencies for every action in the plan.
- 05
How will we know it worked?
A measure for each action that shows whether the change is holding.
When it pays off
The right step before a bigger decision.
Three weeks of evidence costs far less than a system that does not fit, a hire scoped to the wrong problem, or a reorganization that misses the cause. Organizations commission the diagnostic at these moments.
Before you hire an operations leader
Define the role around the real gaps, so the person you hire starts with a plan.
When growth has outrun the operation
Volume and headcount grew, and the way work gets done did not. See where approvals stall and where work depends on a few people.
When leaders disagree on the cause
Replace competing theories with one account, backed by evidence, that the whole leadership team can act on.
When a new leader or owner needs a baseline
An objective read of the operation in three weeks, in time to shape early priorities.
When a program has stalled
Find out why it is behind and what would recover it before more budget goes in.
What it is not
- A software evaluation dressed up as consulting.
- A generic maturity survey with a score at the end.
- A report written to justify a larger engagement.
The plan is written so your team can act on it without us. If you would rather have us lead implementation and adoption, we do that too. The choice is yours.
Readiness check
Is a diagnostic the right next step?
Select any that describe your situation.
Select the statements that apply.
Your result will suggest the most useful first step.
How it runs
Three weeks, week by week.
Each week has a defined purpose and a scheduled check-in with your sponsor, so early findings are tested before the readout.
- Week 1Kickoff
Listen
- A kickoff with your sponsor to confirm scope and the questions that matter most.
- Confidential conversations with leaders and the people doing the work, scaled to the scope.
- A review of procedures, reports, systems, and recent examples of work that went well or badly.
- Week 2Mid-point check-in
Map
- Real requests, decisions, and deliverables traced from start to finish.
- Where work waits, where it is reworked, and where decisions stall, documented with evidence.
- A mid-point check-in with your sponsor to test early findings.
- Week 3Leadership readout
Decide
- Findings ranked by impact and effort.
- An action plan with owners, sequence, measures, and clear target dates.
- A readout and working session with leadership to agree what happens next.
Your sponsor
A 30-minute check-in each week, plus the kickoff, the mid-point review, and the leadership readout.
Deliverables
What you receive.
Four working documents, written for the managers and teams who will act on them.
Current-state operating map
How work, decisions, and information move today, including the workarounds, built from real examples rather than the procedure manual.
- Process and decision flows
- Handoffs and wait points
- Systems and information sources
Findings brief
A concise written brief naming each issue, the evidence behind it, what it is costing in time, money, or visibility, and the root cause.
- Issue and evidence
- Cost of the issue
- Root cause
Action plan
Prioritized actions, each with an owner, sequence, dependencies, a clear target date, and a measure that shows whether it worked. It separates what can be fixed now from what needs investment.
- Owner and sequence
- Dependencies
- Measure of success
Leadership readout
A working session with your leadership team to test the findings, agree priorities, and assign the first actions.
- Findings tested live
- Priorities agreed
- First actions assigned
Prioritization
Every finding is ranked before it becomes an action.
Findings are placed by the impact of fixing them and the effort it takes. The action plan starts where the return is highest and the path is clearest, and it separates what can be fixed now from what needs investment.
- Every action has a named owner.
- Dependencies are sequenced, so early work does not block later work.
- Each action carries a measure that shows whether it worked.
Act firstHigh impact, lower effort. The first 30 days.
Plan and fundHigh impact, higher effort. Sequenced into the plan.
AssignLower impact, lower effort. Given an owner and a date.
RevisitLower impact, higher effort. Held for later.
Fee and buying
One fixed fee, agreed before we start.
The fee is set in writing before work begins, based on the size of the organization and the number of teams in scope. It is not billed by the hour. If the work takes longer on our side, the fee does not change.
- Scope
- One program, function, or process, or a wider operating area
- Priced
- Fixed, in writing, before work begins
- Changes
- Agreed in writing before they happen
Questions
Before you book.
Can the Operating Diagnostic focus on one department or program?
Yes. Scope is agreed before work begins. A focused diagnostic on a single program, function, or process is often the most useful place to start, because the findings are specific enough to act on right away.
How is the Operating Diagnostic fee set?
The fee is set in writing before work begins, based on the size of the organization and the number of teams in scope. It is not billed by the hour, and it does not change if the work takes longer on our side.
Is the Operating Diagnostic confidential?
Yes. Conversations are confidential, and findings are reported as patterns rather than attributed to individuals. Names and materials stay with you unless you ask otherwise.
What happens after the Operating Diagnostic readout?
The plan is written so your team can run it. If you want support putting it into place, implementation is scoped separately as its own engagement. There is no obligation to continue.
Does the Operating Diagnostic work for federal programs and prime contractors?
Yes. The same approach applies to a program office, a task order team, or a prime contractor's delivery organization. Scope, access, and handling of information are set to match contract and security requirements. It can be bought directly as a firm-fixed-price deliverable or delivered as a workstream under a prime.
Can the Operating Diagnostic be done remotely?
Yes. Conversations can be remote, in person in the Washington, D.C. area, or a mix. The readout is usually held live with the leadership team.
From the library
Related thinking and tools.
Find out what is slowing the work down.
A 30-minute call is enough to tell whether a diagnostic is the right fit and what its scope should be.