The Problem
Our client, the Quality Department of a large corporation, wanted to encourage Engineering and Six Sigma teams to use Benchmarking.
Although the Quality Department had acquired a great deal of expertise on the topic, that expertise was not in a form that could be shared among a number of project teams, located in different parts of the globe.
That’s why the client asked us to create a Benchmarking Information Portal, resident on their Lotus Notes network. The object: Provide information to support project teams during each step in the Benchmarking process.
Prometheus Approach/Solution
We began by collaborating with our client to analyze the audience, needs, and technological infrastructure required for this project.
We created a Lotus Notes database, called the Corporate Benchmarking Portal. The framework for the database was the Benchmarking Process itself. We broke the process into 10 steps, from “Selecting Projects” to “Technology Transfer.” For each step, we provided:
- Dictionary of terms and buzzwords
- Overview of the topic
- In-depth review of the topic
- Graphs, charts, tables, process diagrams, and other relevant graphics
- FAQs
- Summary of readings on the topic, with links to an in-house “lending library”
- Case studies of internal projects relevant to the topic
- Contacts (internal and external) who could provide additional information
- Link to a “mentor” from the Quality Department who specialized in that topic
- “Contributors Area”, where teams who were working on current projects could share their insights.
Once the Benchmarking Portal was completed, we also provided some guidance in how to promote the Portal within the corporation.
Special Skills/Software
- Instructional Design
- Graphic Design
- Project Management/Quality Tools
- Lotus Notes
Result/Benefit to Client
Our client had budgeted 6 months to complete the project. We completed it in just under 3 months, to the client’s delight.
Our client had expected a plain-vanilla, text-heavy presentation. We introduced color and graphics to break up the text, and make the material easier to read.
Our client was pleased with the look of the Benchmarking Portal. And she was more than pleased with the scope and user-friendliness of its content.
Perhaps that was why our client was so proud to “promote” the Benchmarking Portal to quality teams. Teams were pleasantly surprised at what they found there. Usage statistics began to climb, as teams found reasons to return to the Benchmarking Portal again and again. As teams became successful using Benchmarking techniques, they began to market the Portal to other users. Soon there were many more case studies to post in the Benchmarking Portal.
And what happened to our client? Like so many of our clients, she got promoted!
For more information about this project, please contact us.