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What is Project Management Consulting?

Consulting Services at TCGen Inc.

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Time and money are gained or lost every day at the project level.

The decisions teams make at the micro level, at each hour of the day, can make the difference between meeting or breaking schedules and budgets; between having a superb or a merely adequate feature set; between having a product that delights customers, or standing in the middle of the pack.

TCGen’s approach to project management is at the level of the Project Management Office (PMO). We take a product portfolio view of project management because product development projects cannot be optimized in isolation. We help companies control the complex dependencies between one project and another that help prevent projects from tripping over one another. Our methods to help manage processes often include clarifying responsibilities, especially the roles that project managers and leaders play in the decision-making process.  

We’re making better decisions, faster.

– Apple Executive

A proven track record.

At BOSE, TCGen founder John Carter managed the development of products such as the BOSE® Wave® Music System and Noise-Cancelling Headphones, enjoyed by millions of customers world-wide. In addition, John designed and implemented the Apple New Product Process (ANPP) which is used throughout all product divisions. He has over 25 years of consulting experience in Project Management and Program Management. John has developed a library of Best Practices for improving the scheduling and execution of projects and has authored and delivered training courses for blue chip companies.

We have helped many organizations such as HP, Cisco, and Amazon with their project management processes.

We combined the best ideas from Agile/Scrum methodologies, high performance teaming, and project leadership models, with the current systems to create a synergy of 1 + 1 = 3.  We work with leaders to bridge where they are today with where they want to be without scrapping the practices that got them to where they are.

We implement focused solutions.

We apply the art of the possible by identifying the largest problem that we can tackle, but not so large that we can’t make rapid strides. The result is sustainable change. 

TCGen’s Agile approach includes…

  • A lightweight process that manages the day-to-day decisions that move and filter product concepts as they make their way toward the pipeline
  • An Agile transformation methodology that includes the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFE)
  • A methodology that aligns the Board, the CEO, Business Development and the rest of the C-Suite down to scrum masters.  

TCGen’s Project Management consulting expertise addresses a range of problems…

  • Gazelles, companies that have bounded past the start-up level, often face the problem of managing multiple projects (scaling from one project to many). Some of the basic maneuvers associated with Project Management elude fast growing companies and create headaches over resource allocation, product marketing plans, and in a host of other matters. We work with maturing technology companies to help them scale and achieve the next level of product development performance by developing multiple roadmaps in parallel.
  • Mid-sized companies, managing 5 to 20 product development projects, often face knots and bottlenecks because a relatively small number of projects compete for the same pool of resources and executive attention. Often, supporting the past release competes for efforts devoted to new products. Our boundary conditions process, that defines the parameters of a project while empowering teams to the maximum, is especially effective for companies in this range. 
  • Larger companies, especially in mature industries, sometimes need to evolve their Project Management practices and upscale the capabilities in the Program Office. We recently helped Roche develop “Advanced Program Management” capabilities to improve execution and predictable delivery. Larger companies looking to go leaner, take advantage of our Project Management tools and trainings to create incremental improvements in project speed and predictability.

Customized Solutions

Whether you are large or small, a start-up or an established firm, we develop the project plan along with you to create an engagement that creates Agile teams and achieves measurable product development goals. 

Assessment & Planning

Our proprietary assessment process yields deep insights for your team. We identify the root causes behind the product portfolio management challenges you face and develop solutions that improve your ability to select winners and allocate resource to projects.

Predictive Metrics

Expertise in metrics is a hallmark of TCGen. We rely on measurement to motivate change and monitor progress. We measure the right behaviors to ensure that the changes take hold and continue to produce lasting results.

Sustainable Best Practices

Your investment in TCGen earns increased organizational capability. We not only implement Best Practices but we also teach you how to build on the improvements so that your company is prepared for the next challenge.

TCGen Principal & Founder

John Carter

John Carter specializes in product development, from the strategy and innovation processes to product definition, execution, and launch. He has helped companies cut time to market, rapidly scale their product program, and improve innovation with customer-led insights. His work leads to greater profitability, reduced costs, and improved customer satisfaction.

John currently serves on the Board of Directors of Cirrus Logic (CRUS), a leading supplier of mixed-signal semiconductors. He is involved with company strategy and sits on the Compensation and Audit Committees.

Before starting the consulting firm TCGen, John was the Chief Engineer of BOSE Corporation. John is the inventor of the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones and shares the original patent with Dr. Amar Bose. He was one of the initial contributors to BOSE’s entry into the automobile OEM business. He led the product and business development of BOSE’s patented noise reduction technology for the military market.

John Carter, TCGen Principal & Founder