Working with Time Management in IT Consulting: Developing a Time Management Strategy by Using PerformanceManagement

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Degree project in

Computer Science

Second cycle

Stockholm, Sweden 2013

Working with Time Management in IT Consulting

Emma Angermund

Emma Lindqvist

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Working with Time Management in IT Consulting

Developing a Time Management Strategy by Using Performance

Management

Course:

Master thesis at KTH

DD221X

ME200X

19 augusti 2013

Authors:

Emma Angermund eang@kth.se Emma Lindqvist elindqvi@kth.se

Supervisor:

Linda Kann, lk@csc.kth.se, KTH

Maria Hammarström, maria.hammastrom@indek.se, KTH Provider of the project:

André Strindby, Open Mind strindby@openmind.se

Examiner: Olle Bälter, KTH Mats Engwall, KTH

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Att arbeta med tidshantering i IT-konsultbranschen

- Att utveckla en tidshanteringsstrategi med hjälp av performance management

AV

Emma Angermund Emma Lindqvist

Examensarbete INDEK xxxxx Examensarbete CSC xxxxx

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Working with Time Management in IT Consulting

- Developing a Time Management Strategy by Using Performance Management

BY

Emma Angermund Emma Lindqvist

Master of Science Thesis INDEK xxxxx Master of Science Thesis CSC xxxxx

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Abstract

Time is in control of our everyday life and work life. Time is a valuable resource of which everyone daily possesses the same amount. In work life, time is important; it rules the workday and the tasks that are being performed. Time is even more significant within the consultancy industry, where worked time and competence is what is being delivered to the customers. Since time is of great importance for consulting firms, time management systems and time reporting become a crucial part of a consultant’s day. IT consulting firms spend lots of time and money on business systems. Despite this, the area of how time management and performance management are connected is relatively unexplored.

This report aims to contribute to an enhanced understanding why consultancy firms work with time management, and how data from time management systems could be used. The study will also investigate how the employees could be motivated to use the time management system in the extent that the managers wish, as well as important requirements on data from the time management system. These questions can together answer how time management can be aligned with performance management within an IT consultancy firm.

The report is based on 14 interviews performed at five different IT consulting firms in the Stockholm area, a participant observation conducted at one of the participating companies, as well as a literature review. The study was performed during the spring of 2013.

The study found that the main reason for IT consultant firms to report time is to gain decision support for invoices and salary payments. Being able to see overtime and flextime is something that is appreciated by the employees. Other identified areas of usage are forecasts and estimates, evaluations and follow-ups, utilization rate calculations, and employee care. Regular follow-ups by the management, preferable weekly, are necessary for motivating the employees to work with time management. It is also important that the time management system is easy to use in order for it to generate relevant decision support.

The study shows that to implement a successful time management strategy, the following aspects should be considered: (i) to not measure too much, (ii) to have clear communication and weekly deadlines, (iii) to make it simple (iv) to create awareness among the employees regarding how they contribute, and (v) to have a time management system that mutually benefits the managers and the employees.

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Att arbeta med tidshantering i

IT-konsultbranschen

- Att utveckla en tidshanteringsstrategi med hjälp av

perfor-mance management

Tid är det som styr vår vardag och vårt arbetsliv. Tid är en resurs som är dyrbar, men något som alla dagligen har samma mängd av. I arbetslivet är tid viktigt, tiden kontrollerar arbetsdagen och de sysslor som utförs. Detta är av speciell vikt i konsultbranschen där arbetad tid och kompetens är det som levereras till kunderna. Eftersom tiden är extremt betydelsefull i konsultföretagen blir även tidrapporteringssystemet och tidrapportering en viktig del av konsulternas vardag. IT-konsultbolagen lägger mycket tid och pengar på detta, trots det är området kring hur tidshantering är kopplat till verksamhetsstyrning relativt outforskat.

Den här rapporten är tänkt att bidra till en ökad förståelse kring varför konsultföretag tidrapporterar och vad data som kommer från tidrapporteringssystemen kan användas till. Vidare undersöks även hur de anställda kan motiveras att använda tidrapporteringssystemen i den utsträckning ledningen önskar, samt vilka krav som bör ställas på data som tidrapporteringssystemet producerar. Sammantaget kan dessa frågor svara på hur tidshanteringsstrategin hos ett IT-konsultbolag bör se ut för att samverka med företagets verksamhetsmål.

Rapporten är baserad på intervjuer med 14 anställda på fem olika IT-konsultbolag i Stockholmsområdet, en fältobservation hos ett av de deltagande företagen samt en litteraturstudie. Hela studien genomfördes under våren 2013.

