About Maven

Models, frameworks & IP

Model	Summary
NextPlays	NextPlays helps innovators achieve strong and resilient communities. Part research, part collaborative workshops, part prototyping labs – the NextPlays futures and innovation platform focuses on transforming ideas into workable, bankable, sustainable solutions.
Strategy-at-a-Glance	Presenting the essence of any organisation’s strategies on a single page, SAAG clearly links vision, implementation and key success measures. A SAAG is a high-impact communications tool – it doesn’t sit on a shelf gathering dust.
Organisation Transformation	Transformational change requires new perspectives and approaches, and the courage to try something completely different. It needs strong and inspirational leadership balanced with a pragmatic implementation approach. Maven has invested significantly in developing intellectual property in the transformation space, drawing on knowledge from international think tanks and research houses, governments, universities and companies.
Productivity Improvement	Organisations seeking to improve productivity and reduce costs often don’t know where to start. Maven’s multi-dimensional toolset aims to create sustainable productivity improvement. Based on aspects of LEAN, it includes status assessments, investment prioritisation, capacity optimisation, value management and performance tracking.
Product Commercialisation	Many New Zealand organisations have developed innovative systems and services. Maven’s commercialisation framework helps navigate the maze of planning, research, development, trialling, marketing, funding and quality management activities all needed to realise a return on existing investments.
Service Design	Our staged approach to service design spans customer and market analysis, service gap and opportunity assessment, future-state modelling and definition, channel strategy, capability development, operations management, and a robust approach to change management and benefits planning.
Accelerated Top-down Process Redesign	Maven provides a full range of process improvement services, from full organisation reengineering to enhancing individual processes. In the mid-range, our Accelerated Top-down Redesign approach allows us to identify a set of target processes that will provide ‘best bang for buck’. ATR covers design principles, conceptual modelling, impact assessment and detailed design.
3D Branding	Maven’s model generates a 3-dimensional view of brand meaning, architecture and visual identity. Our balanced approach considers stakeholder, customer, governance, management, culture and employment perspectives. We focus on creating strong brands through potency of meaning and consistency of application.
SME Business Planning and Governance	Through workshops, one-on-one mentoring and Maven’s business planning framework, we provide small and medium size business with a new way of looking at the process and benefits of business planning. Our approach includes light techniques and tools for evaluating ideas and opportunities, and building business plans, and addresses the development of effective strategies and governance for growing organisations.
IS Strategic Planning	Maven’s ISSP framework is scalable and flexible to meet the needs of different client types and sizes, and places business strategy and operational imperatives at the centre. We use a balanced scorecard approach to address all aspects of IS technology, governance, service management, standards and capability. We assess the current state, define the future state, specify the changes needed, and present plans for implementation and benefits realisation.
OD Mapping	Outcomes are hard to measure, as they are separated in time from the delivery activity that creates them. Our Outcome-Deliverable Mapping toolkit helps measure progress towards the realisation of outcomes, and the contribution and relationship between multiple projects and outputs in achieving benefits. OD Mapping complements Investment Logic Mapping through adding supporting detail.
SEAM	Effective stakeholder engagement is critical to successfully delivering the outcomes sought from change. Maven’s Stakeholder Engagement and Management approach uses identification, analysis and engagement planning tools to build stakeholder management into change activity from the start.
80/80 Estimation	80/80 Estimation is a light but structured approach designed to support planning and business case development for programmes and projects. It builds range estimates around what’s most likely to happen, then extends to accommodate risk and ‘outlier’ factors. It’s designed to be used from the early scoping stage, then revised to increase precision over time.
Negotiation	Maven is a strategic partner of ENS, an international negotiation and influencing organisation, and our negotiation services are based on ENS’s internationally proven negotiating approach. We also train executives and senior managers in successful negotiation approaches and skills.
Public Sector Procurement	Maven has developed our own good practice frameworks and processes – including for sourcing strategies and purchasing management – that focus on the special needs of public sector organisations. Our approach and toolkit are designed to successfully pass probity reviews.
Public Sector Business Cases	Our approach to business case development combines a practical method, stakeholder management, and early socialisation with both internal and central agency stakeholders. We ensure the approach remains aligned with public sector requirements and international best practice for investment management and benefits realisation planning.
Project Training	We offer practical and tightly focused introductory workshops aimed at project sponsors and line managers who will govern and lead projects. We tailor and run these workshops for public and private sector clients, and follow them up with one-on-one mentoring.