Proposal Documents:
- Initial “Draft” Proposal (Mini Assessment) [pdf] (DEPRECATED)
- Proposal Presentation [pdf]
- Updated Assessment and Customization Proposal [pdf]
- Team Launch (Delivery Track) Proposal [pdf]
- Sample Real Agility Assessment Report [pdf]
- Delivery track summary
NOVARTIS Questions and BERTEIG Answers:
Culture Beliefs
- What role will you play?
We work with you to develop the internal mindset, knowledge and skill to sustain and innovate an Agile transformation after we have left you. Our vision as a company is to create work environments where business success, personal development and contribution to society go hand-in-hand. As such, we act as coaches, trainers, consultants, mentors, and most importantly, collaborators with our clients.
We customize a systematic program for business transformation called the “Real Agility Program”. We then facilitate your organization’s progress through the program and train your people to maintain the program after we depart. The program consists of four main components or “tracks”:
◦ Assessment – helping you track the progress, success and challenges of your transformation,
◦ Leadership – helping executives and senior managers lead the strategic aspects of the transformation,
◦ Management – helping mid-level managers create the new organizational culture so that it is sustainable,
◦ Delivery – helping agile teams working on products, projects and services to reach a high-performance state. - How will you adapt it to virtual environment?
Our way of working has not changed with the advent of all-virtual engagements; we mimic an in-person environment with state-of-the-art collaboration and communication tools. We have tools that we recommend but can often work with the tools your organization is already familiar with (e.g. Zoom or MS Teams, Miro or Mural, etc.). As such, when we are collaborating with your leaders, managers and staff, we are live, on video, with your people.The Real Agility Program requires no substantial alteration to work in a virtual environment since meeting rooms, team rooms and classrooms can be mimicked almost exactly.
- How will you approach it?
• As we all know, every situation is unique. As such, we believe in co-creating an approach with our clients. The Real Agility Program provides a framework, but that framework must be filled in with the right tools, practices and methods depending on your reality. Our expertise is in helping to understand and choose from the whole toolkit of agility and organizational transformation.There are six major categories for the work and the tools with which that work is performed:
◦ Agile methods such as Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming, OpenAgile, etc.
◦ Leadership growth such as the Leadership Circle Profile,
◦ Lean thinking such as value stream mapping, waste reduction,
◦ Community development to create both internal and external communities,
◦ Technical practices to improve individual contributor productivity and quality,
◦ Organizational change to instill a new culture. - How will you scale it?
We provide high-leverage services by always incorporating train-the-trainer and coach-the-coach activities into our programs. Specifically, we work to help you develop internal people who will scale the transformation by enthusiastically training, coaching, and mentoring beyond the people we work with directly.These new internal experts will also be capable of evolving and innovating the organizational transformation beyond the initial support we provide. In other words, you won’t need to come back to us later!
Methodology implementation – Pilot Project
- What role will you play?
We will provide hands-on coaching, training and mentoring support for the people involved in the pilot project. Typically, one of our coaches can work with up to four (4) teams simultaneously. As well, we will provide one individual who will act as the overall engagement manager who is an expert in their own right, and will often be assisting with the leadership and management tracks.As the pilot project is progressing, we will also be monitoring KPIs and collaborating with you to make necessary adjustments. We have a high level of agility ourselves, and we expect to be responsive to your requests on a continuous basis.
- How will you adapt it to virtual environment?
See above.
Performance Metrics and Cost
- What metrics / timelines will you use in both success and learnings?
Using sophisticated surveys and analysis, we measure culture (vision, teamwork, focus, urgency, and improvement). We benchmark culture at the start of an engagement and then on a quarterly basis measure changes in this culture.We highly recommend that our clients measure initial historical data on project/product/process-level ROI, TTM, CSat, process efficiency and defect rates as appropriate. These metrics should be kept constantly updated with trailing averages.
We also recommend a suite of team-level management metrics that include both “agile capability” metrics as well as more business-oriented outcome metrics.
Finally, and most importantly, in our initial consulting assessment work, we work with you to find the metrics that matter most to your organization to show the success of the transformation and our contribution to it.
- How will you break down your cost?
Our billing is based on phases and stages of work. For example, our Management Track is billed on a per-step-per-cohort basis. This represents the best balance between pure outcome based billing and hourly billing. Your organization pays for accomplishments and milestones being reached, we are paid frequently enough to maintain healthy cashflow.Full Initial Customization of the Real Agility Program: $50,000 + exp.
Delivery Track (per-team): $96,000 ($8k/step)
Management Track (per-cohort): $400,000 ($10k/step)
Leadership Track (per-cohort): $150,000 ($12,500/step)
Additional Questions
- Indicate at least 2 references from customers and / or testimonials
(see below)
- What is your process for seeking, capturing and managing customer feedback and requirements changes during project development?
We have an engagement manager assigned who keeps a visible “backlog” on a shared collaboration tool (usually Miro). This backlog is visible to both Novartis and Berteig.
We use various prioritization techniques and commitment techniques to ensure that Novartis is receiving the highest value possible from Berteig at any given moment.
Our default way of working is the Kanban Method as this is most appropriate for service delivery.
- Can you provide case studies of Agile projects with similar complexity involving product or process?
(see below)
- How do you break down work into manageable user stories and tasks?
We use numerous techniques to do so including estimation techniques such as the “Bucket System”, story refinement techniques such as “Product Journey Mapping” and “User Story Splitting” and task breakdown techniques such as “Acceptance Criteria” and “Agile Modelling”.
Case Studies / References:
- Hoffmann-La Roche Testimonial Video – Reference: Heather Francis 647-961-6964, heather.francis@roche.com
- Scotiabank Testimonial Video – Reference: Ravi Rampersaud 416-270-1581, ravi.rampersaud@scotiabank.com
- Equitable Life of Canada Case Study – Reference: Cam Crosbie
- Suncor Case Study – Reference: Darin Zandee
Consultant Profiles:
Additional References and Resources: