How To Get the Most From Your GIS Consultant
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10 Steps You Can Take
By Nirav Shah
Here are the steps you can take to build a good relationship that enables GIS consultants to perform their best work:
Develop specifications
Before the project, assume an equal role with the consultant in defining project specifications. Make sure your input is taken, and have at least one meeting with everyone involved with the project to ensure that all specifications are understood and agreed upon.
Monitor progress
Establish a regular method of checking the project’s status. Ask the consultant to provide you with a written report at least monthly and preferably more often. It should recount total progress to date, the previous month’s (or weeks) work, and highlight issues that must be clarified or discussed.
Don’t micro-manage
You hired the consultant for their expertise and now you must let them work. It is okay to tell them what to do, but don’t get in the habit of telling them how to do it. Consultants can’t exploit their own strengths and experiences if they are forced to do things your way.
Avoid change orders
If you don’t change specifications, few change orders should be needed. If they are, take a look at the original work order and verify whether the suggested changes are already included in the project’s scope. Changes will arise, and you should review each on a per-case basis.
Don’t change specifications
Avoid mid-project changes if possible. The consultant will have to charge you for them, and that can be costly if the project is well underway.
Ask for consultant input
If you decide to change specifications, ask the consultant for ideas, options, and associated costs. Often GIS consultants can recommend alternatives that are less expensive or are better solutions for you.
Take the lead in quality control
As GIS products are delivered, check them immediately for quality and inform the consultant of problems right away. Problems will multiply if they are not dealt with as they occur.
Communicate
Keep an open channel of communication between you and the project manager. Even if you receive a written report, speak directly with the manager on a regular basis. With this personal contact, the consultant will feel more comfortable bringing issues to your attention so you can solve them together.
Develop cooperation and trust
These are the keys to win-win situations. Both consultant and customer must be completely honest with each other in calling attention to problems and dealing with them. And when problems do arise, you need to cooperate to solve them. Being at odds with each other and placing blame will drag down the entire project. Accept it now: problems will arise, and so will solutions.
Revel in a win-win project
There should be a feeling of fulfillment for both parties. You will receive the GIS you wanted, and the consultant will feel adequately compensated for a project well done.
By the time your project is complete, you will have built a strong relationship with the consultant that will serve as the foundation for cooperation for many years to come. As you continue to use the GIS, you will undoubtedly find new applications for it and will want to expand its capabilities. Hopefully, you will find yourself returning to the same trusted consultant over and over for advice and to add new functionality to your system.
At the same time, the consultant will keep you informed of changes taking place in the GIS industry. A GIS consultant who keeps pace with these changes can assist you in making future upgrades to your system so that you will never find yourself having to completely replace the entire system.