Integration Specialists
DTD are integration specialists. Through a holistic approach we are able to deliver client productivity.
Are you considering a new strategy or business improvement? Or being directed to implement a change or new program? Do you have an issue with a part of the organisation? Many of these tasks require human change, systems change, different business tools, transition plans and managing expectations. Whilst many people have experienced or managed components, few people are provided the opportunity for organisational re-programming. For those that have, how was success measured? What were the subsequent changes? Where they intended?
As integration specialists we assemble disparate requirements into a framework and create a workflow to provide productive outcomes; in effect re-programming the organisation’s neural pathways. We integrate disparate best-practice standards including:
ISO 9001 – Model for quality management systems of organisation.
ISO 10018 – Quality People Management Standards – this standard is based upon the premise that overall performance of the quality system – ISO 9001 and change within an organisation
ISO 27001 – Information Security Management – this standard is designed to protect assets such as intellectual property, financial information, individual privacy and information held from other parties.
- Australian Institute of Company Directors on governance
- Change Management used Prosci
ISO 19011 – Guidelines for auditing management Systems – this standard provides assurance of the management system and audit program along with guidance on the less defined standards in evaluating the competence of individuals involved in the audit / decision-making.
Service Delivery
Our clients often seek our services when:
- Their organisation is change effected. Service delivery must continue whilst the transition affects the organisation’s staff, business platforms, and processes.
- A conflict of interest (actual, potential, perceived) has been identified and key stakeholders require assurance of activities.
- Strategy execution is required. With all the other organisational responsibilities key staff often do not have the time or specialist skills to dedicate to the task.
DTD Value proposition, DTD adds demonstrable value to the client because:
- Prior to engagement we develop a methodology that holistically addresses the client intent
- This has resulted in no DTD initiated variations for any commission
- If required, we are prepared to risk 100% of our fees payable when the client achieves their objectives
- We prefer one invoice at the end of the commission following the exit meeting so we can confirm that we have met the stated and implied needs.
- Execute any later stage works for the estimates provided if the client cannot procure the services.
- By repeatedly delivering we become a client’s trusted advisor
For prospective clients we seek to understand the task and context. The context is, perhaps, more important as it shapes stakeholder input, relationships, abilities, and attitudes. DTD conducts a client analysis from the perspective of the organisation and individual decision-maker capabilities. The individuals cognitive and behavioural traits affect the dynamics for a successful outcome. A cultural assessment and alignment is vital for developing a shared understanding of how each party contributes to a successful outcome. DTD then drafts a proposed methodology (project plan) including allocating responsibilities to the person (including the client) best able to address the issue or risk. Providing the client information is accurate, there are no assumptions in the proposal. This is a fundamental reason we have not proposed any variations to a client.
On engagement the in-briefing confirms the responsibility of key stakeholders and discusses the timing and latitude of key decisions on the client outcomes. This is important to align intellectual and emotional understanding for timely decision-making. If there are any impediments, information integrity measures are established to provide a defensible foundation for any challenge to a subsequent decision. The services are then delivered in accordance with the project plan.
The project plan includes the significant connections with the organisation and generally includes:
1. Integration Management of the project and normally include:
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) focused on successful outcomes for the organisation
- Performance Indicators (PIs), as a sub-set of KPIs, that are internally focused to deliver on components of the KPIs
- SMARTS (Specific Measurable, Attributable to an individual, Realistic due to work breakdown and risk within their job statement, Timely that they have the resource availability within the time period) are specific activities to achieve the PI’s.
- Critical success factors (necessary for an organisation to achieve its objectives) are identified and included as part of governance.
- Change strategy to ensure alignment and timing of delivery
- Program management to ensure continuity of service provision
- Success narrative for the organisation (portfolio) to ensure strategy alignment and communication with key stakeholders not intimately involved with the process
2. Scope that includes:
- Project inclusions that allocates individual tasks to people that are SMART.
