Idea
An operations process-mapping consultancy
Package process improvement into a discovery sprint, a redesign engagement and an optional implementation retainer, with a clear handover at each stage.
This is an illustrative business concept for RightFlow.com: an operations consultancy that helps a company understand a recurring process before choosing software to support it. Its first buyer could be an operations director who owns the result but depends on several departments to deliver it. RightFlow would suit a firm whose proposals explain how a request should move and who takes responsibility along the way.
Sell a bounded first engagement
The opening offer would be a fixed-scope discovery sprint covering one process from a named trigger to a named outcome. For example, the boundary might run from an accepted customer order to a complete internal handover. Agree that boundary before scheduling interviews. A request to review the entire company would require a separate scoping conversation.
The buyer should name a sponsor who can arrange access to participants and resolve questions about scope. The consultancy would ask for representative records, relevant forms and access to the people doing the work. It should also agree how sensitive information will be handled and which records can appear in the final materials. Discovery can use anonymized examples where identifying details add no value.
Package one: the discovery sprint
The sprint would combine interviews with a walk-through of recent cases. Ask participants to show the steps they actually took, including side conversations and corrections. Where their accounts differ, keep the disagreement visible until a record or a joint review resolves it. Put unanswered questions beside the relevant step in the diagram.
- A scope statement defining the start, finish and exclusions.
- A current-process map showing roles, decisions and handoffs.
- An issue register that separates observed problems from untested explanations.
- An evidence summary identifying the cases examined and gaps in the sample.
- A prioritized list of decisions the sponsor needs to make.
Acceptance would mean that the participants recognize the process and the sponsor understands the unresolved issues. It would not depend on finding a predetermined number of problems. A process may already work adequately, or the suspected delay may sit outside the agreed boundary. The report should say so and explain what further investigation would be useful.
Package two: process redesign
A separate redesign engagement would turn the findings into an agreed future process. The consultant would facilitate decisions about ownership, required information and exceptions. Each proposed change should identify the problem it addresses, the person responsible for adopting it and the evidence that would show whether it helps.
Deliverables would include a target-process map, a responsibility table, revised request or handover templates and a pilot plan. An exception guide would cover incomplete requests, unavailable decision-makers and cases that require escalation. A software requirements brief could follow from those decisions, describing needed behavior without assuming a particular vendor.
The buyer should approve the target process before configuration begins. If two department heads disagree over who owns a decision, that disagreement belongs with the sponsor. It cannot be settled by drawing another arrow or assigning a default in a tool. The consultancy's role would be to make the choice concrete and record the decision.
Package three: an implementation retainer
An optional retainer would support the pilot and the early period of use. Its scope could include maintaining the issue log, helping the internal owner revise guidance and checking whether the configured system matches the agreed process. Technical configuration would be included only where the consultant has the capability and the agreement names that work.
A monthly deliverable could be a short decision report: what changed, which issues remain open and what the client must decide next. The retainer should have a review date and an exit condition. When the internal owner can maintain the process and handle ordinary exceptions, a handover pack should make continued dependence on the consultant unnecessary.
A handover example
Consider a company where an accepted order reaches the delivery team with incomplete setup details. Discovery would trace a recent order from the initial acceptance through the missing-information requests. The consultant would record which fields were absent, who knew the answers and when the delivery owner first became involved. The issue might be an unclear handover definition rather than a missing application.
The redesign could add a readiness check owned by the account manager. Delivery would receive the order once the required details were present, with a separate path for approved exceptions. The pilot would use a limited set of orders and record which handovers needed correction. No savings estimate is necessary to decide whether the new handover is understandable and usable.
Distribution that shows the work
The consultancy could publish annotated examples of a process map and its accompanying decision log, using invented cases clearly identified as examples. These materials would help a potential buyer understand the deliverables before a sales conversation. A focused workshop on a single handoff would be another way to demonstrate the method without promising a broad transformation.
Potential referral relationships could include software implementers whose clients need requirements clarified before configuration. Keep discovery recommendations independent of referral incentives and explain any commercial relationship. The first conversation should establish who owns the process, why it needs attention and whether the buyer can provide access to the people involved.
Build a repeatable practice
Before launch, prepare an interview guide, a scope template and a consistent way to record evidence. Establish how findings will be reviewed with staff before being presented to management. Plain boxes and arrows may be enough for the intended audience; use a shared legend so readers understand decisions and waits. The quality test is whether someone can follow a case through the map and recognize their responsibility.
RightFlow.com could carry this offer with a descriptive line such as operations process mapping. A proposal should then make the engagement boundary and deliverables explicit. That pairing would give the name a practical meaning in the buyer's own work. Inquire about RightFlow.com for a consultancy launch or rename.