As the business environment becomes more complex and the pace of technology-led change continues to accelerate, the level of knowledge that technical professionals need to have to successfully plan and implement IT related projects continues to increase. Many organizations are moving from providing commodity products, to providing professional services and complete solutions. This is equally true in the public sector, in which services are offered to the public, to businesses, and to other government departments. It is also true for internal service organizations—organizations that offer services to others within the same company or government body.

To remain competitive and ensure they are successful implementing IT-led projects internally and fully addressing the business needs of their clients, organizations need technical people who are able to consult with their clients. Professionals whose roles include significant client involvement coupled with technical work need to evolve to a more consultative relationship with their clients.

This is an interactive workshop that helps both internal and external consultants build the skills and knowledge to increase their credibility and competency as a technical consultant.

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Use the five-step consulting engagement life cycle and associated key actions to successfully consult with your clients
Value technical consulting brings to the client, to the consulting company and to the consultant
Assess your behaviours against the competencies required for technical consulting and identify how to leverage your strengths and close any gaps
Increase your technical credibility and value by adding consulting skills to your current skill set

Viewing outline for:

Classroom Live Outline

Prework: Preparation Phase

Identifying a Client Opportunity
Consulting Behaviours Benchmark Assessment
Your Personal Learning Goals

Introduction

Introduction to workshop
Personal learning objectives
The Consulting Life Cycle
The definition and value of technical consulting
The Consulting Competency Model

Engage the Client

Establishing an initial relationship
Making a preliminary assessment of needs
The Strategic Questioning Process
Active listening
Recognizing and dealing with client resistance
Confirming the scope of the engagement

Gather and Analyze Information

Collecting and organizing data
Establishing a clear definition of desired outcomes
Identifying success criteria
Analyzing the data
Selecting the best solution option
Developing and testing an initial recommendation

Present Findings and Recommendations

Planning your recommendation message
Structuring your communication to achieve your objectives
Delivering a compelling presentation
Recognizing and handling client concerns or objections

Plan and Implement Recommendations

Identifying and mitigating implementation risks
Transitioning responsibilities to project teams
Ensuring client satisfaction during implementation

Evaluate Results and Evolve Engagement

Ending a specific consulting engagement
Evaluating the engagement and identifying lessons learned
Celebrating successes
Evolving the relationship

Connection

Your personal action plan

Self-study on the Consulting Skills Portal prior to class.

Anyone in an internal or external consulting role
Project managers
Business analysts
IT professionals
Engineers
Other technical professionals who would like to improve the outcomes of their consulting engagements by:
- Deepening their skills and competencies across the entire consulting life cycle
- Using a set of proven tools to achieve better results in current and future engagements
- Using communication techniques to better understand client needs and preferences
- Aligning decision makers to gain buy-in and commitment
- Preparing project teams to ensure successful solution implementation

This course qualifies you for the following PMI® Professional Development Units (PDUs):

• Technical Project Management = 15

The Consulting Skills Program consists of 5 courses. Consultants will developed a variety of Personal and Interpersonal Skills and Competencies such as building and using business acumen, communicate effectively and manage client expectations.

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Topics

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Consulting Fundamentals (CO10)

Course Overview

Schedule

What You'll Learn

Outline

Classroom Live Outline

Prerequisites

Who Should Attend

PDUs

Follow-On Courses

Course Delivery