Streamliner Consulting

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a consultant for a healthcare consulting company. I was responsible for leading an IT service management project.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Streamliner Consulting?

We brought Streamliner on to assist with the project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were looking to implement IT service management processes and the ServiceNow platform to improve the efficiency and productivity of the IT organization. Streamliner provided best-practice consulting for implementing both the processes as well as the technology.

The team also helped manage the ServiceNow development work, which was done by another consulting company. They guided and reviewed the work that came in from the other company and helped manage the technical delivery. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with one team member.

How did you come to work with Streamliner Consulting?

We found them through a search company. We’d interviewed several different candidates for the role, but we ended up choosing Streamliner due to the quality of their interview. We were impressed with the level of skill and experience Streamliner brought to the table

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June 2019–June 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The quality of their deliverables was always very high. Streamliner worked independently to deliver those, and brought a lot of background knowledge and expertise in producing them. They also collaborated really well with the third-party company in charge of the ServiceNow development, and were instrumental in outlining their requirements.

How did Streamliner Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of managing deadlines and communications, Streamliner did very well. We were in touch pretty constantly with our contact; we were generally sitting next to each other throughout most of the project. If things came up, we could just grab and pull each other into a conversation. It was pretty unstructured, given that we were in such close proximity. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their breadth and depth of their experience with both IT service management processes as well as the ServiceNow platform really set them apart.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of specifically.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have them engaged in the right type of work for their strengths: strategy, direction-setting, and conceptual thought. If your project requires validation activities, you’ll want to either provide them some guidance or augment them with resources that have that experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Chris Dong: I’m the VP of global infrastructure and enterprise technology for a FinTech provider. 
 
Deep Sheri: I’m the director within global infrastructure and enterprise technology. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Streamliner Consulting?

CD: We wanted to move business processes and workflows from emails into a ServiceNow platform. We chose ServiceNow as the platform technology, and my colleague joined me to create the initial infrastructure and to start driving our processes into the tool. 

We then looked into expanding the platform’s capabilities into the lines of business and our other operational areas. We needed a partner who was extremely knowledgeable of the ServiceNow platform and the business processes. We also wanted someone who knew how to transform those business processes into meaningful development cycles on the platform, allowing us to code the platform and manage our processes.
 
DS: Another challenge was that we had no system to migrate from. We were establishing new processes and ways of thinking, and we were bringing in an enterprise-level third-party application that our internal teams lacked experience with. We engaged Streamliner Consulting to build that foundation with our teams to have a successful deployment.
 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CD: We brought in Streamliner Consulting for a particular use case: to start the expansion of the product into the UK region. That led to an expansion of the product into the US and Asia. John (President, Streamliner Consulting) started engaging in a few regional dialogues. He helped lay out the business processes, framework, and procedures for how we could expand the platform into those environments and then onboard those stakeholders into the platform. We started with a very focused scope that, because of Streamliner Consulting’s skills and strengths, expanded over time.
 
DS: The mandate we gave Streamliner Consulting also expanded. The team first provided business-analyst expertise, but they also consulted on high-level architecture and on conducting our implementation. That meant setting up some best practices around agile development and running some processes along the way. Streamliner Consulting also became much more involved with our training and communications processes. Overall, the team provided some end-to-end services to help implement the project outside of a BA role.

CD: As the program director, my colleague had a lot of other tasks on his mind, like tracking financials, reporting on ROI for the program, following the overall status and progress, doing socialization, meeting with stakeholders, and so on. Streamliner Consulting picked up much of the business analysis, requirements gathering, and development sprints management, which entailed 4–5 months of development. The team handled much of the QA testing and user acceptance testing (UAT) demos as well. 
 
How did you come to work with Streamliner Consulting?

CD: We had a rigorous interview process on whom we’d want to partner with, given the visibility, size, and scale of the program. The interview process involved my colleague and me as well as other key stakeholders around the board.
 
We found Streamliner Consulting through word of mouth from a third-party consulting company we’d used in the past. They recommended Streamliner Consulting as a company and John individually as a BA. He’d done some fantastic work for firms our size—or much larger—to solve challenges similar to ours.
  
