The word "scope" has a specific meaning which does
Post# of 43064
Your experience is typical in the consulting community. "|Consulting" can mean anything from high-level business consulting to body shopping. At it's best the consultant comes in , does the work, and the client is better off. At its worst, the consultant creates as many problems as they can to generate further work. The term body shop refers to agencies that simply supply people with no thought to career progression or quality.
The initial stages of a project are to decide what the Scope is, and to ascertain whether or not it is profitable, and worth doing given the Cost of Capital.
If you want some good references look up:
- FEL, stands for Front-End loading
- the ACE website (American Association of Cost Engineers)
The SAIC Summary claims that an Order of Magnitude Study was performed. No way. 3 days is not enough time, and there is a big difference between an OOM Study and an audit.
If you like, I can show you where the term Order of Magnitude is used in the AACE documentation and what it is.
There are about 5 or 6 firms in Canada that do this on a regular basis. It is a part of their relationship with the client. Usually, if a large project is being considered, it is required to get a third party opinion before proceeding.
What you are saying is that they simply become a body shop. No way. That would destroy their reputation. I am talking about Hatch, AMEC, Worley Parsons, etc..
Multiply that by 10 in the US. Top 2 are CH2M Hill and Bechtel. SAIC is mid-tier.