- Chapter 31: Working with Consultants
- Working with Consultants
- What Are Your Needs?
- Project Manager and Leadership
- Selecting Individual Consultants
- Work Ethic and Attitude
- Large-Scale Project Team Structure
- Preparation for Consultant: Contracts
- Preparation for Consultant: Rates and Fees
- Preparation for Consultant: Fixed-Price Contracts
- Controlling Consulting Project Costs: Change Managementx
- Controlling Consulting Project Costs: Client Involvement
- Controlling Consulting Project Costs: Reviewing the Original Requirements
- Controlling Consulting Project Costs: Weekly Status Reports
- Controlling Consulting Project Costs: Risk and Issues Log
- Controlling Consulting Project Costs: Importance of Database Administrator
- Consulting Work Environment
- Consultant Travel and Costs
- Case Studies of Consultant Behavior
- Case Studies of Client Behavior
- Summary
Controlling Consulting Project Costs: Risk and Issues Log
A risk and issues log should be used to keep a project on track, communicate key decisions, and maintain the critical path of the project. These issues are defined as one of three categories:
An item where the consultants must rely on a business decision that can only be made by the client, and consensus is not present (policy and business practices might be affected).
An item that affects the scope of the project and might impact the cost or time line.
An item or task that is delayed and has an impact on the completion of other tasks.
Each issue should be given a status and assigned to a responsible team member for resolution by a date. The resolution of each issue is recorded and the complete log becomes a diary of the project.