Introduction to Consulting and Strategic Project Management
March 16, 2011
This information is confidential and was prepared by RAS & Associates solely for the use of our client;
it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without prior written consent.
Agenda
Introduction to Consulting
Project Management Approach
Sample Deliverables
Q&A
2
RAS & Associates is based in Denver, Colorado and focuses on the development
of long-term strategic relationships with its clients
Summary
Services
RAS & Associates is a Denver, Colorado based management consulting
firm whose services are retained by large and middle market companies
We provide management consulting services to our
clients across the value chain
Mission
 Partner with our clients to develop and deliver critical initiatives that
address their most difficult challenges and build the capability to
improve their top and bottom lines
Staff Credentials
 Our professionals bring former Big 5 and boutique strategy consulting
experience to every client relationship
 Our people have worked with clients in multiple industries including
Banking, Telecommunications, Retail, Aerospace & Defense, High
Tech, Financial Services, and Not-for-Profit
 Our team has a diverse background that includes Tier 1 MBA
education, large systems implementation experience, procurement
transformation initiative leadership and strategy development and
execution
Community
As a firm, we are actively engaged with university programs teaching
and leveraging our relationships to benefit students
We are working directly with Mile High United Way and have provided
numerous gift-in-kind projects to the organization, working with the
senior leadership team on a number of internal and public-facing
initiatives
Additionally, our Associates are committed to community involvement
and are personally engaged in multiple community organizations
Develop
Strategy
 Business
Strategy / M&A
 Asset Analysis /
Disposition
 Market Analysis
 Organizational
Transformation
and Design
Optimize
Operations
 Business
Process
Mapping and
Optimization
 Procurement &
Supply Chain
Management
 Product
Strategies
Sell
Products &
Services
 B2B / B2C Lift
 Pricing
 Customer
Management
 Channel
Development
 Marketing
Strategy
Areas of Expertise
Procurement & Supply Chain Management
Organizational Transformation and Design
Business Process Mapping and Optimization
3
Management and Technology Consulting firms offer clients a variety of service
offerings, rate structures and value propositions
Consulting Industry Summary*
#
1
Firm Type
Strategy
Sample Firms
Service Offerings
Large / Former
Big 5
• Corporate Finance
• Hardcore analytical skills
• Significant hours and travel
• Bain
• Operations
• Typically, broad based capabilities with
• Extremely challenging work
• BCG
• Organizational Structure
• Ample internal projects
• Booz & Co
• Strategy
advanced degree from Tier 1 global
universities
• Strong CXO experience / relationships
• Accenture
• Consulting
• Gigantic bench strength
• Significant hours and travel
• Deloitte
• Technology
• Leverage industry knowledge, service-
• Engagements often center
• IBM GS
• Outsourcing
• CSC
• PMO
offering expertise and technology
capabilities
• Identify new business and technology
trends and develop solutions to help
clients around the world
around technology
implementation
• Extremely broad range of
services provides opportunity for
project diversity
• TaTa
3
Middle Market
Down
Software
Vendors
• Hyper- competitive environment
• RAS & Associates
• Consulting
• Flexibility
• Varies
• North Highland
• Technology
• Similar value propositions to Firm Types
• Can be centered around work-life
• Slalom Consulting
• Staff Augmentation
1 & 2, though on a smaller scale
• Less overhead / levels
• Rate advantage, sometimes
• More project exposure
• CIBER
• PMO
• MANY others
4
Lifestyle
• McKinsey & Co.
• Monitor
2
Value Proposition
balance
• Typically, experienced hires
• SAP
• Implementation
• Optimization of business operations
• Significant travel
• Siebel
• Data Structure
• Leverage technology to reduce cost
• Focus on SDLC
• Cognos
• Architecture
• Business transformation
• Often based on Go Live /
• Oracle
•
PMO
Release Schedules
*Sources:
• RAS & Associates research and proprietary information
• A variety of firm sites were researched and incorporated into our analysis
• ConsultingMagazine.com
• Vault.com
4
Consulting economics are fairly straight forward, however, when you blend rate,
utilization, client budget and competition it gets complex
Consulting Economics Summary
► Professional services have three fundamental
#
Firm
Type
Rate, Cost, Utilization
Limiters
measures to gauge economic performance:
1.
