What does Kitty Hawk Consulting do?
In the past we did management consulting, in much the same way as we had done as part of consulting firms such as Ernst & Young and KMPG Consulting.
Since 2005, we have mainly focused on what we call lean-agile-scrum. By doing training, coaching, and consulting.
We help our clients make their new products, their innovations or their projects successful. Go to LeanAgileTraining.com for more information on these services.
Approaches
Agile: We are very excited about the successes we have seen using the empirical process control approaches in lean-agile-scrum. To support people in these areas, we offer certifications in Scrum, other lean-agile training, agile coaching, and consulting. In various lean-agile-scrum approaches.
Other: We also have extensive experience with a variety of other project approaches, including various SDMs, Six Sigma SDMs, a variety of client SDLCs, CMMI approaches, and other approaches. Frankly, in our work and with our customer base, we have found Lean-Agile-Scrum to be much more effective.
Knowledge Areas
We have SME-level knowledge and resources in a number of domains that can be helpful to our clients. These include:
- the financial services industry: specifically the securities industry and the banking industry
- a wide range of experience doing IT projects in large financial services firms (in NYC, London and Charlotte)
- the mortgage industry
- the mutual fund and retirement services industries
- the credit card industry
- other industries (telecom, software start-ups, etc, etc.)
- specific knowledge in the activities associated with getting business domain knowledge transferred into a software product or project
- a wide range of experience in strategy and process improvement analysis approaches
We believe strongly in the importance of understanding the end customer. This is often hard, but there is no substitute for it.
For process improvement, Lean and Six Sigma have impressed us. We highlight one challenge: the customer, without thinking about it, looks at the product in a holistic way, while in practice process improvement seems to have to be done only after decomposing the product a level or two. This is a serious risk.
In the securities industry, our customers have been major players in the securities field. Our main customer groups are capital markets traders, asset managers, and investor services providers. We also support their customers and related parties.
We are small, so we can focus on your specific needs. And we have a wide range of associates and contacts, to assist you in bringing the most effective skills to bear on your needs.
Our consulting typically involves identifying business goals, improving operations, and identifying and developing technology and related solutions. We like to roll up our sleeves and assist with the implementation. We do not like ideas or Powerpoints where no rubber meets the road.