Studien fann att huvudanledningen till att IT-konsultbolag tidrapporterar är som väntat för att få under-lag till fakturor och löneutbetalningar. För anställda är möjligheten att se flextid och övertid en viktig del. Andra användningsområden som identifierades var prognoser och uppskattningar, utvärderingar och uppföljningar, beläggningsgradsmätning, samt personalomsorg. För att motivera anställda till att jobba med tidshantering krävs regelbunden uppföljning, gärna veckovis. Det är också viktigt att tidrapporter-ingssystemet har en hög användbarhet för att underlagen ska bli kvalitativa.

Studien visar att för att implementera en framgångsrik tidshanteringsstrategi, bör dessa fem aspekter tas i beaktande: (i) att inte mäta för mycket, (ii) att ha tydlig kommunikation och deadline veckovis för tidrapportering, (iii) att göra det enkelt, (iv) att medvetandegöra de anställda om företagets nuläge och hur de själva bidrar samt (v) att tidrapporteringssystemet gynnar både ledning och anställda.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to start with sending a big thank you to our supervisors. Maria Hammarström at the Department of Industrial Economics and Management, School of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Royal Institute of Technology, for great guidance and support during the whole process. Linda Kann at the Department of Theoretical Computer Science, School of Computer Science and Communication at the Royal Institute of Technology, for pointing us in the right direction and helping us with the finishing touches. André Strindby at Open Mind for always and instantly answering all our questions and providing us with necessary information.

During the research process, we have been located at the headquarters of the IT consultancy firm Open Mind and would also like to thank all the people working there for providing support and information during the work with this thesis.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who has proof read, questioned, and given feedback on our report. This master thesis is better because of you.

This master thesis has been written in collaboration between Emma Angermund from the School of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Royal Institute of Technology and Emma Lindqvist from the School of Computer Science and Communication at the Royal Institute of Technology. Both of us have contributed equally to all parts of the research process regarding literature search and review, interviews, and writing. Our slightly different academic backgrounds have complemented each other in a good way during the work with the thesis, making it easier to look at the questions from different perspectives and improving the final result.

Stockholm August 19, 2013

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Abbreviations

BI - Business Intelligence

COTS - Commercial Off-The-Shelf IT - Information Technology PM - Performance Management

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List of Figures

1.1 The outline of the report. . . 4 2.1 The research process. . . 6 2.2 The literature review process. . . 10

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List of Tables

2.1 The connection between the methods and the research questions. . . 5

2.2 Summary of the observations. . . 7

2.3 Company overview. . . 8

2.4 Summary of the interviews. . . 9

2.5 Summary of the analysis. . . 10

2.6 Summary of the literature review. . . 11

5.1 Parameters that can be measured with time management data. . . 32

5.2 Summary over time management systems used by the participating companies. . . 36 B.1 List of all interviewees with their work life experience and information about the interview. XI

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Part I

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Chapter 1

Introduction

Time is precious, not replaceable, has no limits, but is at the same time very expensive (McManus, 2008; Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012). We fill our days with different activities that are governed by the clock; work, school, family, friends etc. This is one reason for why almost all consultants use some kind of time reporting system, where the services are assigned a uniform value and the statement “time is money” is realized (Yakura, 2001, p. 1077). It might be done by hand on a piece of paper, in a spreadsheet or with the help of some system.

Business systems, in which time management systems are included, have been a huge expense for compa-nies in all industries worldwide (Conghua, 1999), and there is no shortage of different systems to choose from. In the consulting industry, time management systems are essential since services and knowledge sold are quantified and billed by the hour. Time reporting is one of the daily tasks of a consultant, but does the time spent on time reporting pay off?

IT consultancy companies operate in a fast-moving and constantly changing environment where the competition has increased and the profit margins decreased (Hammarström et al., 2012; Haraldsson, 2013). To be successful as a consultant it is necessary to always be one step ahead of your customers, as customers within the IT sector are becoming more and more knowledgeable (Freedman, 2000). The IT consulting industry also differs from other consulting industries by being more dynamic and industry spanning (Vinnova, 2013).

In addition to being the base of a consultancy’s billing and salary payments, time reports are used for keeping track of overtime, sick days, vacations, and keeping an eye on employees. Are there more possible opportunities where data provided by a time management system could be used?

Companies spend valuable time and money on building, maintaining, purchasing, licensing, and using time management systems. It is not unusual that the consultants have to enter the same information in multiple systems, e.g. when the customer is using its own time management system or when there is a project management system where time also has to be entered. Are companies really experiencing a return on investment when it comes to time management systems and time spent on using them? These are some of the questions this report aims to answer.

