Value Discovery
Identify symptoms and their root causes and link them to measurable business outcomes that can be managed throughout the solution lifecycle.
No matter what stage of your billing journey you’re in, RESPEC offers solutions to meet you where you are and move you forward. We divide your journey into four sequential Value Stages and can help you from start to finish or at pinpointed steps along the way.
We’ve designed a variety of offers to help you move through these stages and can tailor specific components of each to your unique needs. Take a moment to explore the problems we help our clients navigate and solve.
RESPEC's Value Discovery program offers:
Problem Identification
Identify the problem landscape, evaluate current state, work through root cause, and understand the macro environment of your business.
Problem Landscape Analysis
Interview key stakeholders across the process to determine current challenges, identify themes, and build a list of strategic and tactical problems.
Deliverable
Problem Landscape Map
Ideal Format & Timing
- Individual interviews with each stakeholder (30 min each)
- 10-15 stakeholders
- 2-3 weeks to complete
Key Activities
- Work with the key champions to understand the high-level overview and background
- Schedule and conduct interviews with stakeholders
- Identify common themes and determine problem statement list
- Divide problem statements into themes relevant to the business
Benefits
- Identify a complete 360-degree view of problems
- Visually see list of problem statements to determine urgency, size, and approach to resolve
- Get early stakeholder involvement in the project
Current State Mapping
Identify and map current state of processes, systems, and data flows across the current order-to-cash ecosystem.
Deliverable
Current State and Challenges Overview Map
Ideal Format & Timing
- Group working session(s)
- Typically, at least one full-day workshop is recommended
- 1-2 weeks to complete depending upon availability and number of working sessions needed
Key Activities
- High-level overview of key order-to-cash processes or areas that exist within the business
- By area, map the current solutions, current processes, and current activities done within each (and what team does them)
- By area, list the challenges the current solution and processes causes for various stakeholders
- Post working session, prepare a readout and clean copy of the data captured
Benefits
- Helps to ensure early stakeholder buy-in to overall project and program
- Allows a more thorough understanding of current state processes and tasks
- Helps uncover friction, pain points, and challenges with the current state process today that may not yet be known
Root Cause Analysis
Interview key stakeholders across the process to determine current challenges, identify themes, and build a list of strategic and tactical problems.
Deliverable
Problem Landscape Map
Ideal Format & Timing
- Individual interviews with each stakeholder (30 min each)
- 10-15 stakeholders
- 2-3 weeks to complete
Key Activities
- Work with the key champions to understand the high-level overview and background
- Schedule and conduct interviews with stakeholders
- Identify common themes and determine problem statement list
- Divide problem statements into themes relevant to the business
Benefits
- Identify a complete 360-degree view of problems
- Visually see list of problem statements to determine urgency, size, and approach to resolve
- Get early stakeholder involvement in the project
Stakeholder Alignment
Co-create analysis, business cases, or engagement plans to help align internal stakeholders and properly prioritize the project within your organization.
Deliverable
Business Value Overview Document
Ideal Format & Timing
- Most work will be done with conversations with champion
- Variety of other meetings for questions with other stakeholders
- 2-3 weeks total
Key Activities
- Identify with key champion or stakeholders the current business landscape and challenges surrounding the project
- Identify how to articulate the problem, urgency, and impact to resonate with audience and demonstrate business value
- Showcase future state overview and benefits in terms of business value
- Identify what other hurdles need to be addressed to launch the project internally
Benefits
- Utilize industry and market best practices and research to bolster business case
- Translate needs into business value terms that will resonate with the audience
- Assistance from a third party with 25+ years of experience in billing to create a Business Value Case
Uncovering Value
Define business outcomes, uncover current solution impacts, identify feasible future state, and make a digital transformation plan to get there.
Value Framing
Define and align on what success and value looks like to the business and translate current pain points into business value-based outcomes.
Deliverable
Business Value Framing Document
Ideal Format & Timing
- Half-day workshop with stakeholders
- 2-3 weeks total, including pre- and post-workshop work
Key Activities
- Identify high-level business outcomes and objectives
- Identify pain points from stakeholders and define themes
- Define business value statements
- Determine ways to measure and show progress on accomplishing those business value statements
Benefits
- Third-party facilitated discussion to help define and align on business outcomes for the project (not the technical requirements)
- Have a framework moving forward for use in making decisions, communicating, and measuring progress
Current Solution Impact Analysis
Deep dive into the current solution and processes to understand the real impact being caused throughout the business to maintain the status quo.
