Managing the Consulting Engagement
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The document discusses managing consulting engagements through various phases including evaluation, commitment, engagement, closure, and maintenance. It describes key project management disciplines like general management, subject matter expertise, and project management. Various project management processes are also outlined, such as initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing. Finally, it discusses key project management responsibilities including integration, scope, quality, cost, time, risk, communication, organizational impact, human resources, and procurement.
Managing the Consulting Engagement
- 2. The Consulting Engagement Lifecycle Maintenance Evaluation Closure Commitment Engagement
- 3. Management Disciplines in a Consulting Engagement Project Management Knowledge and Practice General Management Knowledge and Practice Subject Matter Expertise Several management disciplines come to play in a consulting engagement • General management knowledge generally used to plan, organize, staff, execute & control operations of an enterprise • Subject matter expertise on technical elements (software, construction) or industry elements (automotive, financial) • Project management knowledge and practice that this material will focus on in slides ahead
- 4. Deconstructing the Consulting Project Project Management Processes Consulting Engagement Lifecycle Project Management Responsibilities The following sections examine each of these dimensions
- 6. The Consulting Engagement Lifecycle Maintenance Evaluation Closure Commitment Engagement
- 7. Evaluation Ensure that all factors related to the opportunity are considered prior to committing resources to the proposal. The delivery organization decides whether the engagement is aligned to its core competencies and whether the client belongs to its target market segment. Activities Output • Value proposition, potential • Lead qualification benefits, risk ratings • Client organization • Engagement approach: analysis stakeholder identification; • Approach development scope & objectives; effort • Opportunity assessment and cost estimates; project plan outline; skills required;
- 8. Commitment Agree on the engagement parameters of scope, outcome, cost and execution method. If the opportunity is one that the delivery organization wishes to pursue then it builds commitment to the assignment. Activities • Proposal and contract development – Scope definition – Project approach development • Contract negotiation and agreement Output • An approach, scope and objectives to the potential project • One of the following: – A signed contract – Decision not to propose – Client decision to not accept the proposal
- 9. Engagement Transition to the envisioned state within the agreed scope. This stage is the ‘‘main course’’ of the project. The consultant builds on output from previous stages and proceeds as per the method decided earlier to achieve the outcomes agreed in the contract. Activities Output • Mobilize team • Analyze issues & envision solution • Implement recommendation • Project management documentation • Sign offs on deliverables & work products • Final deliverable to meet the project objective
- 10. Closure Close the project with client agreeing that contracted outcomes have been achieved. Evaluation of project results determine the extent to which anticipated goals have been achieved. Activities Output • Measure client satisfaction • • Harvest project knowledge • • Confirm project completion • Demobilize team • Finalize billing • Plan ongoing maintenance Formal closure report, including measurement criteria & results Debriefing report & updated knowledgebase
- 11. Maintenance It isn’t over until it’s over. For the successful consultant it is never over. Consultants develop a strategy for maintaining client contact, protecting their investment, and expanding to other areas within the account. Activities Output • Enhanced relationship • Keeping client updated between the client and with industry trends and the consultant consultant events • Receiving client feedback • A returning client for a subsequent assignment on success resulting from consulting assignment
- 14. Process Iterations and Overlaps Project management processes overlap with each other and repeat in each stage of the engagement lifecycle Maintain Evaluate Close Commit Engage Executing Planning Closing Initiating Controlling
- 15. Initiating Defining a project and organizing to start a project or a project phase. A detailed project plan may not exist in the Evaluation phase. However, follow-on phases are initiated based on the plan developed as a deliverable of the previous phase Activities • Mobilize infrastructure for project • Identify all project stakeholders and their goals or interests • Communicate with stakeholders to firm up their commitments
- 16. Planning Developing / maintaining a plan to execute the project phase. Planning defines what needs to be done when, by whom, & required resources. It’s a continuous process. The Level of detail depends on project phase and intended use. Activities • Scope planning • Resource planning • Activity planning • Expense budgeting • • • • • Infrastructure planning Training to project team Risk mitigation plan Communication strategy Project charter
- 17. Executing Coordinating and authorizing people or other resources to carry out the plan. The project management activities in this phase are implementation of management mechanisms defined in the planning process. Activities • Plan execution • Team development • Scope verification • Communication management • Project procurement administration
