Blog: Dan Power

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Hiring a Decision Support Consultant

Over the past 25 years, almost all of my consulting has been the result of referrals. But I have a full-time teaching job, so I do very little consulting. I have not really had to market my services or cultivate referral networks. In general, my teaching duties, my writing and my web sites have kept me very busy for the past 13 years. Prior to 1995, I was an administrator at the University and did not really do any consulting for those 6 years. The few projects I do a year are related to identifying/evaluating software, training or research. Currently, I am only looking for virtual world related decision support consulting.

So this blog posting is not about me. Rather I want to offer some independent advice for those folks who might be in the market looking for professional help related to building, buying, designing or evaluating decision support systems.

First, I think any company with sales over USD $50 million needs annual independent advice for the Information Technology folks and management on decision support. This should be a check up and visit with a general practitioner. It is better to talk to people like Claudia Imhoff, Colin White and Jill Dyché routinely rather than waiting until you have a problem. The very large companies seem to be the worst offenders, the IT folks seem convinced they can "doctor" themselves or just attend conferences like Teradata or TDWI.

Second, hire the smartest generalist you can find and let that person get to know your company. A good consultant needs to become familiar with the "client" environment. Develop an ongoing relationship with the consultant that emphasizes candor.

Third, when you have specific projects, get advice on staffing internally versus hiring contract or specialist consultants. Don't always assume the professionals at the vendor are the best or the worst people to work with. Sort out what is best for the project and the ongoing development and maintenance of the system.

Fourth, when in doubt get a second opinion. A significant decision support investment should be worth some up front investment in advice. Please check with my colleagues on the Business Intelligence Network™ when you need, want, should want or might want expert decision support advice. Also, attend conferences and meet the people who talk about decision support, analytics and business intelligence. In general, get referrals and references. Hire the best person you can afford.

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