Actual Engagement Rate
2.
Actual Consultant Cost
3.
Utilization/Chargeability (How often a
consultant is actually earning their rate)
1
Obtaining the highest rate
2.
At the lowest cost
3.
For the longest period possible
4.
The problem is, it never works that way
5.
No revenue and no pipeline = bad
► Given how fragmented consulting is, pragmatism,
2
3
interpersonal skills and the desire to compete means
anything goes:
Large /
Former
Big 5
Middle
Market
Down
► Selling is different than delivery
► Client budget is a limiter
4
• Demand for strategy work is
• Cost: Very High
• Utilization :Relatively Lower
limited
• Extremely high cost
• Often 1 and done
• Rate: Low to High
• Extremely large projects
• Cost: Low to High
sought to staff extremely
large teams needed
• Clients get tired of being
sold the kitchen sink at every
opportunity
Strategy
► Firms within the industry are focused on:
1.
• Rate: Very High
Software
Vendors
• Utilization :Higher
• Rate: Low to High
• If aggressive or high rates,
• Cost: Low to Medium
• Utilization :Highly Variable
client’s may perceive as
Strategy / or Big 5 “I thought
you guys were different?”
• “Who are you again?”
• Rate: Low to High
• Technology implementations
• Cost: Low to High
are intrusive, expensive and
large ones often under
achieve expectations
• Utilization :Higher
5
Agenda
Introduction, Background, and Objectives
Project Management Approach
Sample Deliverables
Q&A
6
The ability to effectively manage projects is vital to career progression
Background
•
•
•
You have a real-world Conoco Phillips case study that you are already working to tackle
You’re excited about challenging yourself in the workplace after graduation
Effective project management can help in both instances
Meeting Objectives
1. Discuss the critical components of effective project management
2. Present a practical approach that works
Takeaway Goals
•
•
Learn a thought process you can use immediately
Get advice you won’t find in your text books
Use the Conoco Phillips case study as an opportunity to build your project management skills
7
Project management skills are a key component to maximizing your potential as a
consultant
•
Long-term corporate viability depends on effective project management
1.
2.
3.
Corporate strategy defines what the company needs to be to in the future to be successful
To accomplish the corporate strategy, many initiatives/projects must be completed
Failed or marginally successful projects can derail the corporate strategy
•
Effective project management unifies and motivates the workforce to accomplish more than
otherwise would have been possible
•
Differentiate yourself; the world is full of people who “do stuff”, but there is a shortage of those
that take the initiative required to successfully drive projects to completion
8
Chronologically, there are a number of key activities that should be performed
throughout a project’s lifecycle
Define
Determine project goals and
create detailed project plan
Objective
Key
Activities
Key Exit
Criteria
Implement
Present & Transition
Communicate project
completion and transition as
necessary
Execute project plan while
building unified support
•
Identify project team in addition to
list of key stakeholders
•
Update and communicate project
task plan
•
Transition ongoing support if
applicable
•
Create relationship
management plan
•
Identify and mitigate issues
•
1
•
Perform quality checks on key
tasks and deliverables
Make project completion presentation
to sponsor
•
•
Determine primary project goal(s)
•
•
Define detailed project
requirements
Communicate progress and
escalate issues
Always look for additional
opportunities that were uncovered
during project execution
•
Execute relationship management
plan
•
Ongoing support team is positioned
for success
•
Official approval has been received
from the project sponsor
•
Related additional opportunities have
been reviewed for operational and
financial viability
•
Create detailed project plan
•
The project has a clear purpose
•
The project team has been defined
•
All key stakeholders have been
identified and relationship
development plans are in place
•
2
Detailed project requirements have
been defined and a project plan has
been created
3
•
All project tasks have been
completed and validated for quality
purposes
•
Critical risks to project budget and
timeline were identified and
proactively mitigated
We are going to dig into the details in three parts:
1
Goals
Relationship Development
2
Project Planning
1. Build or maintain
a competitive
advantage, or
reduce a
competitor’s
advantage
2. Build relationship
capital with key
stakeholders
3
Project Execution
9
Understanding and accommodating for the human element is invaluable
Project
Management
Internally Managed
Externally Managed
1
Relationship
Management
Planning
Purpose
Why This
Matters
Build the relationships needed
to gather the required
information and support/buy-in
2
Project Planning
Illustrate how the strategic
objective will be accomplished,
step by step
3
Project Execution
Manage the execution of the plan
while mitigating risks and issues