1.1 Background and Relevance of the Study

The IT industry is one of the fastest growing industries in Sweden, with consultancy as the primary activity within the industry. During 2011 the IT consultancy industry occupied 37 000 persons at 1 100 companies with more than five employees, and the employment has increased with 40 % from 2006. The

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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

concentration of IT consultants is high in Stockholm, with 35 % of the IT consultants located within the Stockholm County. (Vinnova, 2013)

This research has its starting-point at the headquarters of the Stockholm based IT consulting firm Open Mind which in May 2013 employs 20 persons. Their CEO states that the goal is to double their number of employees within three years. As a company grows from a small to a medium sized company, as will be the case for Open Mind, the need for a relevant time management strategy becomes an important decision. A suitable time management system can provide the management with information to steer the company performance in an efficient and effective manner (Bergman, 2011). As for the majority of the professional service firms, the personnel cost is by far the biggest expenditure (Bergman, 2011), where time reporting can be used for controlling the expenditures. However, time reporting is often an unpopular task among the employees that is considered complicated and boring (Bergman, 2011; Bergenheim, 2011; Qbis, 2012).

1.2 Objective and Research Questions

Time reporting is considered a tedious task. Despite this, almost all IT consulting firms spend time and resources on time management (e.g. time reporting and planning). But does it bring any value to the company? A thing to consider is that time management data will be less useful if different consultants use the time management system differently. The data quality will then differ, making it difficult to draw reliable conclusions from it.

The objective of this report is to investigate why IT consulting firms work with time management and if it is possible to use the time management data to measure company performance and in that way make the data useful. What characteristics the data needs to have and the question of how employees can be motivated to work with time management is also investigated. The authors found during their pre-study that previous research has mainly focused on these areas separately and within other industries than the IT consultancy. By investigating the listed areas, the aim is to fill the research gap regarding how time management and performance management could complement each other within the IT consultancy industry.

The background to the phenomenon was studied through an observation at the IT consulting firm Open Mind where consultants daily spend time on time reporting. The observation was the starting point on which the continued research process was based upon. The main source of information was interviews with consultants, sales employees, and management, at five small to medium sized IT consulting firms in Stockholm.

The four research questions this study aims to answer are listed below. The first two questions aim to find the purpose of working with time management. The third and fourth questions aim to give information on how a time management strategy should look like, and what needs are preferable to take into consideration regarding data quality. The answers to these questions will exemplify how an IT consultancy firm can work with a time management strategy in combination with performance management.

1. Why do IT consulting firms work with time management?

2. How could company performance be measured with time management data? 3. How could employees be motivated to use a time management system? 4. What characteristics does time management data need for it to be useful?

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1.3 Delimitation

This study will focus on investigating why IT consulting firms are working with time management and what the time management data can be used for. This was partly done by an observation at one IT consulting firm. It would have been better if observations could have been conducted at more companies, but the authors thought it was better to do one observation than to not do any.

The study will also focus on how employees can be motivated to work with time management and what characteristics the time management data should have. The focus will be of the internal time management systems and processes at the IT consultancy company, and not of other systems the consultants might have to report time in, e.g. a time management system at the customer’s office.

It will also include a description of time management, since the authors have found that there has been little written about time management within the context of the consulting industry. The study also came in contact with the areas of business intelligence and performance management, since the link between time management and these was of interest. Also the phenomenon of turning time into money is discussed.

The study will not look in detail how a time management strategy should be implemented, what specific metrics an IT consulting firm should use or how a time management system is supposed to look like. This is left for further research.

1.4 Outline

The report is divided into four parts with a total of seven chapters. See figure 1.1 below for the report structure.

Figure 1.1: The outline of the report.

Background and Methodology

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the problem and describes the objective of this study. Chap-ter 2 describes how the research process was designed in order to answer the research questions.

Literature Review

Chapter 3 provides the reader with information about why IT consultants work with time man-agement. The chapter also gives a background covering the consultancy industry in order for the reader to understand the context of the study. Chapter 4 follows with the aim to explain how IT consulting firms can work with time management, describing the concepts of business intelligence and performance management.

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Findings

Chapter 5 presents the findings from the interviews. This chapter is divided into four sections based on the research questions.

Final Conclusions

The authors present their analysis and discussion in chapter 6. The final chapter, chapter 7, presents this study’s conclusions and recommendations.

Depending on the readers’ previous knowledge, the authors would like to suggest different ways of reading this report. If you have no or little knowledge about the areas of this research, the suggestion is that you read all the parts in order. If you have knowledge about the IT consulting industry, the suggestion is to read all parts except chapter 3.

