Performance clinic for project managers
A human resource information system (HRIS) professional services company trained project managers the conventional way: two weeks of presentation in the disciplines of project management. After lack of results, management initiated an overhaul. We transformed the program into a four-day training simulation using a fictitious project and the company's tools, policies, and best practices. The company realized faster time to competence at lower training costs. More ...

Product Manager performance clinic
When a large West Coast bank pulled together a product management team for their online banking presence, they pulled expertise from many backgrounds. Management did not want to stifle independence and award-winning creativity by instituting a product review committee. Instead, they called on Ratcliff Consultants to create a performance clinic to increase process knowledge. We paired a wiki-based toolkit with a clinic based on a challenging assignment. As a result, a pipeline of ready-to-fund product concepts was created and product ideas were vetted before development began.

IT Architect performance clinic
This course identifies and develops candidates for the lead architect role in a large computer maker's global customer services division. It blends instruction in best practices and architecture patterns with a four-episode simulation of a customer architecture engagement. Participants interact with the "client" to identify goals, business drivers, and requirements. They create models that further refine requirements. Using reference architectures and patterns, they develop alternative proposals.

Fundamentals training for clinical research site monitors
This large pharmaceuticals company was gearing up for an expanded clinical research function. Processes for managing research sites are defined at a high level, but are not yet implemented consistently. To meet demands for growth in the function and for consistent application of work processes, this online course consists of blended online training, animated process explanations, simulated site visit tasks, challenge activities, and coaching by subject matter experts. Whether a participant “tests out” or works through each module, at the end they conduct a simulated site visit to demonstrate their competencies. The simulated site visit is designed with the most frequent and critical errors that site monitors may find on the job. More ...

Problem-solving case studies for managers of clinical trials
This course provides practice and coaching for solving complex problems encountered by clinical trial managers. The course begins with a phone call from a worried site manager: Study drug in the wrong dosage was shipped. What should she do? Participants form their best strategy and receive feedback about how they succeed or founder. The feedback embeds a tailored 9-step problem-solving process. In three successive rounds, participants apply what they’ve learned to different management problems and get additional coaching.

Interactive process toolkit
To address the problem of inconsistency in how a complex process was implemented between teams, we produced an online toolkit mapped to high-level flows. The toolkit, designed for both experienced and novice clinical trial site monitors, provides guidelines, forms, checklists, templates, tracking tools, and references. The business process is layed out like a route map that the user can "drill down" for more detail. By clicking on a station, the user searches and displays a categorized list of the tools that are used at that station. More...

Business process transformation
To support a business process transformation from functional units to workflow-enabled customer-focused teams, we developed a package of training and resources to facilitate the transition. The implementation included:
• Employee-driven business process redesign
• Change management sessions
• Performance clinics simulating the new work environment and system
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Project lead performance clinic for county government
A local agency thought they had a project management problem. Departments failed to coordinate their parts of county projects. The result was duplicated resources, unmet needs, and a concern about leadership among management and employees alike. Following a short needs assessment, we identified the root cause of coordination at project intake and start-up. Within two days, we created a project intake simulation to train project leads from each department. The simulation resulted in a new intake function for the agency, clarified roles, and an action plan for each department's project staff.

Online product release training
The client needed to roll out a new product to an internal staff in a quick, efficient, and interesting way. We created a simulated radio call-in show interviewing an experienced consultant. This 30-minute "training" was delivered online with a scripted interview and visuals. Actors playing call-in participants allowed the host to clarify prospecting, address objections, describe successful implementations, and improve product knowledge.