Expert case by

Ian

BCG - YodaPhone

Case information

Difficulty: Intermediate

Candidate-led

< 100 Ratings

Times solved: 13.2k

Operations strategy

Case Prompt:

Our client is Yoda's Phones, a national telecommunications company. They have embarked on a three-year, multi-million dollar digitization program. Unfortunately, two years into the program, they realize they are significantly behind schedule and over budget.

You have been brought in to right the ship and ensure the digitization program is delivered as planned.

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Framework can be found here:

YodaPhone Optimal Framework Solutions

Overview of All Exhibits

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Sample Structure

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Note for Interviewer

The information in this case can be provided in a fluid manner. While it is described below linearly, the candidate may ask for information in a different order. This is perfectly acceptable, and you can provide the information as they ask for it.

Note for Interviewer

Exhibit I can be provided if the candidate asks whether we know how much effort/time is required across the workstreams.

You may also tell them that we currently have 10 teams, that each cost $100,000 per month.

For clarification, you can also tell them that the measurement “team months” means that 1 team would take 1 month to complete 1 unit of work.

If they ask, you may also clarify that teams can work at the same time on the same workstream.

If the candidate asks about/proposes time/cost/scope related items, let them know:

Time – The project is unwilling to accept a project delay as they have made public announcements as to the digitization program timeline.
Cost – The project is also unwilling to incur extra costs, as they have already been approved for extra budget and reached their maximum allowance.
Scope – The project is unwilling to reduce quality, as its reputation is on the line, but not all work pieces are essential.

Note for Interviewer

You should guide the candidate towards realizing that scope has to be cut. If they initially brainstorm solutions other than this (particularly around gaining efficiencies), that is fine (and even desired). However, you still need to counter. For example:

Bring in more resources = we have maxed out our budget and cannot
Restructure teams = Teams have already been restructured multiple times to no effect (and any additional restructure would be disruptive)
Institute agile methodologies = Agile methodologies are already being used and teams are working as efficiently as possible
Sacrifice some quality standards = We cannot sacrifice quality due to both industry regulations and our own company’s reputation/brand.

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II. Scope analysis

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In this phase, the candidate needs to determine that some work is worth doing and other work isn’t worth doing. They need to identify which work pieces should be continued versus dis-continued.

The candidate should clarify what work we are embarking on as part of this digitization program.

Brainstorm how/why we might be gaining benefits from each workstream. A good answer would include the following:

Customer experience – a better customer experience means more customers will buy our products/services, ultimately providing a revenue uplift
Process improvements – by improving our internal processes across products (i.e. handling complaints, processing new orders, etc), we can reduce the time taken across activities, thereby requiring a smaller workforce and reducing costs
Data insights – by leveraging our customer and system data, we can run predictive analytics to improve marketing campaigns, recommend additional products to customers, solve issues before they appear, etc. This provides both a revenue and a cost uplift

Upon reading the exhibit, the candidate should note that some workstreams are worth more than others. Furthermore, benefits don’t necessarily correlate with time remaining.

Key insights:

Data insights – generally have a lot of effort/time remaining, but don’t provide much value
Process improvements – do take a lot of time, but they also provide the most benefits
Customer experience – is somewhere in the middle effort and benefit-wise, but is much more valuable for Mobile Phones than for the Internet

Marginal monthly benefit of these workstreams across our products

The candidate should understand that we are figuring out the monthly benefit of each piece of work (i.e. if it takes 10 team-months and is worth $1M, it’s worth $100,000 per team-month).

The candidate should recognize that, because we have the monthly cost of each team, we’re effectively figuring out what scope will actually see a positive ROI. A benefit of <$100,000/month is not worth completing, because our teams cost $100,000/month.

Answer (cells in green are scope worth completing. Red cells are scope we should cut):

III: Team allocation and cost savings

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Further Questions

What teams would you cut? (Candidate should explain their logic/structure)

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Questions on This Case

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Question about

Cost savings?

on Aug 28, 2020

Global

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BCG - YodaPhone i

Case Prompt:

Sample Structure

II. Scope analysis

III: Team allocation and cost savings

Further Questions

BCG - YodaPhone