High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice doc

[...]... additional strain on the infrastructure IT consulting organizations face many other challenges that can impact their survival and profitability, including the following: Skills obsolescence With a focus on profitability, many organizations are not able to invest in developing new skills for their employees A database administrator (DBA) being billed full time as a DBA may never get an opportunity to. .. bench can usually enter their hours 9 10 High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice worked in this category This measure has a key impact on the organization’s profitability Employees who have a high nonbillable utilization may be motivated and valuable; however, when they are nonbillable, they are considered an overhead to the organization Even a few employees in this category can have a. .. organized according to a practice lifecycle that includes the following phases: practice operations; marketing and sales; pre-engagement activities; engagement lifecycle; post-engagement activities; and risk mitigation and quality assurance Part I: IT Consulting Best Practices In this section we examine the three-pillar framework and the 12 key metrics for evaluating and influencing the health of a. .. dashboard to assess the health of the current organization, and then in an overall strategy to improve the organization’s value in measurable stages xix xx High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice Intended Audience This book is written for consultants, managers of consulting organizations, and prospective consultants It is intended to help practitioners grow their professional careers in... and telecommunications Variable costs include entertainment, transportation, and certain types of supplies Discounts Average discounts applied to the standard chargeable rate sheet within a measurable unit of time Discounts have a significant impact on the bottom line Pipeline A list of potential client engagement opportunities along with their probability of closing and other relevant pursuit data... organization Chapters 1 and 2 show a practitioner or the managers of a consulting organization how to build a report card or dashboard to measure how they are currently doing with respect to these 12 key metrics Chapter 1 Evaluate the Current Health of Your Consulting Practice Chapter 2 Roadmap for Building a High-Performance IT Consulting Practice Part II: Selling Client Businesses and Engagements Part... data Backlog The amount of work that has already been sold and is waiting for completion Every consulting organization should try to build a backlog that will keep the group busy during downtime or nonbillable hours Sales hit ratio This is expressed as a ratio of the engagement opportunities that are sold compared to the ones that were sought 7 8 High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice. .. referring to when a consultant is not working on a billable engagement and is considered overhead This is also known as downtime and is ultimately dreaded by managers and consultants alike unless that time can be used to provide value to the consultant and the organization Downtime can be used for training, sales support, and building intellectual capital In the ideal situation, downtime can be an effective... revenue stream because engagement opportunities are increased Employee fitness Employees, who are also called practitioners, resources, or consultants, are the primary product of the consulting organization As such, their number, morale, commitment, and skill level are vital to the organization’s success 5 6 High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice Figure 1.1 Three-pillar support framework... possible to measure the impact of everyday decisions on the three-pillar infrastructure and the ultimate vision of a consulting practice Of particular importance to the intended audience of this book is how these 12 key metrics can be impacted in the different parts of a standard practice lifecycle to improve the overall health of the consulting organization These 12 keys can thus be used as a dashboard to . . . . . . . . . . 433 x High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice Business / High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice / Purba & Delaney / 222625-0 / P:10CompBusiness625-0FM.vp Friday,. . . . . . . . . 433 xvi High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice Business / High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice / Purba & Delaney / 222625-0 / P:10CompBusiness625-0FM.vp Friday,. dashboard to assess the health of the current organization, and then in an overall strategy to improve the organization’s value in measurable stages. Business / High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to