Activity Information Models deliver new information our clients have never had about their performance, their problems and their opportunities (PPO). Our analyses produce more and better solutions, with scenarios that include metrics and costs. AIModels help our clients make faster and better decisions, while providing blueprint detail transformation and implementation documents.
AIM – Activity Information Modeling is a new, unique and powerful management methodology that delivers quantitative information models about customers, products, processes, and resources (CP2R). Each of these four primary fields have attribute data fields that elaborate more granular information. For instance, customer segment information can have the customers’ total annual purchase amount and how long they have been a customer.
Activity Information Models provide time and cost information that makes it easy for everyone to understand performance and find the worst problems and the best opportunities. AIModels proof to the general ledger which makes them and the analyses conclusions accurate.
The data fields of AIModels are specifically and carefully designed to fully understand each client’s performance, problems and opportunities (PPO) and provide new information for decision making and improvement program implementation.
We lead our clients in the analyses of their PPO, conduct scenarios analysis (what-ifs) and help our clients make new decisions that can be quickly implemented. Every AIModel is delivered with specialized Excel workbooks that make analyses and reporting easy for everyone in our clients’ organization.
R = id (Results = information X decisions)
ni X nd = NR (new information X new decisions = New Results)
“We can’t solve today’s problems with the mentality that created them.” Albert Einstein
“You can’t get there from here if you don’t know where here is.” Gary Meyer
The AIM Data Cube
This segmented cube depicts the data cube structure of an Activity Information Model. This picture lists common data and metadata fields that are frequently used. Any data attribute field can be incorporated into an AIModel. We have never failed to be able to provide a client with whatever unique information they needed for their analyses and decision making.
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CP2R is our acronym for Customers, Products, Processes, and Resources. This is the primary scope and focus of a typical AIM project with an operations unit, defined as units that produce and deliver products and services. This scope is far broader than traditional consultant’s scope.
Traditional consultants select a single area such as process and only work on that. They don’t assemble information about anything beyond the small area they’re focused on. This results in recommendations that are not feasible because of unaccounted impediments and constraints in other areas. This small scope also produces small tangible benefits.
AIM projects have also been conducted in staff functions such as Accounting, IT, HR, etc. with much success. The scope of a staff AIM project modifies our usual CP2R scope.
Customer AIModels
Customer AIModels provide time and cost information about customers, customer segments, and customer activities.
The customer models are used to understand the customer segments, and often note those that have the lowest and highest ROI. It’s common for our clients to modify their target markets/customer segments, sometimes even eliminating a segment because they discover the low profits it produces.
Product AIModels
The product models are used to compare all products to find those that produce the highest and lowest margins. The AIM product model information makes it easy to see a complete 360-degree view of the cost and resource capacity requirements for the entire product portfolio in one simple report.
Process AIModels
The process models provide information about lost productivity, poor quality and retention areas. These are generally quick, simple fixes that only require simple operation changes.
Chubb Specialty, the specialty lines division of Chubb Insurance in Simsbury, Connecticut, used their AIM process models to design a tri-track renewal process that produced a large, multi-year growth spurt, increased their productivity over 50%, and achieved record high customer retention rates.
Resource AIModels
The resource models explain how every minute of the entire organization’s resource capacity is consumed by customers, products, and processes. This information is used to improve job positions, organization design, and resource performance.
Why Looking at Customers, Products, Processes & Resources (CP2R) Simultaneously is Fundamental & Imperative
- Performance problem’s causes are never isolated; they’re intertwined with other issues in other areas that must also be addressed. Broad and in in-depth knowledge of these other areas is necessary.
- Every change creates a number of collateral “ripple effect” impacts. AIModels create scenarios that forecast what the numerous collateral CP2R effects will be for contemplated changes.
- Very large (“leap-scale”) performance improvements, such as tripling a unit’s organic revenue can only occur when a number of improvements are made simultaneously in multiple areas such as process and technology changes in conjunction with organizational changes, new product variations, and re-imaging the customer segments.