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Chapter 2

Research Process

This chapter will explain in detail all methods used in this research. The aim is to provide credibility to the study and to motivate why the chosen methods are a good tool for answering the previously stated research questions.

2.1 Research Approach

An inductive research approach was chosen because of the limited literature findings during the authors’ pre-study, see 2.2. Because of this, the study’s starting point was the empirical studies. Qualitative data is appropriate when conducting an inductive study (Eriksson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 2008), which is why semi-structured interviews, participating observation and literature review were the chosen methods. The choice of methods was also based on the research questions, in order to make it possible to answer them in the best possible way, see table 2.1.

Method Question Semi-structuredInterviews Literature Review ObservationParticipant Why do IT consulting firms work

with time management? X X

How could company perfor-mance be measured with time

management data? X X X

How could employees be moti-vated to use a time management

system? X X X

What characteristics does time management data need for it to

be useful? X X

Table 2.1: The connection between the methods and the research questions.

With an inductive study the researchers move from the specific to the general (Collis and Hussey, 2009). The semi-structured interviews and the observation provided detailed information about specific com-panies, employees and environments. This data has in combination with literature been generalized in order to provide general recommendations. The whole research process is described in figure 2.1.

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CHAPTER 2. RESEARCH PROCESS

Figure 2.1: The research process.

2.2 Pre-Study

The research started with a brief pre-study that provided knowledge about time reporting systems and the consultancy industry, which is the context from which the first draft of the research questions were developed. The pre-study mainly consisted of meetings with employees at Open Mind and a very brief literature review. The brief literature review did however only result in few relevant findings. After the pre-study was done, the research questions and problem areas were identified and documented. Since the pre-study did not result in many specific findings within the research area, it spread across multiple topics. To narrow the scope of the research, the authors continued with a participant observation and interviews.

2.3 Participant Observation

The authors have been located at the headquarters of Open Mind during the entire research and have participated in planning, daily routines and social activities. The observation was just partly documented by sporadic notes when something the authors thought of as important came up. The findings from the observation have worked as guidance in the preparation of the interviews and as a small complement to the findings during the interviews. The authors have chosen not to present these findings in the report, however, the findings are in a few cases referred to in chapter 6.

The aim with the observation was to gain a deeper understanding of this particular IT consultant com-pany and its employees, foremost regarding how they work with time management and performance management. The aim was also to give the authors an insight of the administrative tasks of a consultant, and how much time is spent on those tasks. This helps to answer the question of why IT consultants work with time management and how time management data can be used. How company performance can be measured with a time management system was also observed.

Observation is a useful technique to gather information at the beginning of a project since it will help to understand the users’ context, and thereby provide information about why processes and activities are conducted the way they are (Preece et al., 2011). Collis and Hussey (2009, p. 154) state, “The aim is to

provide the means of obtaining a detailed understanding of values, motives and practices of those being observed.” With an observation in the field, focus can be on how a process is performed, and not how the

user thinks it is performed, which is often the answer given in a classic interview (Gottesdiener, 2005). A difficulty with the method is that the observer might get emotionally involved with the observed persons, making it hard to provide an unbiased description.

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The observation was a prerequisite for conducting interviews. The authors gained in-depth knowledge that was helpful for understanding the interviewees’ jargon and the environment IT consultants are working in. A disadvantage with observing only one company is that it is not possible to compare the result with an observation at another company. The conducted observation cannot be confirmed or questioned by additional observations. A summary of the purpose with a participant observation is presented in table 2.2.

Purpose Data Collection Participants Participant

Observation Gain insight of values,practices and activities. Preparation for theinterviews and knowledge used during analysis.

All employees at Open Mind located in Stockholm. Table 2.2: Summary of the observations.

2.4 Semi-Structured Interviews

Semi-structured interviews were conducted at five IT consulting firms in order to get information about why and how they work with time management systems and performance management and what kinds of systems they use. Also, information about what the time management data can be used for and how employees can be motivated to work with time management was gathered.

Semi-structured interviews were chosen because they allow for follow-up questions and the possibility of going deeper into the mentioned subjects, resulting in qualitative data. Structured interviews are easier to analyze and require less time, but give data of more quantitative type. The downsides of semi-structured interviews are that they are time consuming, and demand that the answers are interpreted in the right way. It can also be hard to ensure that all topics have been covered, and the analysis of the data is hampered by the questions being asked slightly differently. (Collis and Hussey, 2009)

Because the authors wanted a qualitative research, with depth and richness in the data, fewer companies were chosen, and focus was instead to meet with multiple roles at each company. This gave a greater insight into each company, but the possibility to get a wider range of companies within the industry was partly sacrificed. Five companies with three interviewees at each company were chosen. A summary of the purpose with the interviews is presented in table 2.4 that can be seen at the end of this section.

