04 A digital-twin business model in 40 hours

How we built a rigorous, valuable model fast, with the AgileSD approach

Though long past the time when I should have 'retired', I just can't resist interesting projects, like the one a new friend brought me a few weeks ago. It concerns a small but fast-growing B2B business, providing a management-system SAAS platform for a certain type of mid-sized companies.

The business model is essentially simple. The company gets revenue from implementation fees as clients come on board and continuing usage fees. Operating costs are dominated by staff in the various teams. Then there's the costs of running the SAAS platform and the usual overheads of finance, HR and offices.

The initial problem. Clients have questions or problems with the system, so raise support-request 'tickets'. A support team works to resolve those tickets. Although they already struggle to cope with the rate these tickets arrive, the business expects to double in size this year, and keeps launching new platform features! Our initial model showed how to deal with this big problem.

But my friend needs more. He wants a "digital twin" model, playing out how everything in the system changes over time - platform IT development; marketing and partner acquisition, promotion and sales to 3 client segments, client on-boarding and support; all that ticket-handling across 3 teams; the staff development for all these activities; and all the financial results.

And because things are changing fast, their monthly management reports are no use - he needs to see how the business is working week by week.

See the full story at sdl.re/vem04.