- 18. Controlling The purpose of the project management control process is to identify potential problems early and prevent them from happening, or if that is not possible, minimizing their impact. Preventing problems is far easier and less costly than solving them. Activities • Project plan tracking • Project review meetings with stakeholders • Monitor resource utilization • Incidence management: monitor effectiveness of the issue resolution, scope change procedures • Identify potential time, cost over-runs
- 19. Closing Formalizing the acceptance of the project or project phase and documenting lessons learned Activities • Obtain formal confirmation of project phase closure • Measure client satisfaction • Review plan, scope & budget • Obtain formal authorization to proceed to next phase in the project lifecycle • Plan resources, infrastructure for subsequent phases
- 21. Project Management Responsibilities Integration Risk Scope Communication Quality Organization Impact Time HR Management Cost Procurement
- 22. Project Integration Management Ensures coordination of all project elements such as infrastructure, resources, end client buy-in and other project management responsibilities. Activities Output • Project plan development • Project plan execution • Overall change control • • • • Project plan Stakeholder analysis Project charter Agreed project management methodology
- 23. Scope Management No charging at windmills if your contract does not ask you to. Scope management comprises processes to ensure that the project has planned for all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. Activities Output • • • • • Scope / requirements definition • Work breakdown structure • Product baseline control • Project baseline control Scope planning Scope definition Scope verification Scope change control
- 24. Quality Management Ensures that the project will satisfy the agreedupon requirements. Quality management includes quality planning, quality assurance and quality control. Activities Output • Quality planning • Quality assurance • Quality control • Quality management plan • Operational definitions and checklist • Rework and process adjustments
- 25. Cost Management Ensures that the project is completed within the approved budget. Cost management comprises estimating resources & cost, and monitoring & control of cost. Activities Output • • • • • • • • Resource planning Cost estimating Cost budgeting Cost control Resource requirements Cost estimates Cost management plan Budget updates / corrective action
- 26. Time Management Ensures timely completion of the project. It consists of task or activity definition, activity sequencing, resource planning, activity duration estimating, and development & control of project schedules. Activities Output • • • • • Activity list • Project network diagram (Gantt chart, PERT chart) • Project schedule • Schedule updates Activity definition Activity sequencing Schedule development Schedule control
- 27. Risk Management Identifying, assessing, and mitigating project risks associated with factors such as new technology, schedule constraints, availability of skills needed,, and degree of readiness of the user organization to accept changes the solution may introduce. Activities Output • • • • • Risk event statement • Opportunities to pursue/ignore, threats to accept/ respond to • Risk management plan • Corrective action Risk identification Risk quantification Risk response development Risk response control
- 28. Communication Management Provides timely and appropriate generation and dissemination of project information to management and other stakeholders to ensure that their expectations are consistent with the realities of the project. Activities Output • • • • • • • • • Communication planning Information distribution Performance reporting Administrative closure Communications plan Project records and archives Change requests Formal acceptance Lessons learned
- 29. Organizational Impact Management Identifies organizational changes that must occur and develops appropriate communication and training programs for impacted departments and staff to support the new systems and processes Activities Output • Organizational readiness assessment • Stakeholder management • Organizational change plan • Training / knowledge transfer
- 30. Human Resource Management Provides effective leadership and management of the project team. Personal development and growth are key motivators for the project staff. Therefore, fostering development and growth are important parts of project Human Resource Management. Activities Output • Project organization planning • Staff acquisition • Team development • Role & responsibility definitions • Project organization plan • Team directory • Input to performance appraisals
- 31. Procurement Management Includes all the processes required to acquire goods and services from outside the performing organization. Understanding the procurement process of the client organization and obtaining expert support on purchasing critical items for the project to minimize significant project delays. Activities Output • • • • • Procurement management plan • Contracts • Procurement documents • Payment requests • Formal acceptance and closure Procurement planning RFP preparation Source selection Contract negotiation and administration
- 32. Thank You for your interest Managing the Consulting Engagement by Saumya Ganguly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This means you can download, modify and redistribute this presentation non-commercially, as long as you acknowledge this source and license your new document / presentation under the identical terms. Check for credits in the next slide. Please feel free to contact me using the buttons on the right with your feedback or requests for similar material.
- 33. Acknowledgements & Credits Contents sourced from Project Management Methodology, City of Los Angeles A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge, PMI Picture credits Title Slide: Aleksandar Markovic.jpg The Consulting Engagement Lifecycle Project Management Processes Project Management Responsibilities Clipart: Microsoft Office