- Project exclusions with inputs that are agreed by stakeholders
3. Time that includes:
- Work breakdown structures for key individual’s personal workplans
- Meetings and agenda items to ensure collaboration activities
- Time contingency allocated to activities for pro-active management by allocated resources to ensure personal responsibility
4. Cost that normally include:
- Project cost
- Organisational resource costs of labour
- Opportunity costs
- Offset costs
- Cost contingency allocated to activities for pro-active management by allocated resources to ensure personal responsibility
5. Quality normally includes:
- Impact statement for the organisation against specified performance indicators
- Program assurance including gate reviews and implementation readiness assessments
- Project integration control
6. Human Resources including:
- Align of key decision-makers behavioural traits
- Capacity and capability of key resources on outcomes
- Stakeholder quality and skills
- Staff competency alignment
- Coaching and mentoring requirements
7. Communications includes:
- Information integrity requirements for approvals and subsequent stages
- Information use and retrieval
- Methods of communication and effectiveness including coaching, mentoring, workshops etc
8. Risk includes:
- Establishment of a risk framework that allows for discussion regarding upside and downside risk integrated over time (allows deferral of risk to a later stage or as information becomes available)
- Parsing statements so a methodology can be allocated to an individual
- Program and cascading risks
- Treatment of confounding variables (e.g. reputation)
9. Procurement includes:
- Third party and supply chain effects on the portfolio and program
- Skill-sets of personal to determine value-at-risk of achievement of SMARTs and PIs.
Management of the plan is straightforward (even if it is over several years) as active English is used in individuals personal work plans and aligned to position descriptions or work level standards. Governance Boards address all program and portfolio integration along with providing delegation instruments for timely decision-making. The project plan is used as the guiding document and provides for performance and serves as the evaluation in the exit interview.
The Principal’s personal journey
Doug has had a lifelong professional interest in productivity. With immersion in different cultures: Malaysia and USA, Doug participated in similar activities but from very different value perspectives. From his thesis during undergraduate engineering degree titled ‘Productivity in the Australian Construction Industry’ where he identified many of the unproductive issues were from a lack of integration. He also achieved a sub major in systems engineering being co-Dux and being awarded the top prize from the Australian Institute of Traffic and Planning Management for systems integration. Concurrently with work experience Doug obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment. Later as the acting Chief Executive of Army’s Engineering Design and Project Management organisation Doug implemented many reforms that led to several organisational achievement awards and over a dozen personal achievement awards. This was Doug’s first success as an integration specialist. Doug was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2001 Australia Day Honours List. Doug then completed a Masters of Management. Later as the Program Director for Defence construction in NSW Doug led the development of Australia’s first triple (Design, Construction, Fit-out) five-star (Australian Excellence) that required the integration of technical disciplines along with human factors and organisational process re-design to deliver a new business as usual.
Doug also completed a range of vocational competencies in project management, procurement, dispute resolution, coaching, mentoring, training and human resources
Neural diversity was achieved through corporate social responsibility in sectors different to Doug’s thinking style including disabilities, health, social services and community sports. Personal development included languages and travel.
DTD Evolution
Originally titled Spectrum Australia focusing on the different elements that contributed to the whole, the company was re-named after a staff survey with clients and stakeholders to better reflect what we do: Dream.Think.Do.
DTD’s original quality management system was as an RTO (2007-2012). The focus was on accredited individual training. However, there were gaps around specialist skills, a lot of soft-skills in decision-making, behavioural traits and this led to alignment with professional bodies focused on our client base.
In 2011 the human factors were sufficiently developed that indicated most client failure was in governance and the actual management systems. DTD obtained ISO 9001 certification (2012-2018) to ensure that we had an intimate understanding when advising clients in developing their own systems.
With the explosion of digital records and automation DTD developed its own ISO27001 compliant systems to test workability of business continuity and third party reliance.
Concurrently integration became increasingly complex with decision-makers overloaded with information. This required integration from disparate sources. DTD is often engaged to undertake health checks or assurance activities for clients. Consequently ISO 19011 is used for reviewing management systems and confirming the competence of people making decisions. This is used as a proxy to check system integrity and avoids the need for expensive reviews.
Once the baseline is established, the quality systems align strategy to objective data sets for the client.
Continuing Professional Development – Individual
Whilst each DTD consultant DTD has skills in many fields, each are selected for a client role based upon their value contribution. As the lead in a particular aspect of a commission, they will hold an industry certification relevant to the project or change requirements:
Australian Institute of Company Directors
Engineers Australia
Australian Institute of Project Management
Australian Institute of Change Management
Financial Services Industry of Australasia
Team Development
Team building is a behavioural trait that we inculcate with our own staff to ensure we can deliver for clients.
DTD attributes uses a mixture of knowledge, skills,and traits in various circumstances.
Part of the co-learning model is to share techniques amongst our corporate-social responsibility partners, industry associations and peers.
This ensures that we can provide both contemporary and innovative solutions depending upon the client culture and needs.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
Get in Touch!