Making consultants earn their keep

Abstract

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Challenges and Enabling Practices in Management of External Consultants In ICT Projects: an Exploratory Study of Managers’ Perspectives

“…For instance, a research of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementation projects found that external consultants are involved in 83% of the ERP implementation projects (Kumar et al, 2003). Furthermore, consulting services can represent a major cost for organizations (Jackson, 2010;Ehie and Madsen, 2005;Vogl, 1999;Mitchell, 1994;Baker and Faulkner, 1991). For example, Kumar et al (2003) point out that the consulting expenses may account for as much as 70% of the entire ERP implementation project costs.…”

“…Moderate Strong (Jackson, 2010;Kubr, 1993;Aje, 1988) PAYMENT CONTROL: Payment should be linked to performance.…”

“…Nevertheless, before setting mutual goals between consultants and clients, organizations must first clearly define the project goals and objectives before engaging the consultants. The management literature indicates that a clear definition of the problem and goals of a project is vital for the successful engagement of consultants (Jackson, 2010;Mitchell, 1994;Kubr, 1993;Aje, 1988). When consultants have a clear understanding of what is being asked of them, they know what they need to focus on to produce expected outcomes.…”

“…However, it is crucial for managers in ICT projects to make sure that consultants are committed to writing quality documentation and transferring knowledge to internal team members, because this is a very important part of getting the most out of their engagements (Jackson, 2010). Still, it appears that writing documentation and knowledge transfer activities are often given lower priority, as it always seems that there are more important things to do.…”

“…In order to cope with the challenges in management of external consultants in ICT projects, managers first need to have full information and evidence into what the consultants are actually doing. This can be achieved through monitoring mechanisms, which can increase consultants' accountability and performance (Liberatore and Luo, 2010;Mahaney & Lederer, 2010;Jackson, 2010;Ngwenyama & Bryson, 1999;Baker and Faulkner, 1991). This implies that companies need to spend money and invest in information and monitoring systems in order to eliminate or reduce opportunistic behavior.…”