• The best plan in the world won’t
work if the people don’t
understand it, don’t buy into it, or
don’t trust you
• Relationship capital is the ace up
your sleeve that enables you to
escalate issues and request
additional support when needed
• This will raise your game and
awareness
10
Building strong relationships with key stakeholders enables you to
collect difficult to find information, attain buy-in, and escalate issues
Relationship
Management
Overview: Relationship Management Planning
Purpose
Identify all Key
Stakeholders
Define the Role
and Perspective
of each Key
Stakeholder
Identifies the list of
people that hold
keys to the project’s
ultimate success
Defines how each
key player
contributes to
project dynamics
Create
Relationship
Management
Plan
Details the steps
necessary to build
each key relationship
Having an separate plan for managing relationships may seem like overkill,
but in practice it may be the most important planning you can do
11
Identifying and analyzing the key players is more art than science
Identify all Key
Stakeholders
Define the Role
and Perspective
of each Key
Stakeholder
Key Activities
• Identify all stakeholders that can have a
significant impact on project success
– To the good and the bad
• Identify not only decision makers, but also key
influencers
– Sometimes the most influential on a given
project aren’t the highest on the ladder
• Understand what each stakeholder cares about
– Work expectations
– Personal values
Relationship
Management
Create
Relationship
Management
Plan
Practical Advice
Sample questions to identify key stakeholders:
1. Who are the key advisors to the decision
maker? Who are their advisors?
2. What types of hard-to-get information might I
need? Who has access to this data?
3. If critical issues arise, who might I need in my
corner to offer advice, additional resources,
executive support, etc.?
Refer to appendix for Stakeholder Analysis template
12
Win the support of key stakeholders by having a plan and staying on
top of it
Identify all Key
Stakeholders
Define the Role
and Perspective
of each Key
Stakeholder
Key Activities
• Set a relationship goal for each stakeholder
– Be realistic, and know the minimum
requirement
• Account for where you currently stand to assess
relationship gaps
– Again, be realistic
• Define the steps required to build each desired
relationship
– Usually these revolve around demonstrating
capability, building rapport, and getting
things done
Relationship
Management
Create
Relationship
Management
Plan
Practical Advice
• Gain credibility by taking initiative where other
people make excuses
• Any time you raise an issue, have an opinion on
how it can be fixed
• Collaborate frequently to expand on your ideas
and build support
• Present yourself appropriately – dress for the
job you want
Refer to appendix for Relationship Management Plan template
13
A project plan is the proof-of-concept that you will use to gain support and motivate
the team
Project
Management
Internally Managed
Externally Managed
1
Relationship
Management
Planning
Purpose
Why This
Matters
Build the relationships needed to
gather the required information
and support/buy-in
2
Project Planning
Illustrate how the strategic
objective will be accomplished,
step by step
3
Project Execution
Manage the execution of the plan
while mitigating risks and issues
• Turns a complicated project into
a set of smaller, more
manageable pieces
• Provides the roadmap to build
and maintain buy-in from project
team and extended stakeholders
• Done well, the plan provides
meaningful opportunities for
others, offering personal growth
and increasing their commitment
14
A good project planning process ensure that you not only create a
technically sound task plan, but that it makes sense to others
Project Planning
Overview: Project Planning Process
Purpose
Define Primary
Project Goal(s)
Create Project
High-Level
Milestones
The overriding
purpose of the
project, often tying
directly to a
strategic initiative
Breaks a complex
project into a set
of smaller, more
manageable
components
Define Detailed
Requirements
Sets a series of
small objectives
that in aggregate
accomplish the
primary goal(s)
Assess Current
State
Identifies current
capabilities and/or
progress relative to
requirements
Create Project
Task Plan to
bridge the Gaps
Details, step by
step, how gaps
between current
state and future
requirements will
be met
A good project plan is the proof you need to sell your approach
15
Project Planning
Defining a primary project goal is critical in not only ensuring the
proper direction, but also in motivating and unifying the project team
Define Primary
Project Goal(s)
Create Project
High-Level
Milestones
Key Activities
Define Detailed
Requirements
Assess Current
State
Create Project
Task Plan to
bridge the Gaps
Practical Advice
• For projects directly tied to the corporate
strategy, the goal should be obvious
– Be realistic, and know the minimum
requirement
• Have a comprehensive understanding of the
goal and how it should improve the company’s
efficiency, intelligence, return on invested
capital, market share, compliance, etc.
