Royal INC project Consultancy
Here is a curated list of authoritative articles, research papers, and guides covering project consultancy, grouped by foundational topics to assist with your research or practice:
Foundational Roles & Strategy
Project Consulting vs. Project Management: A project manager is one who leads the project, providing oversight of the work and implementing a framework that guides how that work is successfully accomplished. If a consultant is hired, they often provide expertise in an area that is not represented by the organization—such as business process modeling, software architecture or other knowledge sets that are not part of the organization’s current structure.
When consultants start to encroach on the project manager’s purview, there can be conflicts and issues. Dealing with that and moving forward together can make the entire project and organization stronger in the long run. Analysis to understand why consultants advise from the outside while managers execute from within.
Core Definition & Responsibilities: Review the When companies are facing complex challenges or need help bringing big ideas to life, in many cases, they turn to project consultants. These strategic professionals are brought in to guide teams, optimize operations and ensure that critical initiatives stay on track.
As organizations across industries seek flexible thinkers who can deliver results, the demand for this type of professional is on the rise.
Let’s explore what a project consultant does, where they work, what skills and education they need and how you can prepare for this dynamic and rewarding career.detailing how temporary consultants drive strategic value.
A User's Guide to Project Management Consultants: Check out the An increasing subset of project managers are entering the consulting field where commitment to the principles of project management plus the shared experience of having managed projects contributes to the definition of the project management profession. This article offers guidelines on deciding whether to use a consultant, on how to choose a consultant, and on maximizing the benefits of a consultant. Consultation should begin with a mutual exploration of the situation by client and consultant and works best when the client treats the consultant as a partner rather than as a supplier. Networking and partnering are among the most critical strategies that project managers need to nurture for success in the consulting field.explaining what organizations actually look for when hiring a firm.
Project Life Cycles & Methodology
The 7 Steps of Business Consulting: Review the Business consulting helps organizations solve problems, improve processes, and achieve goals. It provides expert advice and strategies to ensure success. Understanding the consulting process is key to unlocking its benefits. By focusing on structured steps, businesses can address challenges effectively, create sustainable solutions, and achieve their goals with confidence. Here, we explore the seven major steps involved.detailing the journey from initial client assessment to final strategy evaluation.
Life Cycle Dynamics: Read the to look at quantitative evaluations of consultant-client stepsBusiness consulting is a professional service where experts guide companies to address challenges, improve efficiency, and grow. It includes offering advice, creating plans, and ensuring smooth implementation. Consultants bring fresh perspectives and industry knowledge to help businesses make better decisions. This service is essential for companies seeking to enhance performance, overcome obstacles, and adapt to changing market demands. By leveraging expert guidance, businesses can streamline operations and focus on long-term growth.
Developing the Consulting Plan: the Following some basic steps, the project manager can move from organizational project management into the field of project management consulting. This requires the development of a solid business plan for the proposed consulting business. The first step is self-assessment of consulting competencies. This includes an evaluation of personal competencies using the Compleat Consultant Assessment, developing a matrix of consulting skills and a SWOT analysis of personal strengths and weaknesses, followed by action items for improvement. An examination of preferred consulting approach and the reasoning behind selecting the process consulting approach, along with a discussion of personal assumptions and beliefs should follow. The next step deals with the development and operationalization of the mission and values for the proposed consulting business. This discussion leads to an analysis of consulting methods and techniques, consulting focus, and the development of a personal philosophy of consulting and underlying reasons for the consulting focus chosen. Next is the development of a marketing strategy which should focus on several marketing activities (not sales), and include the specific market niche, value proposition, and branding. As an important next step in marketing includes strategies regarding establishing value-based fees and proposed attraction and retention of talent must be developed. Finally, the implementation plan should include discussions on sustaining revenue, developing a clientele or stable group of clients, and potential challenges to the implementation plan and action item(s) to overcome weaknesses.
Execution Challenges & Best Practices
7 Project Management Tips for Consultants: Project management is usually viewed as a means to track which tasks need to be done and by whom. But in a consulting company, project management has the ability to do much more. For consultants, project management can help improve productivity and profitability by:
Improving job cost and bidding
Improving timeline and budget management
Maximizing resources (without overloading them)
Ensuring consistent and timely deliverables
Optimizing processes
Below are 7 project management tips for consultants to help improve business processes, maximize resources, and improve profitability for actionable advice on increasing profitability, project visibility, and team efficiency.