What is the status of this engagement?

CD: We worked with Streamliner Consulting from October 2018 until the end of April 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

CD: We met our objectives. We finished the program smoothly and with the right level of scoping. We resolved the challenges faced by our front-office area conducting their business over email. 

Streamliner Consulting had business, product, and processes knowledge and could translate all reengineering processes from layperson’s terms into technical language. They further converted it into development sprints for our other partner who helped us develop the platform. The team’s willingness to take on additional responsibilities—from requirements gathering to user testing—brought a lot of value to my colleague and me. It also enabled us to deliver the right product to the customer. We’d be open to working with Streamliner Consulting on future engagements.
 
How did Streamliner Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

DS: Streamliner Consulting —and John in particular—has exhibited a great deal of dedication and urgency in completing deliverables. They have a high sense of customer relationship management. They keep the client in mind, and it’s ultimately up to us to implement the recommendations they make.
 
CD: John and Streamliner Consulting brought neutrality in some of the decisions we had to make. We have internal biases on how things should operate. However, their team helped us understand how to modify specific processes and why. Their insights came from their experience from similar-sized or larger engagements and their industry-level knowledge that we didn’t have in some cases. 
 
What did you find most impressive about them?

CD: Streamliner Consulting’s work ethic, passion, and dedication stood out most. Whether it involved working weekends or late nights on new releases or testing, they never turned down a task. John even bridged his vacation with a visit to our London office to meet with many of the stakeholders. He engaged with the program on his personal time, and there was no charge to us for that.
 
DS: I’d also mention the tremendous depth of technical knowledge in the specialty Streamliner Consulting deals with. Several times, they offered solutions with explicit references to a technology we were working with, allowing our development teams to apply these solutions directly.
 
Are there any areas they could improve?

CD: No company’s perfect, but nothing major comes to mind. We had a strong engagement with Streamliner Consulting.
 
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

CD: Be clear about the scope that Streamliner Consulting has to deliver against, and be as transparent as possible on the stakeholders and audience they’re going to be dealing with. The obstacle we had—which Streamliner overcame pretty well—was having a geographically-dispersed audience across Asia, UK, and the US. John and Streamliner were here in the US, along with my colleague and me. In these cases, it’s important to explain things up front to companies like Streamliner Consulting. Remote calls are more difficult than face-to-face meetings.
 
Clients should also clearly articulate the timelines of delivery. If there’s slippage, it won’t be a surprise, and it won’t turn into pointing fingers. We didn’t have any of that because Streamliner Consulting was conscious about the scope, the stakeholders, and the timelines.
 
DS: Clients should be honest about their maturity level and should learn how their processes conform to industry best practices. Also, when bringing in a third-party consulting company or knowledge source like Streamliner Consulting, it’s essential to be willing to listen and implement their recommendations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior manager of an IT business support at one of the largest credit unions in the United States. I manage the majority of the ITIL processes within the IT department, primarily in our operations space. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Streamliner Consulting?

We didn’t have a very mature end-to-end ITIL framework. Over the years, we had adopted some elements and processes but lacked a holistic overview. We needed to connect all of the process areas. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Streamliner Consulting helped us implement the remainder of our ITIL framework. First, they assessed the current state and maturity of our problem and incident management processes. The team created artifacts and offered consultation on making process diagrams with the technical details needed to upgrade our systems. We had many other ancillary engagements or focus areas. 

During the first nine months, we focused on pivoting from a reactive, damage-control mode towards proactive problem management. Avoiding significant incidents is much easier than responding to them as they occur. In the first base-level phase, we set expectations and put functionalities in place for standardized and repeatable process. 

The more robust second phase focused heavily on organizational change management and technology elements. This process helped our company understand the benefits of problem management and the changed behavior. During the third phase, we produced a roadmap item. Our company isn’t quite ready to put it into effect, but we hope to implement this framework in the next year or two. 
 
What is the team composition? 

I work directly with John (President, Streamliner Consulting).

How did you come to work with Streamliner Consulting?

