IS 578 Information Technology Consulting

Weekly Topics

Tentative Session Schedule    
# Date Topic/Reading
Assignment Due
Case / Reading
1 4/4/02 The Professional Service Industry
The IT Consulting Industry -
types of firms, major players, segments, types of IT consultants, key issues
Weinberg  Chapter1 
Handouts:  How to Choose-- and Work with Consultants

Case: e-Consulting

2 4/11/02 IT Consultant Skills:
communication tools/ analytic tools/
team building/ project mgt tools
 

Weinberg  Chapters 2-7

Case - HBR: When Consultants and Clients Clash by Idalene F. Kesner and Sally Fowler 

3 4/18/02 Consulting Firm Management:
structure, life stages, strategies, competition, growth, recruitment, retention 

Issues Analysis subjects due

Maister Chapters 1,2,13-15,18,28

Case:  Lehman Brothers (B):  Decline of the Equity Research Department

4/25/02

No class

Teams work on project.
4 5/2/02 Internal and Independent Consulting:

comparison to traditional consulting firm environment -- staff function, benefits/shortcomings

Term Project Goal Statement due

Weinberg Chapters 13, 14

Case: Bankers Trust (found in the weekly supplementary readings)

5 5/9/02 Engagement Management:


Maister Chapters 7,8,16

HBS:  How To Fail In Project Management

Case:  Corning Glass Works: The Z-Glass Project

6 5/16/02 Selling:  The Proposal & Response to RFP
analyzing the RFP to prepare effective response --

Maister Chapters 5,6,9-11

Weinberg Chapter 11

Case:  Timberjack Parts:  Packaged Software Selection Project

7 5/23/02 Knowledge Management Services 

Maister Chapters 29-32, 27

Cal Mgt Rev, Winter 99.  Sarvary, Miklos.  Knowledge Management and Competition in the Consulting Industry. pp 95-107.

Case:  Integral Consulting

8 5/30/02

Change Management

Due: All First Issue Analysis Papers

Weinberg Chapters 8-10

HBS: Executing Change:  Three Generic Strategies

HBS: Executing Change:  Seven Key Considerations

Case:  Rob Walden at SCORE! Educational Centers (Abridged)

9 6/6/02 Ethical Concerns, Legal Concerns 

Due: All Second Issue Analysis Papers  

IMC - Code of Ethics

HBS: The Professional Pledge and Conflict of Interest

Case:  Martha McCaskey

10 6/13/02 Underlying Economics of Firm:
sources of profit, org structure, charge-out rates, project staffing, marketing

Due: Term Project Presentations, Write-ups due.  

Maister chapter 3

Weinberg Chapter 12

* This schedule is subject to change


Last updated by Tom Long on May 14, 2002