- Large scale performance improvement initiatives almost always fail unless everyone and everything that is impacted is prepared, aligned, and synchronized. AIM provides the information that is needed to precisely blueprint, from the customer segment level down to the activity level, what changes will occur, the preparation they require, and operational milestones for synchronizing all of the dependencies.
Performance Management Metrics & Ratios
Performance Management Metrics & Ratios give managers a wide array of information about productivity, ROI, capacity consumption, cost ratios etc.
One of the most powerful aspects of AIM metrics and ratios are the comparative reports that show the best and worst performing departments, processes and job positions, such as the product processes with the highest and lowest productivity. They promote prescriptive analysis by highlighting those areas needing improvement and illustrating the solutions to those problems.
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Customers, Products, Processes & Resources
Performance Management Metrics & Ratios
Activity Information Models For Staff Functions
Accounting & Finance use our cost models for their reporting and forecasting. They find the cost ratios and metrics especially useful for budgeting.
Human Resources use AIModels to document the scope of job positions, exactly what each job actually does, how they do it, and the skills and training that are required.
Marketing uses the Product AIModels to create growth program scenarios and portfolio balancing that optimize product portfolio profitability. This is almost always a totally new capability for them that can have a significant impact on company profits.
IT uses AIModels to understand how systems are used and by whom. They can also spot redundancies in their technology infrastructure. Finally, they can see the processes and activities that need greater automation and technology and what the ROI would be if they build them.
Our first project with Citibank in 1999 found 7 separate systems that all handled the same transactions for groups of similar credit products. Citi Ops managers and IT managers immediately consolidated the 7 systems into 3 systems, and ultimately reduced these to 1 system within 18 months. This small peripheral finding, unrelated to the project’s goals, produced annual IT savings over $250,000.
C-suite executives use AIModels to compare units’ and locations’ performance with metrics such as productivity and cost per 1K of revenue. Our succinct performance metrics help them understand what actually drives growth and profits in their businesses.
Comparing Time & Motion Studies
With Activity Information Modeling
Frederick W. Taylor invented Time and Motion methodology in 1881. He is considered the father of Scientific Management because he conducted process studies and created fact-based management information.
Time & Motion is a method that was invented to calculate a “standard” time that an activity or process should take. It sets this standard as the expected time that employees should complete the activity or process. It uses stopwatch timing to time activities. It is only effective in operations where the outcome is known and always the same, and the process activities are identical, such as manufacturing physical products. It can still be used today for operations with few activities.
Some people, with no Industrial Engineering knowledge, sometimes attempt to use Time & Motion studies for service operations such as health care, banking, trades activities like plumbing and carpentry, etc. They produce inacurate calculations that usually create larger problems than the original problem they sought to solve.
T&M requires accurate volumes to calculate total times. This is available in manufacturing where the number of processes, completed operations, and products produced is known. It is not available in most service operations where processes vary depending on the condition and needs of customers. For instance: an insurance auto claim process might have 3 steps or 33 steps, depending on a large number of variables that can affect what a claims examiner has to do to settle it.
Activity information modeling creates information about the entire organization, customer product, process and resource information, referred to as CP2R. AIM models also proof with the General Ledger. AIM does not require volumes to calculate time and cost.
Random Sampling & AIM Comparison
Random sampling is a statistical method for collecting data. At random times it collects data, called a sample. Random sampling is only a data collection method. Traditional consultants also collect data with surveys and interviews, observations, and by obtaining transactional data from clients’ production and distribution systems.
AIM employs random sampling to collect data from employees as they work. AIM has a structure that makes the data highly valuable and easy to use. For instance, AIM process modes have Force 5 metadata that classifies every activity into one of five types. Citibank used its AIM Force 5 models to analyze how much time its branch personnel spent on management activities, relationship activities, knowledge activities and transactional activities.
If you have signed an NDA and received a password to our Private Section, you can learn more about Activity Information Modeling and how it works. Select Private in the menu and sign in.