I found John through a standard interview process. Many consulting companies were hiring a senior business analyst for this role. He had a significant amount of relevant experience, including as a consultant. Specifically, he had developed problem management process. Streamliner Consulting clearly had the ability to mature our process. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February 2016–August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Streamliner Consulting successfully adopted and adhered to the processes we needed to implement. Based on the associated trend analysis, we’ve received substantial value from their work. Our frequency of significant incidents has decreased by more than 50%. Conversely, our adherence to service level agreements associated with the problem management process has increased by 70%. 

How did Streamliner Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Streamliner Consulting went above and beyond the scope by providing excellent work. Some of the more deadline-driven ancillary items required a quick turnaround, but they met every deadline on time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Streamliner Consulting’s subject matter expertise in the ITIL space stood out to me. I admired their strong background, responsiveness, and ability to adapt to changing business needs. They skillfully leveraged tools to administer various process areas

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a former EVP and CFO of a community bank.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Streamliner Consulting?

We needed an external firm to optimize our core systems, product sets, and software application interfaces.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our bank had 2–3 software applications and databases with outdated interfaces. Streamliner Consulting sat down with us to discuss the problems we had with our existing technology. They identified various fields that needed to be augmented to better serve our needs. Their team developed a software that enables automated data transferring between applications.

What is the team composition?

John (President, Streamliner Consulting) was our sole point of contact.

How did you come to work with Streamliner Consulting?

They were referred to us by an internal resource. We gave John several trial projects and he performed well. Satisfied with his ability to produce results, we hired him for this engagement.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project took place from August–November 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Their automation software saves us time and produces data with a higher level of accuracy than we’re able to accomplish manually. They understood our business challenge and responded appropriately.

How did Streamliner Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

We met face-to-face with John a couple of times a week for the duration of the project. He quickly responded to emails and always made himself available to field our questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

John possesses a broad range of technical abilities and can apply that knowledge to business scenarios. Instead of just understanding our technology, he’s able to produce actionable solutions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear set of goals from the start and frequently communicate with them. Lay out the project’s expectations and check in with the team to make sure they’re going down the right path.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and president of MSI Plumbing & Remodeling. For almost 30 years, our team of 25 employees has been servicing both residential and commercial clients in New Jersey.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Streamliner Consulting?

In the process of building our plumbing division and increasing our staff force, we were struggling to keep up with the latest technology. We needed a partner to help us automate our company operations.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Streamliner Consulting helped us transition our internal processes from a paper-based system to a new software system for tablets. With the new system, our plumbers and staff can manage dispatching processes, scan credit cards, and use GPS services. The field service management software is connected to our QuickBooks account and integrated with our in-house computers, account charts, and rate books. Additionally, their team wrote and produced a very detailed training manual that covers every function and feature in the software package. They continue to provide support.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with the founder.

How did you come to work with Streamliner Consulting?

We needed someone who understood the unpredictable nature of our industry and the general employee processes. Following a recommendation from a friend, I spoke with Streamline Consulting and they explained that they could complete the project and write a training manual. I really liked their approach, so I chose to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $25,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in the spring of 2018 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The delivered software is high-functioning and streamlined, which has really increased the speed of our team operations. With instant access between computers, we can answer our customer’s calls from anywhere. The GPS feature allows us to track our technicians and more efficiently assign jobs. All of these intuitive improvements help our company save money.

How did Streamliner Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive to calls and emails. They had the ability to break down technical language, which was really helpful in teaching new skills on our end.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Streamliner Consulting’s founder researched our business to get enough information to fully understand our needs. With that, he developed the appropriate software solution that not only met all of the requirements, but changed our business. We’ve experienced incredible improvements in how we communicate, schedule, and collect money. They’ve been a valuable resource and I still reach out with any questions or concerns.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Currently, only plumbers have the tablets, not our carpenters. I’ve asked them to find an app we could use to sync their operations with QuickBooks and our payroll company. Hopefully, they’ll reach out if they come across the right system.

Any advice for potential customers?

Answer their questions. By being forthcoming with information, Streamliner Consulting can provide the best advice as soon as the engagement starts.