Epsilica Consulting offer consultancy support for business transformation covering information technology, programme & project management, project health checks and recovery, business analysis, business continuity and organisational change. Our consultants have particular experience of:

• Policy and Strategy formulation and research, in particular in ICT strategy and policy within local government and government agencies
• Developing the critical success factors and associated key performance indicators leading to business improvement, in particular around programmes and projects
• Developing strategies and processes to manage performance and implementing methods to provide the relevant management information needed for informed, strategic decision making.
• Identifying stakeholders and ensuring they are actively informed, using innovative and various communications methods, our success with large complex projects demonstrates our capability in this area
• Assisting organisations to implement and develop business continuity policies and strategies, including risk management.
• Managing complex, high profile, mission critical projects through the whole lifecycle. An example is the implementation of an infrastructure refresh for a local authority
• Managing cultural change and the organisation?s readiness for change, including organisational restructures, an example is work within the MOD to introduce a new HR and payroll system, including employee self-service.
• Reviewing and redesigning end-to-end business processes to improve service delivery and reduce internal costs and resource requirements.

Business Analysis and Processes

Epsilica consulting provides consultancy support for:

• Business Process Engineering
• Business Analysis
• Preparing for and Implementing Business Change

Our senior consultant in the area has worked with large private sector financial clients and public sector. Our consultants have delivered major business improvements for public sector clients, including MOD, Fire and Rescue Service and local government. Assignments undertaken have included the:

• complete revision of HR policies, processes and systems changes impacting 40,000 employees in 80 business units worldwide
• developing, designing, testing and implementing processes to improve staff retention
• leading a team of business analysts to produce the specification for a major payroll system
• leading a team of business analysts to design and implement a lottery grant management system

ICT

Epsilica consulting provides consultancy support for:

• IT Department Transformation
• Preparation and Implementation of Information Management and Technology Strategy
• Conducting feasibility studies
• Building Business Cases/Cost Justifications
• IT Process Review and Design
• Requirements Specifications
• Managing the outsourcing of IT services
• Bid Creation
• Tender Evaluation
• Risk management

Our consultants in this discipline have been in the IT industry for over 10 years and they have considerable experience working with a variety of industry sectors including the public sector both central and local government. Examples of assignments undertaken have included:

• Developing a robust business case for national e-learning project for roll out across 56 autonomous business units, securing £3.2M from central government to fund the project
• Developed a robust business case for the refresh of an IT infrastructure, securing £400K from central government to fund the project
• Created and managed to implementation a tender for website redesign and migration
• Managed the outsourcing of a application development and web hosting for a government agency

Project and Programme Management

Epsilica consulting provides consultancy support for:

• Portfolio Management (to select programmes and projects to best achieve the strategic objectives and targets of the organisation).
• Programme Management (identifying, defining, delivering and closing programmes that best meet the organisations desired outcomes)
• Project Management (covering the whole project lifecycle)
• Setting up and running Programme Management Office and Project Support Offices
• Programme/Project Health Checks
• Project Rescues
• Post Implementation Reviews
• Benefits Realisation Management (identifying, analysing, managing and measuring benefits)

Our consultants in this discipline have over 10 years of experience working mainly on projects with a significant IT element. They have experience of both private and public sector, with their most recent experience being in the public sector. Examples of assignments undertaken are:

• Definition and implementation of an IT project prioritisation method for a local authority
• Definition of a project management approach based on PRINCE 2 for a government agency
• Definition and implementation of a project gateway process for a local authority
• Design and setup of a programme office function for a local authority
• Programme management of a full IT infrastructure refresh for a local authority
• Portfolio management of a £1.4M portfolio of local authority service group projects
• Project rescue for a government agency
• Benefits identification and analysing and managing for an outsourcing project in a government agency

Organisation Change Management

Epsilica Consulting provide:

• Readiness for change assessments
• Transition planning
• Communication planning
• Change implementation and embedding
• Establishing a learning organisation

Our consultants are experienced change managers, they work as independent change agents, managing desired benefits and outcomes from identification through to delivery, ensuring the implementation and embedding of new capabilities. We help you to understand the forces for and against change in your organisation and help you plan and deliver successful change.

