What do we do?
We coach organizations on accelerating their projects and improving execution reliability and speed. Our specialty lies in working with product development teams. We work with teams to shift behavior and deploy simple tools that help identify and mitigate risks early when it is least expensive. Our Risk Up Front (RUF) methodology improves teams’ performance by providing measurable results, not simply through paperwork or procedures.
Our clients hail from many industries, including software, semiconductors, fintech, biotech, lasers, ice machines, and smart homes. Our clients range from small startups to business units in larger organizations. Our teams may be new to project management or may already use various engineering processes, such as stage gate, Agile, and Lean. Our work ensures that those processes are utilized effectively to get products out faster and more reliably.
What is
Risk Up Front?
Risk Up Front is an industry-agnostic set of structures and practices based on the premise that late changes are a prime cause project failures. It is designed to create a process and culture focused on identifying hidden risks early, allowing project teams to mitigate them where it is least expensive.
In one sense, it is a simple approach that specifies four principles, four pieces of paper, and two meetings. When applied rigorously in various environments, this shifts how teams communicate, make commitments, and hold themselves accountable to deliver on their promises.
One of our clients describe it as the “Sriracha sauce” that makes teams and methodologies work.
What is
Risk Up Front?
Risk Up Front is an industry-agnostic set of structures and practices based on the premise that late changes cause project failures. It is designed to create a process and culture focused on identifying hidden risks early, allowing project teams to mitigate them where it is least expensive.
In one sense, it is a simple approach that specifies four principles, four pieces of paper, and two meetings. When applied rigorously in various environments, this shifts how teams communicate, make commitments, and hold themselves accountable to deliver on their promises.
One of our clients described it as the “Sriracha sauce” that makes teams and methodologies work.
THE ESSENCE OF RUF lies in creating a foundation that enables the effective use of industry and project-specific tools. For instance, without a foundation of integrity, a project schedule may become just another unfulfilled promise. RUF is built upon four core principles, each of which plays a crucial role in the conversations and language of the team. These principles are:
1. Accountability: “Singular ownership of a result.”
2. Transparency: “Team-wide clarity of what is so.”
3. Integrity: Simplified as “Do what you say.”
4. Commitment: “It will be so, even in the face of circumstances.”
RUF aims to move these principles from abstract concepts to practical, everyday applications within the team. It does so by using four levers to drive change:
1. Language: Change culture and behavior by changing conversations.
2. Structures: Involving the allocation of resources and financial management.
3. Practices: Implementing reliably repeated or triggered activities and tools.
4. Metrics: Focusing on measurable results.
“Risk Up Front tackles the hard stuff...up front.”
- How do you find the hidden risks?
- How do you avoid late changes?
- What does team commitment look like?
- How do you measure it?
- How do you operationalize principles like Integrity and Transparency?
These levers facilitate various cultural changes within an organization, not just those related to RUF. The methodology diverges from traditional methodologies by not being a mere series of steps or processes. Instead, it emphasizes a holistic and continuous application of these levers throughout a project. This includes comprehensive team involvement in identifying risks and the use of tools like the RUF project statement, which, when combined with transparency and definition meetings, becomes effective for early risk identification and team commitment.
In essence, RUF is designed for dynamic organizational environments, acknowledging the need for adaptability in team structures, project timelines, and risk anticipation. It requires a significant mindset shift in managing projects and cultivating high-performing teams. The methodology aims to provide a comprehensive framework for creating and maintaining a culture of Risk Up Front in project management.
Types of Engagements
We work with our clients in the context of an actual project. This may be a product development release, a research and development investigation, or an organizational change initiative.
Developing Products with Risk Up Front
Risk Up Front is often deployed in product organizations where there is a high degree of market, technical, or organizational complexity. We coach cross-functional teams to deliver the right product faster and more reliably. Our engagements focus on introducing Risk Up Front on a specific project, typically three to nine months, with teams ranging from 8 to 50 core and extended team members. We are very experienced in working with multilocation and multinational teams. We also have a Risk Up Front Jumpstart engagement model for smaller organizations.
We coach teams to make real change.
- Discovery
We begin our engagement with a small number of interviews with team members from all relevant functions and levels of the organization. This results in a brief written report that reflects the team’s perception of its strengths and target areas for change. Additionally, these conversations begin to build the momentum necessary to implement change. - Risk Up Front Workshop
The core principles and methodology of Risk Up Front will be introduced, debated, and practiced so the participants can begin to leverage a shared language and structure to accelerate their project teams. We use actual concerns on their existing projects to show how Risk Up Front techniques are used to address them. - Coaching
Because change is fragile, it is critical to follow up the workshop with coaching of the project teams. Coaching activities include individual time spent with management and project leaders, on-site and remotely, as well as facilitation of critical team meetings.
Organizational Change
Risk Up Front is prime solution for quickly jumpstarting organizational change , particularly in challenging scenarios such as restructurings, partnerships, takeovers, staff reductions, or leadership transitions. Our approach has teams define and execute brief (60 to 90-day) efforts designed to create a significant improvement in a select number of areas that both leaders and teams have outlined. Our objective is to have teams test-run the execution shift, rather than presenting it through slides. Our approach ensures that your team is well-equipped and confident to undertake extensive, game-changing endeavors.
Speaking Engagements
We enjoy engaging with new audiences and regularly speak at conferences and universities. During the pandemic, we found ourselves speaking at book clubs around the world. Please reach out to us to speak at your organization, classroom, or on your podcast.