Project Consultant Best Practices: The success of any project often depends on project management techniques. To be successful, most project management consultants follow recommended best practices and work to gain soft skills such as effective communication, leadership and problem-solving skills. If you want to execute successful outcomes as a project manager, it's crucial to adopt approved best practices in your field. In this article, we describe the top 10 project management consultant best practices and discuss tips for effective project management consultation.
for an industry list of risk assessment matrices and CV planning.
Sector-Specific Consulting (Construction & Green Energy)
The Role of Project Management Consultancy Service: Project management consultants must identify and qualify project management consulting opportunities. As a consultant, you may be independent or associated with a consulting firm. In either case, you may be at least somewhat responsible for both winning and delivering your services.
Much of the current literature assumes that the decision to proceed with the project has been made and that the project manager has been chosen. In most cases it is assumed, for better or for worse, that the project manager is currently an employee of the company doing the project. In companies that have a project office, a project manager is assigned to a project along with the decision to proceed. However, suppose the company does not have an available, qualified project manager. The expertise of an outside project management consultant may be needed. One of the first things you must do when considering a project management consulting opportunity is to fully qualify the project and client. You need to quickly determine if certain criteria are met before investing time and money in going after the opportunity. You must be able to overcome obstacles and increase the probability of success, or disengage upon recognizing that the situation is unworkable. Also, you must be prepared to position your qualifications and services against competitors in order to increase the probability of winning the consulting opportunity.
Skill at qualifying the opportunity can help avoid wasted effort while helping to ensure successful, satisfying, and profitable consulting.
This article will identify criteria necessary for a project to proceed, and discuss techniques for determining if the client has a need for project management consulting. Client organization and environment are also considered to determine the client's inclination to contract for outside project management consulting. Service delivery options and contractual issues are identified. Finally, ways to address competition and objections are suggested.
QUALIFYING THE PROJECT
This section will help you determine if the project is likely to proceed past the conceptual stage. In the author's experience, six criteria must be met in order to establish that the client has a valid project opportunity. The assumption is that these criteria can be used to accurately predict the outcome of a given opportunity as well as develop more effective winning strategies.
Discussing the following with your client is not threatening or manipulative, and may help your client with the decision process. You should be able to determine the following during a few brief, preliminary interviews:
Business problem. Companies do projects to solve business problems, typically resulting in increased revenues or reduced expense. It is important that you identify and understand the business problem your client is trying to solve. This is essential for managing the scope of the project. A clear, consistent problem statement tends to be characteristic of projects that proceed.
Sponsor. It is necessary to identify an individual within the company who has the authority, responsibility, and control to make decisions about the project. The project should be consistent with his or her charter and approval level. The sponsor should feel responsible for solving the business problem. You are more likely to win opportunities where this sponsor has the desire, time, energy, commitment, and political clout to move the project forward.
Funding. An important characteristic of project opportunities that proceed is that the project has significant return on investment potential and the client is focused on the value—not cost—of the project. Most companies will spend a dime to get (or save) a dollar. Few will spend a dollar to get (or save) a dime. If the return on investment is weak, you may need to help adjust the scope of the effort or find some other business problem that is worth solving. Determine if the project is budgeted, funded, and the client is able to spend money on outside consulting.
Deadline. A client who is feeling significant deadline pressure is motivated to explore implementation options beyond what current methods and resources will afford. No deadline means the client will probably make do with what is currently in place and get the project done when convenient. Projects need deadline pressure to underscore the need for planning, control, and action.
Risk. A client who is feeling significant risk will tend to seek expertise to help reduce this risk. A client who feels the project is well within in-house capabilities will be unwilling and unable to justify spending money for outside consulting. Large, complex projects, crossing disciplinary and organizational boundaries, should be a cause of concern for any client.
Staffing. A staff that is over-committed and unable to grow beyond a set size may be unable to address the new project. Outside consulting may be the only implementation alternative. On the other hand, idle labor would tend to prohibit the use of outside consulting (but may be an opportunity for advisory consulting or training).
These six criteria are sufficient to determine if your client has a valid project opportunity and may need help. Strong positive signals do not guarantee that you can win the business. They simply indicate that a project opportunity exists, and outside help may be needed.