Our consultants have identified and implemented structures for the creation of organisation change departments and we are experienced in developing learning and development strategies for organisations seeking to become a Learning Organisation. Examples of successful projects undertaken include:

• Readiness assessment for a local authority preparing for Human Resources policy change
• Transition planning for roll out of a new email system
• Implementation planning for new people management processes
• Communication planning for major IT change projects

This is best demonstrated by providing an example of a recent project we have delivered:

The project was to undertake a strategic review of options to replace a mission critical system, recommend a replacement package and propose an implementation plan.

We agreed with the client that our consultants would:

• Make an initial presentation to stakeholders to ensure their buy-in to the review
• Setup initial meetings with all stakeholders to capture requirements
• Attend regular meetings to update stakeholders on project progress
• Setup and attend meetings as the clients representative with possible solution providers to gather information and determine options
• Prepare monthly highlight reports for presentation to the project sponsor and the senior management team
• Conduct mini presentations to stakeholders to prepare the way for the final report and ensure there was no change to the direction of the report
• Prepare the draft report for review by the project sponsor and the senior management team
• Prepare final report
• Present findings and recommendations to the stakeholders and senior management team

The project was delivered on time and to budget. The project outcome was a recommendation for a product to replace the current system and a forward plan for the implementation of the replacement system.

We take the time to read Client tenders in detail and will ask supplementary questions to clarify points if required. Having been involved with developing bids and evaluating tenders for Local Authorities, we are acutely aware of the amount of effort this entails. Therefore, where a detailed tender document is provided, we will exactly match the Client's requested format. In any case, we always provide the following level of information:

If not specified, we will outline the project methodology to be used. In the majority of cases this will be based on PRINCE2, although we are also experienced in Agile development and project management. We will also highlight our company Benefits Realisation Management method if the Client does not have their own.

We will highlight the techniques we will use. For example, we believe that time spent on detailed planning before work commences will save a huge amount of re-work downstream. We therefore take project and resource planning very seriously. We use product-based planning techniques to identify key tasks and activities and produce the plan through a combination of well-recognised estimating techniques and network analysis. This will provide details of the estimated project timescale, resources (people, money and material) and effort required to achieve success.

We will provide a breakdown of activities vs consulting effort in order to give the Client a full-costed proposal. This will show how many days? effort will be needed to achieve the project and the overall cost, including a breakdown of individual consultant costs.

We will agree the key deadlines and milestones with the Client to ensure they fully understand when the desired outcomes will be delivered.

We firmly believe that strong communications are the key to a successful project. Within the Project Initiation Document (PID), we will record the agreed project governance organisation and structure and reporting methods. We use a mix of reports and meetings:

• Formal (checkpoints) and informal (daily) project team meetings.
• Project Board meetings (by exception at key decision points).
• Highlight reports (to provide a regular update on progress, budget, risks and issues)
• Exception reports (where we forecast that agreed tolerances may be exceeded).

We will produce a detailed communications plan which covers both controls and reporting and stakeholder involvement. Beforehand we will conduct a workshop to identify stakeholders and determine both their importance and the method and frequency of communications with them. We use the RACI method (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) to develop this Stakeholder Map.

To satisfy the Client that we have the relevant experience and capability for the assignment, we will always provide a detailed CV for each of the consultants involved with the project. We are always happy to meet with potential Clients to clarify any questions they may have.

Our consultants have deep experience of working in Local Authorities and similar public sector bodies such as Fire and Rescue authorities. They have fulfilled roles such as IT Director, Programme Director, Change Manager and Corporate Programme Manager. They understand the needs for a formal, structured project management methodology within public sector organisations to provide strong corporate governance and compliance. They are very experienced in using the PRINCE2 methodology to achieve successful programme and project implementation.

