University Consulting Group (UCG)
Business Consulting
UCG is a Canadian non-profit organization that solves various business challenges faced by clients in the non-profit/ social sector. They provide practical industry experience and mentorship to student consultants. Student consultants are organized into "chapters" that include a team lead, senior consultant, and several consultants from diverse backgrounds.
As a consultant, I delivered strategic solutions overseen by industry advisors for high-impact, long-term results. The scope of my work involved strategy for organizational effectiveness and monitoring, providing tailored performance metrics and evaluation systems to improve the client/ organization's internal growth and success.
To learn more about UCG go to: https://www.universityconsultinggroup.com/how-it-works
The Client Ask
Design a long-term chapter maturation strategy and roadmap for UCG
The Problem
Chapters experience unique challenges given the different levels of maturity and number of years active. UCG needed to ensure long-term growth of its individual chapters with adequate infrastructure.
Process
In a team of 6 designers paired with an professional advisor, we set foundational research questions with the client. Conducted semi-structured interviews to empathize and understand the needs of UCG members. Synthesized our research through affinity mapping, theme clustering, and other tools. Created easy-to-follow steps for UCG to implement a benchmarking system and maturation model
Solution
Our team presented a deck that provides UCG with the following:
1. A maturity-specific benchmarking system
2. Chapter Maturation Model
3. Hub Interaction Model
4. Implementation Timeline
My Role
Due to confidentiality of the project, I am unable to share the entirety of the deck I had worked on. However my contribution focused on the following:
- Strategic Planning, SWOT Analysis
- Market research and the design of our interview structure
- Data synthesis: using tools such as affinity mapping, theme clustering and matrix diagrams
- Breaking down the data by creating useful qualitative and quantitative recommendations and metrics of various scales
- Developed actionable strategies and recommendations for the maturity specific benchmarking system, chapter maturation model and hub interaction model
- Designing meaningful and straightforward data visualizations and systems
- Communicating and presenting our deliverables to clients face to face
- Bringing design thinking and methodology into business consulting to improve user experience