• For projects not on the strategic radar, define
the expected business benefits
– Make sure your project doesn’t conflict with
the corporate strategy
• Be prepared to effectively communicate this
message to the project team and leadership
16
Project Planning
By breaking a complicated project into it’s key subcomponents, you
can more easily define requirements for overall project success
Define Primary
Project Goal(s)
Create Project
High-Level
Milestones
Key Activities
• Break the overall goal into its various
components (top-down approach)
– Incorporate the project team to get their
valuable insight and build commitment
Define Detailed
Requirements
Assess Current
State
Create Project
Task Plan to
bridge the Gaps
Practical Advice
• This is your biggest opportunity to simplify the
project… simple is good
• Perform a sanity check on your diagram to
ensure that all endpoints sum to the primary
goal (bottoms-up approach)
– Again, leverage others
17
Project Planning
Once a diagram is in place, defining future requirements relative to
current state identifies project gaps
Define Primary
Project Goal(s)
Create Project
High-Level
Milestones
Key Activities
Define Detailed
Requirements
Assess Current
State
Create Project
Task Plan to
bridge the Gaps
Practical Advice
• Set goals for each component of the project
diagram
– Define what “done” looks like
• Goals should be very specific and date oriented,
otherwise it may be difficult to know whether its
been achieved
• Define the requirements necessary to reach
each component’s goal
• Don’t take guesses – work with subject matter
experts to define requirements
– Having good relationships here is crucial
• Assess current state in relation to each future
requirement
– This identifies the gaps the project plan will
need to address
18
Project Planning
A task plan is used to show how each goal/requirement will be met,
who is responsible for its completion, and when its due
Define Primary
Project Goal(s)
Create Project
High-Level
Milestones
Key Activities
• Assess the gaps identified from the previous
step
• For each gap, define all steps required to
achieve the requirements
Define Detailed
Requirements
Assess Current
State
Create Project
Task Plan to
bridge the Gaps
Practical Advice
Tips for building task accountability:
• Build strong executive sponsorship
• Sell the importance of each due date
• Offer your help… most people will not need
it but will appreciate knowing it’s there
• Assign an owner for each task
• Create a fair balance of work for each team
member
• Explicitly define start and due date for each task
– Account for dependencies and their impact
on project schedule
• Provide growth opportunities for others
through task assignment
Refer to appendix for Task Plan template
19
A good idea without good execution is a waste of time
Project
Management
Internally Managed
Externally Managed
1
Relationship
Management
Planning
Purpose
Why This
Matters
Build the relationships needed to
gather the required information
and support/buy-in
2
Project Planning
Illustrate how the strategic
objective will be accomplished,
step by step
3
Project Execution
Manage the execution of the
plan while mitigating risks and
issues
• Maintains the sense of urgency
and importance
• Identifies risks and issues early
so they can be assigned,
escalated, or otherwise mitigated
• Serves as a platform to
complement and reward to
maintain morale and incent
desired behavior
20
Proactive day-to-day management is required to properly execute a
task plan and ultimately drive successful project completion
Project Execution
Ongoing Project Management – Parallel Activities
Update &
Communicate
Project Task
Plan
Purpose
Advice
Keep project plan current
and communicate task
expectations to ensure
all task owners are
explicitly aware of what
is required
Prevent people from
using the excuses:
• “I didn’t know I was
responsible for that”
• “I didn’t know when it
was due”
Identify and
Manage Risk
Perform Quality
Checks
Communicate
Progress
Effectively identifying
and managing risks
ensures that project
tasks are completed
accurately, on time, and
within budget
Validating the accurate
completion of critical
tasks is critical in