Similarly, they are aware that some organisations will wish to adapt PRINCE2 to meet their particular needs; they are well versed in a variety of different standards adopted by various public sector organisations. Whilst we can introduce PRINCE2 methods and processes if not already in place, we are very used to adapting our ways of working to meet those of our Client. Before any project begins, we will discuss and agree the standards and methodologies that will be used. We have found the best way to ensure that we comply with the Client?s standards is to produce a detailed Project Initiation Document (PID) which includes the management method to be used, controls and reporting standards, communications and benefits management

Performance monitoring is important to us as it creates customer satisfaction. To achieve and monitor this we use the following principles:

• Clear definition of the desired client outcomes, from this we derive the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the project
• Monitoring of the KPIs through monthly meetings with the client contract manager and our Director responsible for Quality and Performance Management. The agenda for the meeting will be constructed around a highlight report that includes:
• Progress with plan, tasks completed this period, tasks due next period
• Budget monitoring, to include spend to date and committed to date
• Review of risks and issues
• Clear escalation process for client contract managers to raise and resolve issues
• A collaborative approach to the assignment that ensures an open working relationship with our clients that encourages feedback
• At the close of an assignment we ask for feedback on our performance from 2 viewpoints:
• Did we deliver your requirements, where could we have improved?
• How did our consultant/project manager perform, this is used to inform our internal performance appraisal process

Our administrative and technical arrangements are based around a ?virtual office?. All of our internal processes have been built around the need to work in a virtual manner and we use a scalable hosted IT service to provide this capability. This approach allows us to keep our administration and technical support resources and expenses to a minimum.

All of our consultants have access to the Epsilica knowledge base and the document repository wherever they are working. To enable this consultants are provided with mobile equipment and browser based access to our internal systems, including access for recording expenses, assignment budget details, storing client documentation and collaborating with colleagues.

Our knowledgebase includes document templates, process descriptions, information resources and contact details that our consultants can use in the delivery of an assignment. Our document management application enables us to give access for our clients to the repository for collaboration on document creation and review, saving multiple emailing of documents and providing strong version control.

We will meet the client organisation?s corporate governance and compliance regulations by agreeing with the organisation the formal controls to be applied at the outset of the assignment. These will include:

• The reporting process covering, reports to be raised, when and who to
• A clear communications plan indicating who will be kept informed of both progress and issues.
• Project plans, tasks and milestones
• Resource plan
• Project budget

During the course of the project we will track the use of resources and provide a regular budget report, showing actual and committed expenditure measured against forecast of outturn.

We will also use our company governance standards. We keep detailed records of our correspondence with the organisation and will track the use of our time, against which invoices will be raised. Where expenses are charged, a separate report will be produced, breaking down the expenditure and we will provide copies of all receipts on request. All of our documentation is held within our on-line company document repository (Knapsack) and access to this can be provided to key auditing and finance personnel on request.

Our people are our strength. With Epsilica consulting, you gain access to a group of consultants with many years of experience delivering strategic value from the use of IT, project and general management knowledge. They are not ? paper? consultants; their skills, capabilities and knowledge have been gained from a career in the IT and project management industry both in the private and public sector, and they have proved their competence and ability time and again.

As dedicated change agents, we fully understand the change management lifecycle and, in particular, the impact on both an organisation and its people. We will work with them at all levels and take the time to really get to know how their organisation works and what drives their business.

One of the key benefits is that the Client will have a dedicated team, agreed up front and involved throughout the whole of the assignment, with direct access to a single point of contact. As a truly independent consultancy, they can be assured that they will receive impartial, well-considered advice. We do not believe in packaged, ?off the shelf? quick fixes; our solutions will be based around a detailed analysis of the Client?s particular requirements and tailored to their individual need.

Our Processes

• We promise to react promptly to your requests and ensure our responses are clear, concise and accurate.
• We promise to ensure we fully understand your requirements and needs.
• We promise to ensure you have direct access to a named member of our team. He/she will help you get the most out the relationship.
• We promise to provide regular and accurate feedback in all tasks we perform on your behalf
• We promise to raise any issues as soon as they are known and will work with you to quickly resolve such issues.
• We promise to provide transparency in our processes
• We promise to ensure you get value for money. We recognise your budget must go a long way.
• We promise we will not compromise on quality

Our Skills & Capabilities

• We promise to ensure our technical skills and business knowledge are current and kept up to date.
• We promise to help reduce your risk by identifying risks early and taking action to reduce your exposure to the risk
• We promise to ensure our team provides the best solution for your needs.
• We promise to share our knowledge and skills with you and your team

Our Values

• We promise to be open and honest with you at all times. If we find ways of cutting cost without risk to quality or timescales we will tell you. If we are not able to do a task we will tell you and help you find a trusted resource who can.
• We promise to treat you with respect
• We value our integrity. We promise to ensure this integrity does not waiver in whatever we do.