Continuing the conversation about challenges that Project Managers (PMs) may face depending on the type of relationship and engagement, some Service Recipients, or organizations that hire other organizations to provide some service or implement a product, may experience unique challenges that could be addressed by hiring an external PM Consultant. This investment may bring some or all of the following benefits, which will be described below:
1. Ensure the SOW is clear and comprehensive
2. Facilitate internal requirements gathering
3. Maximize the project value while managing the budget
Ensure the SOW is clear and comprehensive
As a part of formally engaging with any external partner, we would sign a Statement of Work (SOW) or similar document, which outlines what work and services will be delivered to us and at what cost. The SOW will define all or part of the budget for the project, and it is a crucial document. The scope defined in it should be as complete and unambiguous as possible. In fact, it is in the interests of the service recipient to have the scope clearly spelled out, while vaguer definitions might benefit the provider.
As discussed previously, strategic scope definition and the SOW may or may not be under the control of an internal PM due to their organization’s structure and politics. Having an external PM consultant accompanying the process from the very beginning can ensure that key aspects of the perceived value are properly accounted for in the SOW, the majority of the assumptions are identified, and major risks are documented. The bigger the project, the more value might be delivered by a PM consultant in this regard. In addition, an external PM is better positioned to ask difficult questions about priorities, get executive leadership on the same page, and define the goals and expected deliverables.
Facilitate internal requirements gathering
To minimize the possibility of constantly adding or changing project requirements, which usually results in added costs, the service recipient organization must thoroughly manage critical requirements and expectations. This should not be viewed as a one-time effort. Best practices dictate conducting ongoing requirements validation internally, without the service provider’s involvement. Yet, in managing the requirements process, an internal PM is often hampered by their (lack of) status in the organization’s hierarchy.
Hiring an external consultant can be a cost-efficient solution to keep the scope and requirements under control. Given that external service providers are happy to increase the project scope—thereby increasing their profits—the onus is on the recipient organization to minimize change requests and keep the project delivery focused on what matters most. To that end, an external PM can ask difficult questions and convey the benefits of controlling requirements and scope to executive leadership.
Maximize the project value while minimizing the budget
As an organization undertakes important projects involving external service providers, it tends to treat these engagements like any internal engagement. Leadership may feel comfortable frequently changing direction and adding new requirements, and, in general, disregard the possible impacts on the project. So, the service recipient organization may frequently request changes on an SOW-driven engagement—changes that often represent new requirements, deviations from existing requirements, or even a new direction for the project.
Whereas an internal PM, mired in office politics, may struggle to balance the perceived value of the changes with the costs, an external facilitator can more effectively prioritize changes according to discussions about costs and possible returns on investment. An external PM consultant can deter the team from channeling emotional responses to incoming information into change requests, ensuring due diligence is done prior to making the decision to change or adjust the direction the project is taking.
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