Case studies

Health Sector Project – Information Architecture Review

Our Client: A large Public Health Organisation (PHO) responsible for servicing, allocating funding and supporting GPs in their area, running a range of clinical programs to improve population health outcomes.

The Challenge: The client did not have the “big picture” strategic overview of information needs they required to determine priorities for IT support systems. Because of Government health funding structures, the organization must manage a large number of programs simultaneously. This means inefficiency and duplication of effort is difficult to avoid.

Our Approach: The knowledge of information needs is distributed within the client organisation between a number of program coordinators, so it was necessary to bring this knowledge together and collate it. We did this through a combination of a questionnaire and workshops, at which we gathered the required information and then presented it back to the stakeholders in an organised form. From the information gathered at the first workshop, we were able to identify around 100 separate types of information managed by the organisation or exchanged between the organization and other entities. Out of this fragmentation we identified around a dozen key information flows, and five “process areas” common across all programs. This provided a way to better manage the information flows, potentially enabling improved operational efficiency, better availability of information where it is needed, and increased agility in targeting population health needs.

Outcomes and client benefits: A clear picture of the information needs of the organisation; highlighting of key issues (fragmentation and replication of processes); a structured picture of information process needs forming the basis for organisational improvements; strategy outlining proposed steps to implement the improvements.

Software Development - Build vs Buy decision for innovative software firm

Our Client: Company M provides a range of business development assistance to small business owners, the self employed, and managers to help them grow their business.

The Challenge: To provide a Software as a Service (SaaS) product to their clients that captures and delivers much of the valuable intellectual property that Mimosa has to offer. They needed to get this up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible through the smart use of existing technologies.

Our Approach: Build vs. Buy decisions were critical, so we needed to work with the client to quickly assemble a list of the key product requirements and start the decision process. The client had already identified possible technology partners, but the key partner chose to pull out when we starting asking hard questions about how they would support the product requirements. This prompted a search for alternative technologies that would meet the requirements. We located suitable technologies and mapped out a system architecture showing how they would be used to support the requirements.

Outcomes and client benefits: Early termination of an ineffectual partnership; clear definition of the product requirements; identification of technologies that are appropriate to build the product and a plan to do so.

Functional Food and Drink: Overseas Market Entry Planning and Execution via Licensing Deal

The Client : A2 Corporation

The Challenge: Following on from a previously successful engagement, A2 contracted CTM to review market opportunities and to develop a market entry plan for Korea. Because of the timing of negotiations underway, only 6 weeks were allowed for the completion of the market analysis and entry plan.

Our Approach: using our network, we quickly established a relationship with a trusted in-market specialist research team who we contracted to conduct some primary research on our behalf.

We used primary and secondary data sources and our knowledge of the benefits of the A2 product to frame discussion around a number of key questions that were put to local consumers in the target groups that had been identified. Over time we developed a series of potential customer profiles, ranked and characterised, and identified certain buying influences and preferences.

We looked at the competition and their product offerings, their positioning and the existing profit and margin structures as well as supply chain capacity. We combined this information to construct a buyer model that laid out how the market worked and where the key relationships in the supply chain lay.

We wrapped this analysis into a market entry plan that described how, given the existing competition and customer buying preferences, the A2 product should be positioned and packaged.

Outcome and client benefits: A2 was able to differentiate between licensing partners in Korea and to confirm the best approach to the market. The level of detail supporting the plan was such that the local licensing partner adopted our plan as the go to market approach, and A2 have since announced the successful launch of their A2 milk in Korea in a recent press release.