DIAGNOSIS: MANAGING CONSULTANCY PROJECTS

Having set up the consultancy project, much of the work then involves problem solving and data collection - topics already covered in Chapter 6. In this section we consider how the project itself is to be managed during its course.

Consultancy work is mostly project-based so all consultants have to have skills in project management. At one end of the project spectrum is the project of perhaps only a few days done by a single consultant. At the other is the major project of a year or more involving a large team of consultants, subcontractors and so on. All demand skills of project management.

The effectiveness with which a project is executed will depend in large measure on the quality of project management. It is not the purpose of this text to provide a comprehensive treatise on project management; there are several standard methodologies available, some of which are used by consultancy practices. Whether or not you are using a standard project management system, however, from the point of view of managing the practice, you need to be assured that project management is being carried out to an appropriate standard of performance.

We have already considered the project plan under terms of reference above. The plan provides a forecast of activity and resources. Without a plan, it is impossible to monitor how things are going and thereby to take corrective action when required.

Principles of Project Planning and Control

I find the metaphor of a journey a useful one to gain an insight into the key components of a project. In planning a journey you have to know where you are going and when you need to be there. You must decide what route you are to take, which means that you need to know where you're starting from and whether there are any limitations on the route you can take. (For example, is the aim to take the fastest route, the prettiest route, or the most economical? Do you need to make a detour to pick some people up on the way?) You will need to make sure that you have the right resources for your trip. (Are you going by car or another form of transport? Will you need to take food?)

Suppose that you are to travel from London to Bristol by road, to arrive in Bristol at a specific time. If you are to be able to control the implementation of your plan, you need to monitor how you are doing; you need to have 'milestones', so that at predetermined points on your route, say Reading and Swindon, you can judge whether you are ahead or behind schedule, and act appropriately. You will also need to be able to tell when you have arrived in Bristol.

On your journey you may have to change your plans because a road might be closed, or there is a severe traffic jam. Indeed, there may be a radio report that causes you to decide to change your destination; you are going to Bristol for a holiday, but reports of bad weather make you decide to go to Exeter instead. Plans may therefore need to change to take account of changed circumstances.

From the metaphor of a journey, you can infer the important features of project planning and control for a consultant:

1. You have to know the purpose of the assignment and why the client wants it done. The deliverables from the project and the timing of their delivery must be defined, stated and agreed.

2. You need to decide what steps are involved in achieving the assignment objectives, and what, if any, subsidiary objectives might affect this plan.

3. You need to ensure you have the resources required.

4. If you are to be able to control the project, you need to programme in some milestones, that is, points during the project at which you can judge progress. It is too late to wait until the end to ask, 'Did we make it?'

5. No business stands still; during the course of an assignment of any duration a business will have moved on. It is therefore probable that the detailed requirements of the assignment will also change.

Other aspects of this metaphor are also helpful; for example, to go on a journey you have to leave your point of departure. Sometimes client staff don't want to leave the past behind, but there will be no progress unless they do.

Project Control

Project control is the process of monitoring actual activity and events against those projected in the project plan. It follows that if the plan is poor, control will be more difficult - control can be only as good as the plan itself. The project manager should maintain records of:

• dates when tasks and phases have been completed;

• dates when deliverables have been made to the client;

• the consumption of time and fees and other resources against budget;

• any other aspects relating to the management of the quality of the project.

If several consultants are involved in a project, the project manager must gather this information regularly from each member of the project team.

It is often useful for the project manager (and consultants in the project team) to keep a 'project diary' - a notebook in which all information relating to the project can be kept. This includes notes of telephone calls, meetings, key decisions and so on. A project diary is particularly necessary when working on projects that are deemed risky. The commercial aspects of risk are dealt with in Chapter 7; there are also operating risks, which occur in the following situations:

• where the project is complex, or depends on innovative techniques;

• where a major section of the client staff is antagonistic to the project;

• where the client is unreliable, for example, in not providing resources as promised;

• where the project is politically sensitive;

• where the consultancy resources are likely to be overstretched;

• where the terms of reference are ill-defined, or likely to change during the project.

The project manager should exercise control through progress reviews. A progress review should be held at each milestone, or more frequently, as set out in the plan. The progress review should cover:

• progress: achievements to date and use of resources, compared with budget;

• problems, actual or anticipated;

• plans, including short-term action, addressing problems, and rescheduling tasks.

This may be summarized in a progress report, which might in addition comment on:

• key meetings held with clients;

• opportunities for further work following on from the project.

The project manager should conclude the report with an overall appraisal of project progress and the state of the client relationship.

During the course of a project, circumstances change and more information becomes available, and so plans made at the start of a project may no longer be appropriate. Replanning should therefore be regarded as the rule, not the exception with projects extending more than several months. Project plans should be amended accordingly. Replanning may influence two important factors: 1) the scheduling of resources and 2) the ability to honour commitments made to clients.

Managing expectations is an important component of maintaining a good client relationship (see Chapter 9). If replanning is necessary, consider what the impact of this will be on the client, and how they should be best kept informed.

Keeping the Client Informed

Client expectations have to be carefully managed, and this must be done through regular contacts with the client. Progress reviews with the client should form part of the project plan. It is particularly important to make sure that the client is kept well informed during the early stages of a project. This is the period when the client may feel more insecure if nothing is heard; frequent reassurance that all is going to plan will build the confidence of the client. The policy with clients should be 'No surprises'.

It is a feature of consultancy projects that things occasionally go wrong, perhaps through unfortunate circumstances, accident, failure of a consultant or client, or simply because individuals do not get on. These situations can be managed and rectified only if they are recognized and dealt with before they become crises. Very often the consultant can handle them alone; on other occasions more help may be required. This can be provided only if the consultant says that help is needed. Similarly, client confidence is bolstered by achievements, and so these should be publicized to the client whenever appropriate.

Changing Terms of Reference

When engaged in the detail of a project, it is easy to lose sight of the project objectives, let alone why the client commissioned it. The terms of reference should be referred to frequently, to ensure the project keeps on track.

It is not unusual for terms of reference to change during a project. This may be because circumstances have changed, or because new information has become available, which means that the scope or outputs of the assignment should change.

It is important that the same rigour of thinking goes into revised terms of reference as in the original. Again, it is essential that client and consultant have expectations in common. Consequently, it is sensible to secure the client's agreement and to document any changes. This is particularly important if the original terms of reference are written. Although changes might be orally agreed, a change of job incumbent or a deterioration in the client relationship may require there to be evidence of the agreed change. In such circumstances, therefore:

1. The implications of the change on the existing project should be assessed.

2. The change and its implications should be discussed and agreed with the client.

3. The change should be documented, in particular noting changes in deliverables, timescales and fees.

As mentioned above, clients' circumstances change over time, so on longer projects changing terms of reference should not be regarded as unusual.