The Usable Consultant

By Dave Rogers

In the callow days of my career, I held consultants in awe. They drove fancy cars, wore great suits, carried themselves with certain gravity and always had quick answers to our problems. After a few years, their magic lost some luster. Too many were impolite, even brusque. Others didn't understand our business, trying to force our square peg into the round holes of their preordained methodologies.

I eventually realized that there are people-centered consultants and process-centered consultants -- usable consultants and unusable consultants.

Applying usability (which typically refers to systems) to living, breathing human beings isn't a perfect fit. Take a look at the ISO definition (9241-11) for usability:

...the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.

As a user experience specialist, I don't like to think of people as products. So I modified the ISO definition to one about consultant usability:

The extent to which a consultant helps people to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction within the realities of their organization.

Through my own observations and the tales of my clients, I've discovered that usable consultants display similar characteristics that distinguish them from the less helpful variety.

Usable consultants listen obsessively. Listening is the telltale sign of humility, of consultants who readily admit they don't know everything about you and your company. But don't confuse listening with silence! Listening consultants are likely to barrage you with questions, especially early in the engagement. Kelly offers a terrific Client Survey filled with questions that you should want consultants to ask up front.

Watch out for: Consultants who talk more than listen, particularly when pitching their services.

Usable consultants generously share knowledge and information. They love what they do and can't resist talking about it. They're passionate evangelists of their areas of expertise. They freely explain their processes. They enthusiastically recommend helpful books and resources. They might offer seminars to equip your staff with needed skills. They get a kick out of educating others.

Watch out for: Consultants who hide details about their process and methodology.

Usable consultants don't boilerplate. We've all received project proposals written by Find-and-Replace, when your company name stood in for "[Insert company here]." They probably had lots of nifty graphics and beautiful formatting-but how did they make you feel? Usable consultants recognize that no company is like another. Each has unique characteristics and needs that a boilerplate proposal or process cannot address. This doesn't preclude reusing material by any means (one of the strengths of consultants is that they have developed effective methods), but it should always be tailored to your situation and needs.

Watch out for: Consultants with fancy PowerPoints and claims that their process has worked for dozens of companies.

Have I mentioned that usable consultants listen obsessively?

Usable consultants join the team. They recognize that consulting begins with relationships. They place a high premium on being a part of the project team. They're enthusiastic about onsite meetings. They meet deadlines and promptly return phone calls and e-mails. They may even fail on occasion, just like other team members-but are quick to make amends. Watch out for: Aloof "Lone Ranger" consultants who ride into town on their own schedules.

Usable consultants help you achieve goals. They recognize that what is a single engagement to them is your life's work. They strive to ensure that both you and the project fully succeed. When I was a rookie instructional designer, the mentoring of a consultant-including tutorials, reading and homework assignments-made me more valuable to my employer and sowed the seeds of my own consulting practice. I still "pass it forward," thrilled to see my clients receive promotions because of our work together.

Watch out for: consultants who seem interested in you only as a stepping-stone to bigger engagements.

What's the lesson here? That there are only two kinds of consultants? Of course not. Like everywhere else, consultants run the gamut from superb to second-rate. But the best—the most usable—consultants are people-centered. They know that projects succeed when people succeed and demonstrate this belief by what they do.

And isn't that what user-centered design is all about?