Expert Systems: Institutionalize Know-How,

Increase Capacity, Accelerate Processes, Lower

Costs, Increase Impact, and Improve Quality
The 4 Levels of Expertise

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The Goal of Your Expert System

1. To build the expertise into your business instead of letting it sit vulnerably just in the
grey matter of your team.
2. To help you reliably fulfill on your promises.
3. To increase the value you generate for your clients.
4. To differentiate your value offering from your competition.
5. To help you scale your production and fulfillment capacity.
6. To drive down your costs and hence increase your profits.
Caution: You must balance cash flow and capacity.
Think ITERATIONS!

The 5 Steps to Build Your Expert System Version 3.0

1. Define all deliverables (External and Internal).
2. Lay out the process.
a. The Sticky Note Flow Chart
b. Re-design/refine and lay out your improved process
3. Determine the optimal level of expertise needed for each step.
4. Control for consistency.
5. Map out the key components of your Expert System to build first.

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First Things First: Define All Deliverables

A deliverable is any promise youve made to your client, and any internal result you have to
produce in order to meet all your client promises.

Always start your list of deliverables from the clients view what have you promised them?

Beware Phantom Deliverables what does your client THINK youve promised them?

Now move to define all the key internal results/output you have to produce in order to meet
on your client promises.

Examples of deliverables with a service:

o External:
Written contract for them to use for their business deal
Internal:
o Choose correct template from contract library
o Gather complete deal points in writing
o Scheduling in client intake session
o Proofread final contract
o Review opposing counsels comments
o Etc.
Completed tax return
Internal:
o Get client financials
o Have client sign engagement letter
o Set up client billing
o Etc.
Diagnosis and treatment plan
Internal:
o Have nurse get patient history
o Take blood and order labs
o Review test results
o Get insurance billing information
Fixed heating unit
Internal:
o Schedule technician to go onsite
o Have equipment needed on-site
o Order needed parts
Etc.

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Examples of deliverables with a product-based company:

o External:
100 assemblies according to specs by Jan 10th.
Internal:
o Have raw materials on hand
o Have machines properly set up
o Schedule in operators to run machines
o Create production schedule
o Etc.
24oz of high quality shampoo
Internal:
o Manage inventory from supplier
o Pack orders on pallets as they come in
o Quality check before pallets sealed and shipped
o Etc.
5 year warranty
Internal:
o Have written warranty contract created by attorney
o Track purchaser history to manage warranty rights
o Have client services line, website, and email set up and
monitored to handle warranty claims
o Have internal guidelines for handling warranty claims
o Etc.

With this understanding its time to use the Experts Systems Creation Tool.

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Expert Systems Tool

Goal:

To help you capture the expertise in

some area of your business in a formal, replicable,
scalable system.

Lower costs; increase value; scale

capacity; differentiate offering;
control quality.

Step 1: Define Deliverables

External Deliverables

Internal Deliverables

What is this system supposed to produce for your

customer? These are your external deliverables.
They may include a product your customer is
supposed to get by a certain date, a service
feature to a certain standard, or even a report or
recommendation on a specific challenge. Now its
time for you to clearly define ALL the deliverables
you have promised (and they think youve promised)
to your customer.

Internal deliverables are those things that you have

to produce, create, deliver, etc. in order to meet
your external deliverables to your client. They may
include collecting certain customer information and
entering that into your system, holding an internal
project meeting to map out a timeline, handing
off the project from person A to person B, or even
subcontracting certain portions of the finished
product and managing your sub to deliver their
piece on time and up to standards. Brainstorm all
the internal deliverables that youll need to produce,
create, deliver, etc. so that in the end your company
meets all its customer promises.

q
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Phantom Deliverables: These deliverables that

werent promised but the customer believes
they were.

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Copyright 2013 David Finkel. All rights reserved.

