Inside KDG’s Strategic Plan 2026: Professional Services

As part of KDG’s Strategic Plan 2026 leadership interview series, we spoke with Matt Harwick, VP of Professional Services, about the way Triple Fit Strategy is reshaping how his team approaches delivery, planning, and client partnership.

“Strategic Plan 2026 reinforced something I’ve been pushing our Professional Services team toward: we’re shifting from delivery to outcomes. Completing a task is not the same as creating value,” Matt began.

Professional Services teams are often closest to the technical work. They build features, manage enhancements, and support clients daily. That proximity can make it easy to focus on tasks and timelines. Strategic Plan 2026 sharpened the expectation that execution alone is not enough.

The responsibility of Professional Services extends beyond building what is requested. It requires understanding the underlying business problem and the outcome the client is trying to influence. When that context is missing, even technically correct work can miss its mark.

“If someone on our team is being asked to do something, they need to understand the underlying cause. What business problem are we solving? What outcome are we trying to move?”

This mindset represents a critical shift and elevates the role of Professional Services from implementers to strategic contributors in the client’s success.

The Triple Fit Strategy has influenced how Matt’s team approaches planning at every stage of engagement. Work orders and scoped features are no longer defined solely by functionality. They are anchored in business impact. That approach extends beyond initial scoping and into quality assurance.

“The biggest shift in planning is that we’re intentionally moving toward tying every task and request to a business outcome. …Our QA team isn’t just validating that something technically works. They’re also asking whether it actually solves the intended business problem.”

Triple Fit challenges the team to zoom out. A feature can function perfectly and still fail to create meaningful impact. By tying planning directly to business objectives, Professional Services reduces rework, increases clarity, and strengthens alignment with long-term client success.

As KDG continues its ascent through 2026, this planning discipline ensures that momentum is measured not in completed tickets, but in outcomes achieved.

One of the most tangible changes coming out of Strategic Plan 2026 is what Matt calls a “Client Success Definition” step.

“Even when a client knows exactly what they want and we know exactly how to build it, we’re going to pause and define how success will be measured.”

Before significant work begins, the team will clarify what changes as a result of the project and what metric improves. This early alignment creates a shared anchor for both KDG and the client.

“Instead of completing work and hoping it delivers value, we’ll have a shared understanding of what ‘success’ actually means from day one.”

For clients, this results in fewer surprises and more intentional outcomes. For the team, it provides clarity that guides decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.

Strategic Plan 2026 emphasized role-play, modeled behaviors, and accountability. Matt is embedding those lessons directly into department routines.

“We’re baking roleplay directly into our Professional Services meetings. In our internal sessions, team members will bring real scenarios they’re experiencing - good, bad, or somewhere in between. We’ll roleplay them together. That could be a difficult scope conversation, a pushback on timeline, or even a situation that went perfectly.”

“Even when something goes well, if we don’t break down why it worked, we miss the opportunity to learn from it. And if someone handled a tough conversation successfully, the rest of the team should benefit from that experience.”

There is a practical element to this approach. Confidence grows with repetition. Practicing challenging conversations in a safe environment raises the bar across the team, not just for one member. By sharing these situations and seeing how other members might respond to them, it allows for everyone to learn the KDG approach.

“It’s one thing to conceptually know how to respond to a challenging client moment. It’s another to practice it in a safe environment. Even if it feels a little silly at times, it creates consistency and raises the overall level of client interaction across the team.”

The result is stronger communication, and more resilient partnerships.

Matt reflected on a past engagement that underscored why Triple Fit matters. In a fast-moving client environment, the team completed exactly what had been requested. However, the deliverable did not fully address the underlying need.

That experience highlighted the risk of reacting to requests without digging deeper.

“Going forward, we’re being more intentional about digging into the underlying business need behind requests - even when the request seems straightforward. That small investment in clarity up front reduces rework, avoids wasted effort, and ultimately helps the client get what they actually need, not just what they initially asked for.”

The shift is not about slowing projects unnecessarily. It is about ensuring that the “why” behind a request is understood before execution begins. When Triple Fit is fully embedded, clients should feel that KDG is not merely building what is asked for, but guiding them toward what will actually move their business forward.

“…a great example of what strong partnership looks like and why it matters: 

Our team has spent significant time onsite with [the client], in their building, learning how their operation works in real life – not just how their systems work on paper. That level of involvement has helped us understand their day-to-day workflow, where their current processes break down, and what outcomes truly matter to their organization.”

Strategic Plan 2026 represents a meaningful evolution for Professional Services. By focusing on outcomes over outputs, defining success upfront, and embedding accountability into daily practice, Matt’s team is strengthening its role as a strategic partner.

As KDG continues its climb, the goal is not simply to move quickly, but to move in the right direction.