1. Identify the ClientThe client can be your own work group or organization, a family business you are involved with, a business you worked for previously, a volunteer organization you work or have worked with, or a public or private company. The client you choose should be a small group or organization where you, as a consultant, can influence change. Do not select "the military" or "the U.S. government" or "Giant XYZ Corporation."

2. Identify the ProblemWith your knowledge of the client you have identified and the learning you have acquired to this point, identify a management problem you will investigate and for which you will provide recommended solutions. Only write a paper to identify the problem; do NOT try to solve it.

What are the mission, vision, values, and goals of the company/division/workgroup?

In considering the mission, vision, values, and goals, where does progress halt?

Is there data to substantiate this or is it a perception of you and/or the manager?

Who is involved: the manager, the employees, and/or stakeholders?

How long has this problem existed?

What and how are expectations and requirements communicated?

When expectations or key deadlines are missed, what happens?

What factors contribute to the problem (politics, structure, decision-making factors, etc.)?

Are technical skills or training contributing to the problem?

Are there ethical issues relating to the problem?If so, how have those issues been handled to date?

These questions do not all need to be answered, nor is this list all inclusive; they are provided to help you get started and inspire your own questions to explore

3. Conduct Needs Assessment. Now that you have identified a client and the management problem you will investigate, you will conduct a needs assessment. When conducting a needs assessment, you first identify the "what is" relating to the problem you have chosen to address and contrast that to "what should be."Some questions you can explore to help you are:

What is the problem?

How does the desired performance relate to the mission statement?

Is the problem organization-wide or isolated to one or a few individuals?

Have organizational initiatives created the problem?

Does the problem relate to individual performance issues?

Is training adequate to support the desired outcome?

Is the issue related to job design?

What criteria is used to measure performance?

Is performance criteria appropriate, i.e. attainable and measurable?

Are there Informational Technology issues related to this problem?