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Step 2: Lay Out the Process

Part A: The Sticky Note Flow Chart
Now the fun begins! Grab a pad of sticky notes and
your list of deliverables. Lay out the process to
create and deliver on all those deliverables (internal
and external). We suggest that you put one step
per sticky note so you can move it with ease as you
lay out the process. Get to it!

Step 3: Determine
Optimal Level
of Expertise
Part B: Clean Up & Lay Out Your Refined Process
Go back over your sticky note process. Considering the results you are
trying to generate, how could you redesign this process to be: Faster?
Cheaper? Higher quality? Greater impact? Better linkages? More
scalable? Lay out your refined process below. Feel free to chunk
steps together to keep the process manageable.
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
Step 5:
Step 6:
Step 7:
Step 8:
Step 9:
Step 10:
Step 11:
Step 12:
Step 13:
Step 14:
Step 15:
Step 16:
Step 17:
Step 18:
Step 19:
Step 20:

Copyright 2013 David Finkel. All rights reserved.

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Step 4: Control for Consistency

q Create your Master Process Timeline.
q Create your Master Process Checklist.
Key Insights to Control for Consistency:
The more you can automate, semi-automate, and template the easier it is to control for consistency.
Streamline the processfewer steps, by fewer people, leads to fewer problems.
Pay particular attention to the critical linkages script them out and reinforce them.
Standardize wherever you can so you can accelerate the process, increase efficiencies, lower costs,
increase impact, and improve quality.

Step 5: Map Out the Key Components

of Your Expert System to Build First
Choose two blocks of your expert system to focus on building or refining in the next
90 days. On the next page youll lay out the following 6 components for both blocks.
Key Step(s):
Which step(s) from your redesigned process are you focusing on for this block?
Name of This Block:
Give this block a name (e.g. New Client Launch, Quality Review Process, etc.) This makes it easier
for you and your team to work with it.
Critical Knowledge:
What know how about this expert system is locked in the heads of a key team member? Identify this
tribal knowledge so you can formally capture and share it.
Training:
What training and cross-training will which team members need in order to be successful in using this
expert system (at least this block of your expert system)?
Tools:
What tools, templates, and automation would make this block of your expert system faster, cheaper,
better?
Controls:
What internal controls (Visual, Procedural, Embedded) would best help your business make sure this
block of your expert system works exceptionally?

Copyright 2013 David Finkel. All rights reserved.

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BLOCK Step(s)
ONE

Critical Knowledge

Training

Tools

Controls

Top 3 Action Steps to Apply:

Who

By When

Who

By When

q 1.
q 2.
q 3.

BLOCK Step(s)
TWO

Critical Knowledge

Training

Tools

Controls

Top 3 Action Steps to Apply:

q 1.
q 2.
q 3.
Copyright 2013 David Finkel. All rights reserved.

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15 Power Questions to Ask When You Refine or Redesign an Expert System

1. Which deliverables REALLY matter? Which deliverables are nice, but not essential?
Which deliverables actually get in the way and are not wanted?
2. Can we / how can we reduce the steps and still generate the desired results? And
generate an IMPROVED result?
3. How could we decrease the resources needed and still generate the desired results? And
generate an IMPROVED result?
4. Can we / how can we combine steps to simplify the process?
5. Can we repurpose and existing system or tool to save us time or give us a better result?
6. How can we speed up this process?
7. How can we automate this process (or part of this process)?
8. How can we semi-automate this process (or part of this process)?
9. How can we template this process (or part of this process)?
10. How can we lower the costs of doing this process without impacting the value of the
output?
11. What simple changes or improvements can we make to increase the value of the output?
12. Who else in the world has a related process or tool we can learn from to help us better
design this process?
13. Could we outsource any parts to this system? Does it really make sense long term to do
this?
14. How could we make the system more robust? More stable? Less prone to error?
15. How could you upgrade the value the system creates (internally or externally)? Increase
the value in a way that decreases the cost to produce the result? Or marginally increases
the cost to produce but so enhances the value of the output that you can get a price
increase for the value offering now?

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