QUALIFYING THE CLIENT
Easton and Day [1, p.13-23] suggest ways to determine if the client company needs, and is ready, to implement project management. Selecting and combining their concepts for the purpose of qualifying the opportunity results in the following:
Has the client ever attempted a project of this size and complexity? Was it considered a success? If the client believes they know what they are doing, they probably will not buy help. If they failed miserably and feel they are at risk, they will probably value the advice of an expert. The naive, inexperienced client may need a basic presentation on the benefits of project management.
Does the client adhere to a project methodology? Look for signs of a documented step-by-step approach. Determine if they are accustomed to estimating, planning, and scheduling. Any indication that they feel time spent planning and designing is wasted should be cause for concern. Some clients may welcome a better approach. Others may be steadfast in their resistance. You need to determine if you will be able to overcome this resistance before continuing to invest in this opportunity.
Does it appear that the company will support the development of a project team? An inflexible functional or hierarchical structure could make it difficult to pull together the resources and support necessary for success. A project that crosses many disciplinary and organizational boundaries, including outside subcontracting, needs project management. A clear, formal charter from top management as well as support from all levels of management is essential.
Will the project manager be given the authority, responsibility, and control necessary for success? As an outsider, without direct authority and control over resources, it will be very difficult to meet project objectives without proper support. Top management must require a single point of information, responsibility and control, and give this formally to you if you are to be the project manager. Otherwise, your role will merely be to provide assistance and advice.
Is the scope of the project well defined, and is management committed to responsible change control? A poorly defined project is doomed almost from the start. Continuous scope changes will make success impossible. “Off-the-cuff” budgets and schedules increase the risk of failure even further. Commitment to a firm (but reasonable) completion date is essential.
Note that to a large extent, you maybe able to help your client shape the opportunity so that the company's success, and yours, is more likely. You need to determine how much effort will be required, as well as assess the timing, size, and probability of winning the consulting opportunity.
PMs
DELIVERY OPTIONS
It is important that you determine how you will work with your client. Block [2, p.18-22] defines three basic consulting roles. Interpreted in the context of project management consulting, they are:
Pair of hands. Your involvement is only as directed by your client. You are working within close guidelines and under the scrutiny of your client. The client makes most of the decisions about the project, which you then implement.
Expert. You have greater autonomy to manage the project, with low involvement by your client. You make most of the decisions about the project. Your client's role is to set up scope, schedule, and limitations. The client will judge and evaluate the project after it is done.
Collaborator. You become interdependent with the client, working closely together. Issues are discussed and decisions made together. Responsibility for success of the project is shared.
As you establish your role or relationship with your client, you can begin to shape your formal involvement. Depending on the opportunity, your involvement could develop into one of two roles:
Project management advisory consulting. In this case you are providing assistance and advice to the client-designated project manager. Your authority, responsibility, and control are limited. You are simply providing assistance, advice, and expertise to someone else who has the formal power. It will be important that you limit your liability and carefully document your recommendations. You cannot accept responsibility for the success of the project if your assistance and advice are ignored. A “pair of hands” role tends to be consistent with consulting that is mostly assistance, as directed by the client's project manager. A “collaborator” role would suggest consulting that has a large advisory component.
Acting project manager. In this case you are the project manager. The success of the project rests squarely on your shoulders. It will be important that you have clear, explicit support from top management. You must have the authority, responsibility, and control you need for success. You should carefully document your requirements for success. You must accept responsibility for the overall success of the project. The “expert” role is most commensurate with the formal project manager title.
FACING CONTRACTUAL ISSUES
There are important differences between an “outside” project management consultant and a project manager who is an employee of the company.
The employee typically works for a salary, and is expected to put forth whatever effort is necessary for success. The salary is viewed as a normal, ongoing expense, and is not subject to interruption except in extreme cases. Performance is taken in the context of the employee's history with the company. The criteria for success of the project may be somewhat softer, and more subject to negotiation and interpretation.
