J&S Tech Designs is a full-service management consulting firm specializing in technology consulting and project management solutions.
Improve your business outcomes by engaging with an expert in strategic planning for technology, design, and innovation
Experience
Over the past 15 years we have helped individual entrepreneurs, startups at all stages, small and mid-sized business, and fortune 500 companies deliver on their needs and expectations.
Strategy
We look at the big picture and identify the market landscape, creating custom strategic roadmaps and strategies that maximize opportunities for success .
Management
We identify entrenched corporate culture and influence change through positive and effective change management principles.
Do you need software development management consulting?
Set up a call with J&S Tech Designs today to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals.
What does a business consultant do?
A business consultant is the swiss army knife of employees. They come in and fill a particular need in an organization. This can be anything from: acting as a project manager, coming in and taking over a project in crisis, being a part or the lead of a design team, putting together a strategic plan for an organization and more. A consultant can provide an outside perspective of what an organization should be doing and how they can accomplish that to reach their goals. Consultants are a great resource to conduct an independent SWOT analysis as someone with no inside opinion or preconceived notions. This provides you an independent assessment on a project. Consultants cover any range of focuses. If you’re a new executive and you’ve taken over a project, a consultant can come in and assess the project and the direction it needs to take next. If you’re looking to start a new project, a consultant can help with exploration and help you establish the goals and steps to get started quickly.
How long does a business consulting project last?
A strategic plan or SWOT analysis can be done within the span of a week or so, but long-term strategic plans and project implementations can take several months or even years. The timeline of a consulting project all depends on your requirements and what you are looking to accomplish. 3 months to a year is a good average for typical projects.
How is the scope of a consulting project determined?
A series of investigative interviews will be done at the beginning to find out what the request is. If you’ve asked for a consultant to manage, run, or assess something, we’ll first figure out what kind of resources there are currently and what additional resources are needed. As we get started with a project, in the initial engagement phase, we want to know what the goals are and what outcomes you’re expecting. We strive to improve outcomes. For us to do that, we need to know what you are expecting and then we find out how to accomplish those goals and that will determine the scope of work. Is it timebound, is it measurable, what resources do we have, what resources will we need, etc.? Once the needs are identified, we work on a timeline and create the scope for working the project.
What problems do business consultants typically solve?
Whatever pain points a customer has. We fill a hole that clients typically don’t want to invest a full-time resource in, or they don’t have the expertise available to them with their current team. Hiring a consultant saves companies the expense of hiring an FTE as there is no onboarding associated. This allows businesses to fill a shorter term need or a specialized project need. A lot of times a consultant can fill in temporarily while an organization finds a permanent person.
How is a consulting project started and organized?
Initially, goals and objectives are established. Once the goals and objectives have been identified, a statement of work is created with specific goals and timelines that have been mutually agreed upon ahead of time. With a consulting project, it’s all about defining the statement of work (SOW).
Do you do fixed price or time and materials contracts?
We agree upon a block of hours up front in the SOW. For example: for Project Management work where we’ve discussed 30 or 40 hours per week for three months, that’s our fixed price. We include any travel cost in the contract up front based on time and distance of travel and we cover actual costs of travel expenses. Any purchases are approved in advance with the customer. We agree upon all the costs of the project up front. If scope changes, then we work together to adjust the statement of work. There are no surprises.
How do you measure the ROI of a business consultant?
Simple, we defined what was to be done, what it would cost, and you know what you’re spending and getting up front. You’ll know the expectation of ROI before our work begins. The whole purpose of what a consultant does is they help define the project initially, so you know the cost and time involved. That’s the advantage of using a consultant. You have an expert who’s done similar work before and knows the estimated time and cost to accomplish it. Some exceptions to this would be hiring a consultant as an ongoing subject matter expert (SME), these types of engagements are typically an open ended for continued use and involvement.
New Engagement Process
How Do We Work?
1. Business Analysis
In this stage, we identify and define solutions for your business to maximize profitability and success.
8. Execute the plan to achieve defined goals & objectives
All pieces come together as we implement your tailor-made business strategy and goals with the team members, processes, technology, and schedule.
2. Develop Strategic Plan
Once we have the solutions identified, we build a framework for a plan that helps your business to reach the goals identified.
7. Change/Influence culture to drive success
Once company culture is identified, strengths and weaknesses can be addressed to bring alignment that ensures company success.
3. Project Roadmap Alternatives
We develop a project checklist, project management timeline, needs, and team analysis to get the projects into motion.
6. Institute new cadence driven development methodology
Applying cadence to the development methodology to help customer-centric businesses deliver a continuous flow of value to the market and customers.
4. Identify Corporate Culture
Identifying a company’s culture helps to define the strengths and weaknesses in any given team to assess where the assets are and what needs to be fixed to move forward.
5. Engage w/Technical Team in Product Owner Role
This is where are able to define and prioritize the team to properly execute project tasks and priorities setting deadlines, goals, and expectations.
1. Business Analysis
In this stage, we identify and define solutions for your business to maximize profitability and success.
2. Develop Strategic Plan
Once we have the solutions identified, we build a framework for a plan that helps your business to reach the goals identified.
3. Project Roadmap Alternatives
We develop a project checklist, project management timeline, needs, and team analysis to get the projects into motion.
4. Identify Corporate Culture
Identifying a company’s culture helps to define the strengths and weaknesses in any given team to assess where the assets are and what needs to be fixed to move forward.
5. Engage w/Technical Team in Product Owner Role
This is where are able to define and prioritize the team to properly execute project tasks and priorities setting deadlines, goals, and expectations.
6. Institute new cadence driven development methodology
Applying cadence to the development methodology to help customer-centric businesses deliver a continuous flow of value to the market and customers.
7. Change/Influence culture to drive success
Once company culture is identified, strengths and weaknesses can be addressed to bring alignment that ensures company success.
8. Execute the plan to achieve defined goals & objectives
All pieces come together as we implement your tailor-made business strategy and goals with the team members, processes, technology, and schedule.
Are you looking for a skilled orator as a keynote speaker, panelist speaker, or guest speaker for your next event?
As a business consultant, I am asked to give presentations and keynote addresses all the time – from strategically focused high-level business presentations given to the board of directors, to technical code reviews with development teams. My passion is pulling the story out of the data information chaos and presenting it to an audience in a fun, informative, and intelligent way. Convincing other people to believe or think a certain way is very hard as no one wants to be sold on an idea. They do want to come to their own conclusions organically. By finding the subjects’ essence and telling that story, letting everyone come to a cooperative conclusion, is an artful but effective technique that I learned years ago.
Before the story can be told however, the process begins with listening. To be a skillful orator, you must first listen to the experts, consume the data, find the intangibles, embrace the culture, all of it! Through listening, you learn, and begin to understand. Once you understand, you uncover the hidden messages, the meaning, that is begging to be shared. Once you have that purpose, the story reveals itself. The story that will help others begin their journey of listening as the cycle of exchange continues.
– It is through listening that we hear the story and through stories we debunk falsehoods, find connections, and change minds. It is only from that place that real change can occur.
If you have a story that needs to be told, or if you are looking for an expert keynote speaker or guest speaker to share some great stories at your next meeting or event, please contact me so we can begin our journey together.
J&S Tech Designs
100’s
of clients