“Analysts report that as many as 71% of software projects that fail do so because of poor requirements management, making it the single biggest reason for project failure“ – CIO magazine, Nov 15 2005

Requirements are the key to project success. Gathering good quality requirements is critical to the design and development of software that must meet strict business and quality criteria.

CBF Consulting Requirements Analysis is intended to:

Conduct a Qualitative Analysis of client pains and needs

Build credibility and trust to establish a working relationship

Demonstrate technical competency and industry-specific manufacturing knowledge

Facilitate cross-departmental discussion and derive consensus on the primary inefficiencies and challenges

Distinguish between workflow and organizational inefficiencies

Deliverables as part of the Assessment Process:

1. Assessment Findings Summary

2. Executive Summary (Top challenges identified and possible methods of improvement)

3. Business Case

4. User Requirements (Solution requirements to meet business objectives)

5. Solution alternatives and lowest-risk migration path

6. Project Plan outlining solution path at a high level

7. RFQ/RFP development

8. Vendor proposal review with client

The assessment develops the short and long term strategies that ensure a solution is a process enabler of the company’s 21^st Century business practices such as Lean manufacturing or Six Sigma.

Point of clarity: Engagement tailored to each client needs. A qualification call with a CBF Consulting representative is required before final contract price.

CBF recommends:

The Human challenges are addressed through specific Lean, Six Sigma, TQM, and other techniques applied within the organization.

The Technical challenges are addressed through automation and solutions that specifically enable optimized process practices.

A gap often exists on software projects between the software delivered and the users’ real needs. This gap is a direct result of the processes used by development organizations to capture and gather requirements. Our process is designed to be not only cost effective, but rapidly produce results that define areas of improvement, and business value around those improvements. CBF Requirement assessments will:

• Identify the systems currently in place at each facility.
• Identify the basic system architecture in place and how to integrate those systems to meet business and operational needs.
• Identify the process flow, and the interactions with between personnel and the systems.
• Identify the overall flow of information.
• Make recommendations around feasibility, architecture and overall system design for the operational improvements as identified during the assessment.
• Identify systems that support corporate goals and initiatives, and, at the same time, provide the needed functionality to support customer centric operations.
• Understand the roadmap and strategy for how to move forward with a project.
• Determine which systems investments will have real economic and operational effectiveness and paybacks and which will not.
• Understand how information systems can help achieve business goals and objectives, implement key strategic action points, and address head-on some identified deficiencies.

A Standish Group study revealed that over two thirds of all software projects experience major problems and over one quarter outright fail. Building great software shouldn’t be this hard. A large portion of the problems in software development are a direct result of how requirements are captured and implemented.

Too often, a corporation sets improvement goals and brings in vendors to assist in reaching those goals. The goals become shaped to what the vendor can offer – often to ensure vendor selection and increase the vendor”s profitability; when, in fact, the corporation itself could have developed a strong set of requirements for the project, requiring the vendor to show why they are the most competitively priced and how they can best meet the business objectives.

Developing a strong set of requirements is an art form that often takes years of experience to perfect. Most consulting firms charge between $15,000 and $200,000 or more to develop requirements for you, and all too often they are led by a vendor who is desperate to make the sale.

CBF Consulting, Inc. brings a fresh approach to the conventional requirements gathering process. We have created targeted, user-friendly courses to help you gather and define your requirements and develop a business case to justify the project. And, we have performed the due diligence to back up the business case!If you feel that our e-course program is not the route you would choose to meet your unique needs, keep reading! CBF Consulting, Inc. also provides on-site business case and requirements development services. Either way you choose to go, we partner with you to get the job done efficiently and expediently.

Studies have shown that 4 out of 5 software development projects exceed time and budget requirements – and they don”t deliver expected results (The Chaos Report, 1994, Standish Group). With such great odds, it pays to put forth the extra effort upfront to minimize the risk of failure at the end.

Right now, the big question in your mind is “What can CBF Consulting, Inc. do to make MY project successful?” We bring 20 years of project development experience, including information and requirements gathering along with business case development to ensure a successful project from inception throughout the entire project life cycle.

We achieve this one of two ways:

(1) We provide comprehensive courses and support to guide you through managing and implementing the project yourself.

OR

(2) We render on-site consulting services and hands-on performance to help you meet your goals on time, within budget, and to your expectations.

We provide solutions to business problems in many different arenas! Review our product and services listings – WE CAN HELP!

Contact us via phone or email for real, custom solutions for your business problems.

Poplar Grove, Il, April 23, 2006:

CBF Consulting, Inc. Acquired key personnel from a competing firm today, This acquisition of talent now gives CBF Consulting, Inc. a much deeper core knowledge base in project management, manufacturing execution, business value, and root cause analysis.

Mr. Phipps has over 20 years in industrial controls experience, designing and implementing systems for companies such as Owens Corning, Certainteed Roofing, GAF building Materials, Daimler Chrysler, EJ Gallo, US Steel and Ash Grove Cement to list a few. Formally trained Mr. Phipps has performed in a range of positions from plant manager to plant maintenance as well as system implementer giving him a unique perspective on various business improvement initiatives.