upholding a consistent
standard of quality
throughout a project
Communicate how the
project is progressing –
keeping leadership and
the project team aware
of progress, successes,
and risks/issues
• Effectively communicate
quality expectations, this
will increase their quality
of work
• Be constructive with
feedback
• Be concise in readouts
• Have an opinion with
executives – “kinda”
doesn’t cut it
• Learn when and how to
give callouts (good and
bad) to incent behavior
• Use a structured risk and
issues process
• Know when to escalate
risks/issues
• Procrastination is the
surest way to turn risks
into issues… start strong
and maintain momentum
Refer to appendix for
Risks & Issues Log templates
21
Agenda
Introduction, Background, and Objectives
Project Management Approach
Sample Deliverables
Q&A
22
Relationship
Management
Appendix: Stakeholder Analysis template
Identify all key
stakeholders
Define the role
and perspective
of each key
stakeholder
Create
relationship
management
plan
Execute plan
Example: Company ABC is seeking to enhance supply chain capabilities through an enhancement to their
currently existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system
Key Stakeholder
Role
How are they measured?
Other insights
VP Procurement
Executive Sponsor
Overall operational performance
Under pressure from COO to reduce
inventory levels to improve liquidity
Supply Chain Manager
Requestor of new
functionality
Material cost, quality, and
timeliness
Tasked by VP to cut inventory levels in half
by Q4 2010
FP&A Manager
Primary FP&A
contact
Accurately and quickly perform data
collection, forecasts, and
calculations
Very limited knowledge of supply chain best
practices and current supply chain
functionality
IT Manager
In-house systems
expert
Project completed on time, within
budget, and meets functionality
requirements
Often seems to get caught up in the “cool
factor” rather than company profitability
ERP sales manager
Primary ERP contact
point
Sales volume
Has identified the IT manager as a key
proponent and they seem to sell in lock-step
23
Relationship
Management
Appendix: Relationship Management Plan template
Define the role
and perspective
of each key
stakeholder
Identify all key
stakeholders
Person
Relationship
Owner
Relationship Goal
Create
relationship
development
plan
Execute plan
Relationship Progression Tasks
24
Project Planning
Appendix: Task Plan template
Define primary
project goal(s)
1
Create project
diagram
Tasks can be grouped by either
the endpoints or midpoints of
the project diagram
Task
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Task 5
Task 6
2
Owner
John
Stephanie
Karen
Karen
Steve
Steve
3
Define detailed
requirements
A simple readout of
task status helps
summarize progress
Status
Complete
Complete
In Progress
In Progress
Complete
Complete
Assigning owners
creates accountability
Assess current
state
Start Date
11/15/2009
11/17/2009
11/17/2009
11/18/2009
11/17/2009
11/18/2009
5
Due Date
11/17/2009
11/20/2009
11/30/2009
12/4/2009
11/18/2009
11/25/2009
4
Create project
task plan to
bridge the gaps
Gantt charts are often
used to graphically
show task expectations
WEEK ENDING
11/20
11/27
12/4
Managing start and end dates help ensure the timely
completion of critical tasks. Alternatively, some projects
are better served using dependencies and durations.
25
Project Execution
Appendix: Risk & Issues Log templates
Basic examples of both a risk log and issues log are shown below to outline what needs
to be considered to either prevent or mitigate threats to project success.
Risk: A potential threat to the project that hasn’t yet occurred and may be prevented with proper, timely action
Risk Management
Risk Condition & Consequence
Risk Type
Exposure
Opened
By
Impact
Date
Entered
Probability
Risk
ID
Contingency
(Include Triggering Event)
Mitigation
Mitigation
Due Date
Risk Owner
Status
Date
Closed
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Issue: A threat to the project that is already in motion and needs to be mitigated
Issues Management
Issue
ID
Date
Entered
Opened
By
Description
Resolution
Severity
Priority
Status
Assigned To
Date
Assigned
Date
Resolved
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
26