Step 3: Concept Development

The second phase in our proven process is the concept development phase. In this phase we will hold one or more meetings to present our initial concept to the stakeholder group. In the initial Stakeholder Engagement meeting, we collect information about your business and your needs. In the second phase, we convert those needs into an experiential concept - i.e. how will you interact with these systems. By starting with the experiential design, we aim to focus the attention on the user, and not the technology. This is essential to driving project success.

In the concept meetings, we will also present visualizations and descriptions of the systems we’re considering. Along with this we will also present early stage budget guidance. This is an important part of the discussion to arm you with the information you need to put decision into context. Here’s a few things to consider before the concept review meetings:

THIS IS YOUR DESIGN

Remember that this is your design, we are simply facilitating. Its important that the experience we present to you meet your expectations. If it doesn’t, it’s important that we speak openly and candidly to get us back on target.

YOUR FEEDBACK IS CRITICAL

Don’t be shy. It’s important that you provide the stakeholder team with your feedback. It’s important that the team explore this feedback in a group where it can be balanced against the input and feedback of others. Everyone in the stakeholder group has a voice at the table and it’s critical that we hear all feedback to ensure critical alignment around function, budget, and schedule.

LETS TALK ABOUT MONEY

In the concept meeting, we will present some early budget guidance. It’s important to understand what this budget guidance means and how it will inform your decisions moving forward. In order to provide a comparable point of reference, initial budget guidance will be based upon manufacturers suggested resale price (MSRP). Budget guidance is also based upon recent comparable projects so that we’re working with real world data. It’s critically important that the stakeholder group find alignment around budget at this stage so that we can proceed to final design with confidence.

YES, NO, AND MAYBE

To help streamline the discussions and decisions, we will often encourage the stakeholder group to put various options into three piles. Yes, No, and Maybe. By doing this we can move the dialog forward without needing to account for every space. As an example. You may have 5 boardrooms but may not be sure if you need audiovisual support in all rooms. In this case we may resolve that 3 rooms are YES and 2 are Maybe. We will budget to include the 3 rooms and allocate power, conduit and data support for the remaining twos so you can add them back in easily in the future.