In the case of the consultant, “real” money leaves the company and is accounted for against an approved budget. A satisfaction problem could result in interruption of the revenue flow. Success is often defined as meeting both the letter and intent of the contractual obligation, which could include specific results for a set price. A misunderstanding or disagreement could result in financial, even legal hassles. As a consultant, you will generally be successful if you set expectations you can meet and meet the expectations you set. The contract should clearly and simply document your agreement with your client. “Fine print” may provide some protection in a court of law, but does not contribute to increased understanding or ensure satisfaction.
Depending on the situation, you may wish to consider a contract based on one of the following:
Time and materials. In this case you are selling your time and expertise only. This should be explicitly stated in your contract. It is not appropriate to commit to specific deliverables and results. Your client should understand that the company (not you) owns the risk of an overrun. Focus on describing the expertise you are providing and the duration and intensity of the effort (for example, 30 hours a week for 10 months). Do not guess at some number of hours and suggest results as you will create a situation where your client expects those results on a “not to exceed” basis.
Fixed price. In order to quote a fixed price for your services, you need to have a precise definition of the scope and duration of the effort. Your contract must address how you and the client will address scope changes. You must consider risk and contingency, and build it into your price. Your contract should focus on deliverables and results. You are responsible for producing the deliverables and results for the stated price. You own the risk of an overrun. A common pitfall here is to allow the scope of your consulting to expand, but fail to apply appropriate change control.
Block [2, p.41-103] also has excellent advice on contracting. Briefly, your contracting discussions and documentation should be clear and direct. You must be able to uncover your client's expectations as well as clearly and simply state what you want from the client. Be willing to probe directly for underlying concerns. Important elements of the contract you develop, based on Block's checklist [2, p.52] are:
Scope and objectives of your consulting
Your role and responsibilities
Deliverables and results you will produce, with acceptance criteria
Resources and information you need to be successful
Client's responsibilities, support, and involvement
Time schedule with milestones
DEVELOPING A COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
Your competitive strategy must consider the strengths and weaknesses of your competition, along with an honest assessment of your capabilities and limitations. Find out who your competition is. It is fair to ask about the competition, and how a decision will be made. Determine if you are a good fit for the opportunity. Discover if your client has a particular bias that will factor into the decision. When sizing up the competitive situation, consider the following:
Client staff. The client always has the option of naming a project manager from his or her own staff. These individuals have a career at stake at the client company. They best understand the goals, politics, and constraints of the company. If they also have training, credentials, and demonstrated competence at managing projects, then they are your most formidable competition. If the client project manager has little experience, this may be an opportunity for advisory project management consulting. Generally it is not a good idea to compete with the client's staff or imply that they are not competent. Rather, you should attempt to structure your involvement to complement and support the client project manager.
Consulting firm. Project managers from a consulting firm tend to be more costly due to greater overhead and profit margins. They also come with better support and access to other resources. If performance is unsatisfactory the client has some recourse other than termination. Many firms will provide a complete “turn key” project with guaranteed satisfaction, thereby freeing the client from most of the hassle and risk (at commensurate higher cost). Many clients value a single source to solve their business problem. Others cannot afford this luxury, or want and need a higher degree of involvement. If you are a consultant with a consulting firm, your best strategy is to stress the reputation of your company and the support and resources it provides.
Independent consultant. The independent consultant has several advantages over other options. Because of very low overhead, the independent consultant will usually be the least expensive option. An independent consultant is likely to be very flexible and responsive during contract negotiations. Sometimes an independent consultant is valued for an “unbiased” viewpoint. The down side is the independent consultant will have limited support and resources. There is almost no recourse, other than termination, if performance is unsatisfactory. As an independent consultant, your best strategy is to stress your lower cost, personal credentials, training, and experience.
OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS
A client's objections are not a set of reasons why you will not get the business. They are an important source of information you need to better serve your client. You need to perceive each objection as an opportunity to better understand your client's needs. Your skill at recognizing and addressing objections, with competence and integrity, will strengthen your position with your client. Here are a few common objections:
Need. Sometimes clients are unconvinced that they really need project management consulting. You should explain and illustrate the risks associated with a poorly managed project. If the client has a project manager in mind, discuss that individual's training, experience, and skills relative to the project at hand.
Control. A client may believe there will be some loss of control over a consultant that is not an employee. Stress how your client will be kept involved and informed through regular status meetings and status reports. Assure your client that your goal is to solve the defined business problem. The client will make the business decisions and you will manage the project in support of those business decisions.
