Brian:
Project management is an important factor in consulting. Consulting takes time, planning, organization, and other factors to succeed. The competencies of project management in consulting are important to identify when taking on a project or assignment. (Eskerod, 2010) suggest that the competence development of the employee is a core element when it comes to the successful implementation of planned change. With consulting comes change that would affect the organization and employees positively or negatively to obtain results. Change is a component of project management that needs to be implemented properly to obtain the expected results. The ability to accomplish planned change within a company is central to being and staying competitive (Gareis, 2010). According to (Lindbergh, 2007) project manager competency assessments are used by organizations to identify project management skill gaps and foster an organization’s training and professional development efforts.
In my experience with project management, it is a process of selecting the right team with the best skills, knowledge, and work ethic to complete a particular task. It seems very similar to the engagement process in consulting. Which is creating a working process or team to improve or resolve an identified problem within an organization. With project management, it is important to identify the actual problem to save the company money and time while coming up with a resolution. According to (Agbejule & Lehtineva, 2022) a plan-driven approach provides structure, standardized planning, scheduling and control, and a guideline for s structured decision-making process.
Having project objectives allows the consultant and team to stay on task and to meet all expectations and using SMART objectives allows the client and consultant the opportunity to have a clear understanding of the organization’s challenges and to set realistic goals to obtain a realistic solution. The client and consultant will be specific about the measurable objectives.
Reference
Agbejule, A., & Lehtineva, L. (2022). The relationship between traditional project management, agile project management, and teamwork quality on project success. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 30(7), 124–136. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-02-2022-3149
Eskerod, P. (2010). Action learning for further developing project management competencies: A case study from an engineering consultancy company. International Journal of Project Management, 28(4), 352–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2010.01.010
Gareis, R. (2010). Changes of organizations by projects. International Journal of Project Management, 28(4), 314–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2010.01.002
Lindbergh, L. (2007). Project manager competence. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-manager-competence-eoq-7256
Patricia:
A project may be well conceived and adequately financed, resources may be available, and consultants may be highly experienced, but if the efforts of all the participants are not skillfully coordinated and managed, issues such as not meeting the time schedule, exceeding budget, or falling short in functional and technical quality may be encountered (Udo and Koppensteiner, 2004). These issues are more compounded the larger and more complex the project is, therefore, the management function becomes more critical. On a consulting engagement, it would be unthinkable to complete a client project without having a roadmap on how to do so. A project will be perceived as a success if a competent consultant is skilled in the following competencies: scope management, planning and scheduling, risk management, stakeholder engagement, quality management, communication, cost control, change management, and relationship building.
According to Ehsan et al. (2010), scope management is the method requisite to ensure that the project includes all work required to complete the project successfully. Planning and scheduling is the process of developing a plan, creating schedules, and allocating resources. The lack of a clear project meaning and plan is a basis for neglect. Delays to meet project deliverables may cause growing sponsor fret which may result in project termination. Improper planning and development of resources whether human or capital may impede progress. Risk management is the process of identifying and managing potential risk. Failure to handle risks, by addressing them near the beginning of the project, can lead to a huge cost blowout as risks become evident (Ehsan et al., 2010).
Building and managing relationships with various stakeholders, whether clients, team members, or third parties is important. Silacheva (2019) stated that relationship building helps consultants obtain key stakeholders’ support, manage the relationship dynamic throughout the consultancy lifecycle, and ensure future collaboration. Three key relationships are important, the client, key executives, and the project team (Phillips et al., 2015). Quality management ensures the project deliverables meet high-quality standards. Performing quality assessment and corrective actions where and when necessary, achieve this (Ehsan et al., 2010). Maintaining clear and effective communication with the client and project team to keep everyone informed and aligned to avoid misunderstanding among the team members (Silacheva, 2019). Furthermore, effective communication allows consultants to understand the organization’s culture and politics and thus develop solutions that may help improve the client’s competitive advantage and are acceptable and implemented (Silacheva, 2019). Cost management ensures costs are controlled and stay within planned limits. Finally, change management allows for adapting to changes in project scope, requirements, and client needs when necessary (Ehsan et al., 2010). Phillips et al (2015) noted that including change management capabilities such as organizational change, culture change, innovation management, etc. in the client groups with which they relate allow consultants to effectively help the overall organization function.
Project Management Process and Personal Experience
The project management process typically involves the following stages:
- Project initiation – this phase involves defining the project, its objectives, and the stakeholders involved.
- Project planning – developing a good roadmap for team members to follow to achieve the goals defined in the previous phase.
- Project execution – this phase may begin with a kickoff meeting, and each team and its members begin working on their responsibilities.
- Project monitoring and control – consultants monitor the project’s progression and use KPIs to measure project performance. Additionally, work to resolve issues that may arise.
- Project closure – involves turning in the project. During the closing phase, it is best practice to ask yourself, what went well? What did we learn? What can be improved next time? And are there any steps we can exclude next time?
Making these steps work for a consultant may involve some customizations or sometimes may require an entirely new way of approaching the process. No matter the approach, the bottom line is delivering the best results on time and within budget.
I currently have little consulting experience, however, my experience as an auditor working for one of the big four accounting firms afforded me the opportunity to work closely with clients. I learned during that time that the two most important criteria were having a good working relationship and delivering great client service as I went through the engagement process from its initiation to closure. Having a good client-auditor relationship was based on mutual trust, an essential aspect in conducting sound audits where I evaluated the accounting work done by clients’ staff. A thorough understanding of the organization’s industry and operations was necessary to perform process analysis, identify proper controls, and design audit procedures to conclude that their financial statements fairly represent the organization’s financial position and activities at and for a period of time.
SMART Objectives and Benefits
All consulting projects need objectives if they are to lead to solutions. Whatever the solutions are, there should be multiple levels of objectives set from start to finish. Setting project objectives gives direction, guidance, and clarity to a project. SMART allows a consultant to write objectives with the kind of precision to provide just that (Phillips et at., 2015). They need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound for the project to become a focus where the consultant can deliver desired results to clients. Most importantly, they increase the likelihood of project success.
SMART objectives will benefit me in my consulting work in all phases of the project. In the initial phase, setting SMART goals will allow me to organize and collect tax and accounting information from clients while simplifying the process for future projects. During the planning phase and focusing on planning strategies, I can set my expectations for the project as it relates to time, budgets, project scope, and risk management. A project plan template will help accomplish this. In the execution phase, I can create detailed project schedules and hold frequent check-ins with my team to address obstacles. During the monitoring phase, I can track project progress by providing regular updates and proactively changing procedures as necessary. Finally, I can use SMART goals for the project closure phase by evaluating the success or failure of the project, documenting lessons learned, and organizing project data, making them accessible for future use/reference.
References
Ehsan, N., Waheed, K.Z., Asgher, Umer, Nawaz, M.T., Mirza, E. & Sheikh, Zahoor. (2010). Effects of project manager’s competency on project success. 107 – 112. 10.1109/ICMIT.2010.5492830.
Phillips, J., Trotter, W. & Phillips, P. (2015). Maximizing the value of consulting: A guide for internal and external consultants. Somerset, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISNB: 978-1-118-92310.5
Silacheva, M. (2019). Exploring skills and competencies for consultants. Management consulting journal. Vol 2.2, December 2019. DOI: 10.2478/mcj-2019-0008. ISSN: 2631-987X
Udo, N. & Koppensteiner, S. (2004). What are the core competencies of a successful project manager? Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2004—EMEA, Prague, Czech Republic. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.