Deliverable
Current Impact Analysis
Ideal Format & Timing
- Full-day workshop to understand current state processes
- Follow-up sessions with specific SMEs as needed
2-3 weeks total
Key Activities
- Understand high-level process overview
- Understand challenges and pain points from stakeholders
- Dive into the impact those challenges cause for various SMEs across the business
- Aggregate the data and prepare analysis
Benefits
- Provide a tangible way to express pain points and challenges within the current state process
- Provide a metric and financial driven argument to articulate the current solution costs—including hidden—to help show urgency
Future State Mapping
Working with business and technical stakeholders to identify and design a future state that is achievable for the business.
Deliverable
Future State Map
Ideal Format & Timing
- Several working sessions with various stakeholders from across the business
- 3-4 weeks total
Key Activities
- Identify key areas for improvement from current state
- Co-design a future state to address those areas (process, systems, and data)
- Understand what constraints or out-of-scope limits exist and adjust future state accordingly
- Address iterative or phased approach to implementing desired future state based on business needs
Benefits
- Utilize order-to-cash experts to help design an achievable and realistic future state
- Understand needs from the rest of the business in order to support billing implementation
- Identify options for phased or iterative approaches to obtaining future state to minimize disruption to the business
Digital Transformation Plan
Construct an overarching plan—including more than just procuring a system—to go from the current to the future state, including key decisions to be made, resourcing, data flows, and overall program management.
Deliverable
Digital Transformation Plan
Ideal Format & Timing
- Several working sessions with various stakeholders from across the business
- 3-4 weeks total
Key Activities
- Identify key decisions to be made that will impact vendor analysis process and end state design
- Identify the level of change management scope and impact of the project on the business
- Create a glide path of activities to facilitate the digital transformation plan
Benefits
- Know what decisions are critical to the solution and vendor selection process
- Have an overall plan to manage the program of a digital transformation, not just implementing a system on a technical levelss
Vendor Selection
Create RFX, identify possible vendors, evaluate solutions, and generate business cases and proposals.
RFX CReation
Design an RFX document based on the needs and requirements at a business level, functional level, and technical level.
Deliverable
RFX Document
Ideal Format & Timing
- Multiple working sessions with SMEs to understand requirements
- 4-6 weeks total
Key Activities
- Identify business level requirements
- Identify functional level requirements
- Identify technical level requirements
- Create and write an RFX document
Benefits
- Get a full set of requirements included in a RFX document to use for internal and external needs
- Save time by having experts in the billing space co-create the document and help uncover a wholistic set of requirements of the business
Vendor Shortlist
Research and provide a shortlist of possible vendors that could accomplish the RFX requirements for the business.
Deliverable
Vendor Shortlist
Ideal Format & Timing
- Various sessions with third-party vendors
- Timing dependent on vendor availability
- 3-4 weeks total
Key Activities
- Understand requirements, key points of complexity, scale and growth projections, budgetary constraints, and other key information
- Research vendors that are potential options
- Meet with vendors and discuss requirements and identify large gaps (done anonymously)
- Prepare a shortlist of vendors for further deep dives and additional information gathering
Benefits
- Save time by having a short list of vendors provided based on their capabilities of handling specific requirements
- Ability to identify vendors anonymously
- Utilize billing experts to vet requirements with vendors quickly and provide expert opinions on viable options
Vendor Analysis
Assist in going through full vendor analysis process – from discovery, to use cases, to demos, to technical deep dives.
Deliverable
Vendor Comparison Overview Document
Ideal Format & Timing
- Varies based on level of involvement and company's purchase cycle process
- 3-6 months
Key Activities
- Participate in discovery calls and deep dives
- Participate in helping to prepare use cases for demo or POCs
- Participate in scoring and reviewing vendors on use case demonstrations
- Provide comparison document of vendors, including gaps and potential solutions for those gaps
Benefits
- Have billing experts help to guide conversations and press into capabilities
- Have a credible third party provide analysis and recommendations for vendor fit
- Utilize a third party (that is not a product company) help to identify a wholistic solution based on gaps that vendors present
Business Case Development
Co-create a business case designed for the needed audience to articulate the need, urgency, and confidence in the selected solution.
Deliverable
Business Case Document
Ideal Format & Timing
- Various meetings with key champion(s) to help iterate and tailor content
- 2-3 weeks
Key Activities
- Determine intended audience and types of information business case needs to include based on the business
- Construct a draft of the business case using client specific information, best practices, and other market and industry data
- Iterate and revise with champion(s) to tailor messaging for the business
- Handover document and/or co-present business case to stakeholders
Benefits
- Utilize industry and best practice research in business case to further support objectives
- Save time in creating and researching to create a business case
- Have a credible third party provide validation of business case
Financial Modeling
Create a financial model based on the needs of the business (ROI, TCO, Buy vs Build, NPV).