Cost. The client may have difficulty justifying your rates. Get your client to focus on the value (ROI) of the project. Discuss the potential costs of an out-of-control or failing project. Give specific examples of how you can save money through better scheduling, higher quality, and more effective use of resources. Position project management as effectiveness, and cost saving—not an unnecessary or optional expense.
Qualifications. Consulting is somewhat intangible, and your client may question your qualifications to handle the project. Discuss your experience and training. Provide references. If you are a Project Management Professional (PMP), provide information about your professional certification. While there is no such thing as a perfect fit, you should be able to show how your skills and knowledge compare to your client's needs.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
As a project management consultant, you typically have some responsibility for winning as well as delivering project management consulting. It is quite possible to determine if a project management consulting opportunity exists based on a few interviews with key decision makers. An informed decision to pursue the opportunity or walk away from it can be made early, and with minimal investment. Once you have established that there is an opportunity worth pursuing, you can shape your involvement to be commensurate with your client's needs, and position your services against competitors. You can therefore anticipate and address common objections. The results of your qualifying efforts will be better defined projects and more satisfied clients.
Challenges in Green Project Engagements: Construction projects, green or conventional, involve multi-faceted disciplines engaged with the goal of delivering products i.e. building, infrastructure etc. at the best quality within stipulated budgets. For green projects, additional attention is added for environmental quality. Due to the various responsibilities and liabilities involved as well as the complexity of the construction process itself, formal engagement of multi-disciplinary professionals i.e. project consultants is required in any construction project. Poor selection of project consultants will lead to a multitude of complications resulting in delay, cost escalation, conflicts and poor quality. This paper explores the challenges that occur during the engagement of project consultants in a green project. As the engagement decision involves developers and architects, these two groups of respondents with green project backgrounds were approached qualitatively using interview technique. The challenges identified are limited experience and knowledge, consultants’ fee vs. quality, green complexity, conflicts of interest, clients’ extended expectation and less demand in green projects. The construction shifts to green project demands engagement of project consultants with added skills. It is expected that through the identification of challenges, better management and administration can be created which would give impact to the overall process of engagement in green projects.
Emerging Trends
The Future of Project Consulting: 1. Artificial Intelligence will not replace consultants
Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first: Project consultants are not going to be replaced by AI. I’m not just saying that because I don’t want to be rendered obsolete; I genuinely believe it to be true.
Consulting is a nuanced discipline, especially in project environments. There are an (almost) infinite number of ways to apply the different project delivery approaches, to plan and distribute work, to leverage resources, and so on. Understanding what works best for different organizations, departments, teams, and individuals comes down to more than just data and algorithms.
It requires experienced professionals with an appreciation for how people work together, how to get the most out of environments, and how to balance the numerous priorities involved in every unique initiative.
That’s always going to require experienced business leaders, highly skilled project managers, and consulting services that can be the difference in securing those extra few percentage points of performance.
I will willingly embrace AI where it can help organizations and individual consultants—planning work, defining scope, establishing metrics, etc. But the consulting services themselves will never be driven by AI. Consultants who know how to use AI effectively will have an advantage, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some form of AI proficiency become a requirement for a number of consulting agreements—but it will always have a supporting role.
But what about other elements of project consulting’s future? What’s going to happen there?
2. Project consulting will more closely align with business consulting
I have always viewed project consulting as separate from more general business, management or strategic consulting. It has always seemed to me that it required a deeper understanding of project delivery approaches and environments, and therefore was best undertaken by someone with experience in direct project work.
There was a point in my career where I was able to expand beyond project consulting to more general business and strategic aspects, but I don’t think I would have been able to go the other ways without project experience.
However, I see the various business-related consulting disciplines moving closer together in the next few years as organizations become more focused on discretionary investments, nd as evolution and transformation becomes a core part of how organizations operate on a continuous basis.
I believe that project experience will continue to be an essential part of a consultant’s skillset, resulting in more and more general business consulting opportunities for people with a background in project delivery roles. That simply reflects the increasing importance projects are going to have in all aspects of work delivery.
3. Reduced specialist consulting (in most cases)
Another evolution that I see occurring is a reduction in the demand for specialist consulting support, particularly around project delivery approaches.
