Let's say you're trying to decide whether and how to outsource some of your business processes--a decision that typically involves large, contractual outlays of cash and complex organizational interactions and consequences. If this is the first time your organization is considering this kind of arrangement, it makes sense to consult an expert who knows the pitfalls of outsourcing before you sign on the dotted line. "You may well want to slow down, take a day and really understand what's up with this initiative," Kopeck says. "If something is wrong with the process, you'll want to fix it first, then outsource."

Decision Dissection

Identifying your exact needs is just the first step. At some point, you'll be challenged to justify your decision to bring in outside help. Here, a comparison is in order: What would the project cost in time, money and quality if you rely on in-house expertise as opposed to hiring a consultant? What if you chose some combination of the two? It's tricky to gain insight on quality apart from references and other soft measures, but time and money are quantifiable and easy to key into your spreadsheet package.

As you can see by glancing at the graphic "Sample Cost Worksheets for Active Directory Rollout" scenarios, projects that need to get done quickly--without staff having to come up to speed--are a natural for using consulting extensively, at a penalty of cost. After all, not only will you have to pay the consultant, but you will also have to do some margin of formal training, knowledge transfer and integration work with your staff.

Projects with a tighter budget but a large time window can work well if you train your own staff: It's less expensive to use staff, but training and execution require much more time. Naturally, projects that fall somewhere in the middle are a good fit for a combination of pay-as-you-go consulting and in-house expertise, where the ultimate responsibility for pulling off the project is in-house, though you can draw on outside expertise to validate designs or answer questions.

You'll also want to take a crack at calculating the project's return on investment. Technology consulting is a business value proposition. As Meta Group analyst Willis says of the digital convergence projects his firm takes on, "If there's not a 12- to 15-month payback, it's just not going to happen."

Unless you've put in some time with project management, trading in netViz for Microsoft Excel may seem like busywork, but trust us: You want columns and numbers when you're making a case to management.

Once management buys in, you'll need to choose the consultant that's right for the job. Your partner firm may be large or small; it may be a pure-play consulting firm or a technology vendor. Regardless of the characteristics, you must pick a consultant whose advice is reliable. "A good consultant's ultimate goal is to be a trusted adviser," Compass America's Kopeck says.

Sources of Info Click here to enlarge

Of course, when IT views itself as the trusted adviser, Willis says, "it can be a tough gap." For this reason, it's a good idea to involve internal staff in the entire process, from identifying the need to choosing which scenario makes the most sense and selecting the consulting outfit. It could well be staffers who identified the need for the specific skill or knowledge, so keeping them involved makes the ultimate outcome seem more natural.

How do you pick a trusted adviser? Word of mouth based on first-hand experience carries a lot of weight. Dave Munn, president and CEO of ITSMA (Information Technology Services Marketing Association), compares it to finding a doctor: "When it comes to making decisions about whom to use as a heart surgeon, you don't look at an ad. You ask a friend who has already had heart surgery, or you ask your doctor, whom you already trust, for a referral. When you look at IT projects, you can put them on the same scale." Munn Munn says that ITSMA's research bears out this comparison (see graphic "Sources of Info").

Satisfaction With IT Professional Services Click here to enlarge

While we think you should check out a prospective consultant's stats in much the same way you check out an outsourcing firm's chops (see www.nwc.com/1315/1315f2.html for some suggestions), be aware that some metrics are self-reported. We'd agree that personal referrals should count for a lot when you're dealing with a strategic (heart surgery) vs. a nonstrategic (wart removal) project.