work. Gather this information as soon as
consultants arrive and continue to do so throughout the life of the project.
Too often, the introduction of a consulting firm to a project is viewed as a panacea.
Often, an IT organization abdicates de facto management of the project to consultants because the consultants have the required skill, the experience, and the personnel to accomplish the project. Also, many IT managers mistake the high expense of hiring consultants as an assurance of success.
Ultimately, an IT organization cannot pass off a project’
s success or failure to
consultants. Managing consultants is no different than any other IT management issue and, to be successful, it must be done well. Managing the relationship among consultants, members of the IT department, and business customers adds another level of complexity to the already complex issue of managing an IT department. A part of initial project planning is allocating resources for managing consultants.
REASONS FOR HIRING CONSULTANTS
Requiring the assistance of consultants can be due to a number of circumstances.
Sometimes, as in the case of Y2K projects, consultants are needed because they possess a certain level of skill and experience to carry out specific work. Assignments of that type are referred to in the consulting industry as staff supplementation.
Managing supplemental staff is the most straightforward. Usually, such consultants work under the direct control of a manager, and assignments are closely monitored.
Most staff supplementation assignments are completed satisfactorily. Any problems that may arise can be easily handled because the scope of the consulting assignment is limited, and the IT manager responsible for the effort thoroughly understands the project.
When an IT project grows in size and complexity, IT management often has to decide whether or not the department has the necessary resources and experience.
When the answer is no, bringing in consultants is the answer. IT projects need not be large or complex to require the assistance of c onsultants. In smaller projects, an IT department may not have the required staff or skill. In such a case, bringing in a consulting firm is a sound business decision.
When an organization decides to adopt new technology, it must weigh the risk associated with that technology and how long it will be until the technology yields benefits. Both risks can be reduced by hiring consultants experienced with a particular new technology. Because consultants are involved in a variety of assignments for different clients, they often become familiar with the new technology as soon as it is introduced and thereby provide sound assistance.
When considering a consulting firm for implementing new technology, move carefully.
It is easy for an unscrupulous consultant to quic kly gain superficial knowledge of a given technology. Such consultants banter about new terms associated with an emerging technology to deceive potential customers. IT managers must see beyond a consultant’
s marketing approach in order to clearly determine the level of skill and experience the consultant has with the new technology.
Another word of caution: some consultants work well with the technology but lack skill in dealing with people and documenting assignments. When selecting a consultant in new areas of technology, find someone who not only can deal with the technology, but can also provide training and documentation. The goal is not only to move to a new technology, it is also to be certain that the IT organization can manage the new technology once a consultant leaves.
IT management sometimes decides to turn an entire project over to a consulting organization because of resource or skill constraints. Sometimes, giving an entire project over to consultants is done reluctantly. Sometimes, particularly in projects
seen as high risk or otherwise undesirable, IT management willingly hands over an assignment to consultants.
Often, consultants are given full responsibility for legacy systems because IT
organizations would rather not manage these systems, which poses processing and management challenges. Handing over legacy systems to consultants cannot be seen as a final solution to legacy-related problems. IT management must oversee them. If, in handing the work over to consultants, an IT department has not remained aware of changes made in legacy applications or in operational procedures, unfortunate surprises may arise.
If an IT function is poorly managed or is perceived to be poorly managed by senior management, consultants may be hired to manage the IT department. In such circumstances, members of the IT department are not going to be in a position to exercise control over the consultants. As such, consultants are in charge, often in spite of pronouncements from senior management that such is not the case. Dealing with this type of situation is beyond the scope of this chapter, but it is worth noting.
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE IT CUSTOMER
If the consulting assignment is to be successful, IT managers (i.e., customers) must understand what has to be done to ensure success. The first consideration has to be that the customer, despite any understanding with the consulting firm to the contrary, is the “owner” of the system and, as a result, has to accept final responsibility for the success or failure of the project. The work of the consultants, good or bad, affects the business of the organization to a greater extent than it affects the consultants. If the project fails, the organization is harmed. Consultants will also be harmed, but they will also move on to the next project. A salient question here has to be, “Who has the most to lose if things do not go well?” The answer is: the customer.
Because customers have the most to lose in a relationship with a consulting organization, they must understand the ramifications of dealing with consultants and be prepared to manage the relationship to their benefit. They must understand how to manage a consulting relationship. The following points help to make clear issues in selecting and managing IT consultants:
§ The customer must have a very clear understanding of the work to be done.
As consulting organizations are considered for the assignment, the customer must be willing to devote whatever time and effort will be required to make certain the consultants understand the deliverables they will be expected to produce. Those deliverables have to be committed to writing and the document signed by all parties.
§ A search should be conducted in order to identify several consulting organizations that have the capability to do the required work. It may be that the organization has a relationship with a consulting organization, and as a result, that firm is in a favorable position; but it is always a good practice to request several bids for any work to be contracted.
§ Formal proposals should be solicited from each of the consulting organizations that have an interest in the project. Those proposals should respond to the
customer’
s set of project criteria. Part of this criteria is the set of project deliverables. Customers should develo p a baseline from which all responses can be judged.
§ If there is a need, the customer should hire someone to assist in developing the criteria required to prepare the proposals for the consultants. If help is required in preparing the proposal, the work should be done by a disinterested third party, who will not be involved in bidding for the project.
§ The customer must be aware of, and resist, the tendency to be swayed by well-done marketing campaigns. Being able to market services well should not be taken as assurance that the same level of competency will carry over into the technical work.
§ Resumes of individual consultants proposed for the project should be reviewed. The IT customer should also ask to meet with each person proposed for the project to make certain that he or she will be a good fit for the project and IT organization.
Establish an agreement with the consulting firm such that those candidates the customer has selected for the project are the ones who show up on the project. It does occur that people are switched. Usually, that new person is not of the same caliber as the person who was originally presented. This may cost extra, but is often worth the added expense.
§ Carefully review references supplied by consulting firms. In checking those references, try to find out the names of other organizations for whom a consulting company has done work. Obviously, the consulting firm is going to provide the names of satisfied customers. A little extra digging can sometimes turn up important pieces of information. When negative information is uncovered, a customer can ask the consulting firm for answers.
§ The customer should inquire about the existence of a quality assurance function within the consulting organization. Consulting organizations concerned about quality review proposals to make certain they stand a reasonable chance of successfully completing assignments. If there are doubts, such consulting firms will work with a customer to overcome any problems.
§ Consulting organizations often offer a standard contract. Such an agreement may not be adequate for a customer, who should insist on adjustments. In any event, the contract must be reviewed by a customer’