Deliverable
Financial Model
Ideal Format & Timing
- Working sessions with SMEs to obtain inputs and assumptions
- 2-3 weeks
Key Activities
- Determine which financial models are appropriate to construct
- Have sessions with SMEs to discuss data available, key inputs, and assumption levels
- Construct a tailored financial model for the business
- Provide a readout deck of the financial model
Benefits
- Save time by utilizing a third party financial model tailored specifically to billing purchases
- Utilize industry knowledge and data in financial model to bolster the business case and add credibility
- Have a framework to help realize and measure value realization post go-live
Success Planning
Plan for a successful implementation, ownership of solution, governance of program, and change management.
Implementation Planning
Co-create a guide with the business to understand and prepare for the scope, readiness, and 'long poles in the tent' for the project.
Deliverable
Implementation Success Guide
Ideal Format & Timing
- Various meetings with SMEs and stakeholders to talk through questions
- 2-3 weeks
Key Activities
- Identify key risks to the business for the project and develop mitigation strategies
- Identify key decisions the business will need to make to facilitate the project implementation
- Identify key constraints that need to be dealt with, including processes, regulations, and other factors
- Identify other risks to the project, such as timing implications, personnel, environmental factors, etc.
Benefits
- De-risk the project by understanding key risks and preparing mitigation plans for them
- Identify decisions that will need to be made by the business that will impact timing
- Identify and align on key constraints before the project begins
Ownership Planning
Co-create a guide with the business to understand what Day 2 looks like and how to prepare for successful ownership and maintainability of the solution.
Deliverable
Ownership Success Guide
Ideal Format & Timing
- Various meetings with SMEs and stakeholders to talk through questions
- 2-3 weeks
Key Activities
- Identify what will need to change in "steady state" from how the business runs today
- Identify key resources, skills, and knowledge that will be needed in order to maintain the solutions post go-live
- Identify transition and interim needs as phases are rolled out and legacy systems are sunset
Benefits
- Ensure resources and processes are ready to maintain the solution on "Day 2"
- Ensure a smooth business transition in critical business processes to maintain BAU cadences
Change Management
Co-create a change enablement guide and framework for the business based on organizational readiness, level of impact, and tolerance to change within the business.
Deliverable
Change Management Plan
Ideal Format & Timing
- Various meetings with SMEs and stakeholders to talk through questions
- 2-3 weeks
Key Activities
- Identify scope of change requirement for suppliers and customer of the invoicing process
- Identify change management timeline and plan for the business
- Identify communication and training timelines for the business
- Understand and assess organizational readiness and adjust plans accordingly for each area
Benefits
- Provides an early communication plan to stakeholders to help ensure proper adoption of new processes and technology
- Provides a consistent messaging framework—rooted in business value terms—to communicate changes during the implementation
Governance Model & Roster Design
Co-create a governance model and framework to use for the duration of the program, along with identifying key skills and roles needed for implementation and ownership.
Deliverable
Program Roster Governance Document
Ideal Format & Timing
- Various meetings with key stakeholders to talk through questions and make decisions
- 1-2 weeks
Key Activities
- Identify key stakeholders, their roles, and responsibilities for the project - at all levels of the business
- Define the types and frequency of communication cadences
- Determine a framework for how conflict and decisions are resolved
- Identify what resources will fill the skills and knowledge needs for the project
Benefits
- Define a framework used to make decisions for the duration of the project
- Identify the resources that will be required to ensure a successful project
- Define a communication plan to stakeholders to ensure alignment throughout the project
Data Migration & Integration Strategies
Co-create with the business a glide path for migrating and cleaning data, working through proper placement of function and data, and system integration strategies.
Deliverable
Data, Migration, and Integration Strategy Document
Ideal Format & Timing
- Various meetings with SMEs and stakeholders to talk through questions
- 3-4 weeks
Key Activities
- Identify the types of data required from the business and assess the state of readiness of that data
- Identify limitations in how to access that data, controls on the data, and flows of data between systems
- Identify data migration needs – types, format, time period, readiness of that data
- Identify key integrations and who owns that integration (i.e. internal teams, third parties, etc.)
Benefits
- List potential roadblocks or "long poles in the tent" around critical areas for implementations and define alternative plans
- Define dependencies on other teams that could hinder project timeline
Value Management: The solution to tech-project regret
Companies across all industries struggle to successfully implement the software they've purchased, resulting in unrealized value, frustration, and regret. Regret often occurs when problems are misdiagnosed as a symptom or not fully known or understood. Focusing on business-value outcomes helps ensure the real problems are solved.