As organizations recognize that there is a need for flexibility in how work is carried out, so investment in specific methodologies will reduce. That’s partly what is happening with the rise of hybrid rather than a commitment to “pure” plan-driven or agile approaches, but I see it going further.
Project consulting will be centered around achieving business success with absolutely no regard for whether that success occurs using a particular methodology or combination of methodologies. As a result, project consultants will need to become more business generalist than approach evangelist.
However, there are a few aspects of project delivery where I think specialization will still be required. Most obvious of those in my mind is consulting around the integration of organizational change management (OCM) with project work. For a lot of organizations, OCM remains an afterthought, and that will increasingly be a barrier to success.
While more politically sensitive in some parts of the world, I also see an increasing need in the coming years for consulting capabilities around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and also environmental, social, and governance (ESG). These are areas where organizations continue to struggle, and outside assistance is likely to be needed to deliver sustainable improvements.
4. The growth of the internal consultant
In the next few years, I see organizations continuing to increase the percentage of their total budget that is committed to discretionary investments. That reflects the pace of change and the simple fact that stable operations are going to be a thing of the past in many industries—organizations must continuously grow and evolve.
As a result, I see an increasing need for continuous consulting support around project environments as organizations seek to constantly improve and optimize project delivery.
I believe that is going to result in an increasing number of internal consultants. These are individuals with broad and deep expertise in project-related work who operate as consultants to the business, but as permanent employees rather than on a temporary contract basis.
Most likely aligned with a PMO, these are going to be an evolution of the project consultant role that some organizations already use to support PMs with project delivery. I see the role becoming more strategic and much more aligned with what we traditionally think of as strategic project consulting.
I don’t believe that this evolution will eliminate the need for external consultants, but I do see it as a driver for elevated capabilities among those external individuals. They will need to demonstrate a higher level of capability and understanding in order to secure meaningful opportunities.
5. The shift to the individual and boutique consultant
Currently, consulting in projects ranges from individuals to small boutique firms to the “big name” consulting firms that dominate the market at the large-scale end of the market.
In the future, I see a shift away from those big firms. They are currently viewed as premium consulting—much higher priced because of their ability to support large projects and their proven standardized methodologies, maturity models, etc.
As organizations embrace tailored ways of working and empowered teams, so the benefits of these standard consulting models will diminish. This will create more opportunities for small boutique firms that specialize in industry or market niches, and for the individuals who operate wherever opportunities align with their capabilities.
Initially, this will create a two-tier system—large firms will continue to succeed at the executive level with enterprise-wide planning models, while smaller firms and individuals will be the norm at the execution level.
However, over time, large firms will struggle to justify their fees for the benefits that they are delivering, even with enterprise initiatives, and will become a less significant part of the industry.
As a personal editorial comment, I believe that will increase the quality of consulting. There are a lot of highly skilled, very experienced consultants working for big firms—but there are also a lot of people who don’t have the same skill levels and who aren’t filtered out quickly enough.
6. Higher fees—for the best
The final trend that I see occurring is an increase in the fees charged by experienced and skilled consultants. Simple supply and demand will drive the market, making the most experienced, skilled and respected consultants much more valuable. They will be able to name their own price and be much more selective on the contracts they accept.
In the mass market, I also see an increase in consulting fees, just to a lesser extent. While rates for contract project management work are likely to remain relatively stable in real terms, I see above inflation increases in consulting rates to reflect the importance of having effective efficient project delivery environments. The ongoing shortage of project professionals in many key project delivery markets is going to further fuel that, making project consulting an appealing career choice.
Of course, with higher rates comes higher expectations—and there will be a more rapid driving out of consultants who can’t live up to organizational expectations. There will be less tolerance for anything less than continued excellence.
Conclusions
One of the great things about looking to the future is that no one can prove me wrong—at least not yet. Will all of these predictions come to pass? Probably not. Will some of them? Absolutely.
I would stack my reputation on AI never replacing human consulting expertise. I can also say with confidence that whatever the future of consulting in project environments looks like, it will be different from today.
I believe that’s a very good thing. That’s not to imply that consulting today is bad, just that it needs to evolve to remain relevant. And while I might like to think that I am part of a successful profession, I realize that there is always room for improvement.
As projects become an ever more important part of how organizations succeed, that improvement will be more important than ever.