2.4.1 Sample Selection

The authors have during their studies at KTH come in contact with a number of IT consulting firms, and the participating companies were therefore partly chosen based on existing contacts. The participating companies were also chosen based on the number of employees in order to find small and medium sized companies. The authors have before this study met with all companies, and have at those meetings gained basic information about them. In smaller companies, the distance between managers and employees are shorter, which might affect how the companies’ activities are managed and controlled. Because of this, small and medium sized companies were chosen. The chosen companies were also all limited to the Stockholm area, due to limited time and resources. Open Mind, Bontouch, XLENT Consulting Group, Findwise and Netlight were the participating companies, and their characteristics and number of employees can be seen in table 2.3.

Since the authors wanted different perspectives of time management and performance management, it was important that people with different experiences and roles were interviewed. Therefore, a selection of (i) one consultant, (ii) one sales employee, and (iii) one manager, was chosen from each company to participate in the study. Consultants were chosen since they are the ones expected to use the time

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Company Name Number of_Employees Description

Bontouch 20 Works as outsourced software developers.

Findwise 100 IT-solution consultants specialized in search and_findability.

Netlight 450 Genuine consultants.

Open Mind 20 Makes tailor made and comprehensive solutions. XLENT Consulting Group 160 Mainly works with business development and_{software development.}

Table 2.3: Company overview.

management system on daily basis. Sales employees were chosen due to their close customer contact and their role as negotiators. Managers were chosen because of their responsibility for performing checks and planning. By including human resources and finance employees a more complete picture of how and why IT consulting firms work with time management could have been gained. They might have contributed with more knowledge about soft values and legal issues, but according to the authors’ participating observation it was noticed that they do not use the time management system in the same extent as the other roles that were chosen.

The respondents were chosen with the help of the authors’ previous contacts at the chosen companies (convenience choice), but also by snowball sampling: that is asking the interviewees for suggestions on other people to interview (Collis and Hussey, 2009). Convenience choice is a good starting point when choosing interviewees, since there often already exists a relationship with them, but the advantage with snowball sampling is that people with the right experience and the ability to answer the questions are recommended (Collis and Hussey, 2009). The interviewees were offered to remain anonymous, which they all accepted. This might have encouraged them to answer more open-heartedly.

2.4.2 Interview Development and Technique

The interview guides were developed based on material from the pre-study and the research questions. First, all questions, big and small, were written down. This resulted in a huge amount of questions, which then were grouped and sorted according to the bullet list further down in this section (for complete interview guides see appendix A).

All interviews started with questions about the interviewee’s background and ended with concluding questions. The areas covered in between the beginning and the end are listed in the bullet list below. Some questions appeared in more than one of the interview guides, and all guides contained several open questions where the interviewee had the opportunity to give examples and elaborate his/her answers. The observation indicated that sales employees and management do not time report in the same extent as the consultants, which is why questions about time reporting was excluded from those interviews. During the interview process, some questions were altered and deleted since it seemed like they were misunderstood by the interviewees, and some questions were added when new interesting aspects arose.

• Consultant: How to report time, The time management system • Sales Employee: The sales process, Tools

• Management: How to manage a company, Analytical systems

Both of the authors participated during the interviews, making it possible for two people to take notes. This makes it possible to thoroughly explore all issues (Collis and Hussey, 2009). The interviews were recorded, which presents the option of going back and listen to the interviews multiple times. It also reduces the stress of taking notes during the interview. However, recording might make the interviewee

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uncomfortable and inhibit candid answers (Ejvegård, 2009). Recording makes it possible to put more focus on the interviewee and to ask relevant follow-up questions. The interviews were limited to 30-60 minutes, which was enough in almost all cases. In a few cases time ran out, and a few questions were skipped, but since the questions were categorized by topic, all subjects were at least touched upon. Afterwards, each interview was transcribed in full in Swedish.

Since all interviewees as well as the authors spoke Swedish as their first language, the interviews were conducted in Swedish. This enabled a more open dialogue between the interviewers and the interviewee. The disadvantage of this choice is that some of the meaning of the interviews might have been lost in translation during the transcription, but the open dialogue weighs up for the translation difficulties.

Purpose Data Collection Respondents

Semi-structured Interviews

Gain an understanding about how IT consulting firms work with time management and performance management.

14 semi-structured

interviews. Consultants, salesemployees, and managers at 5 different IT-consulting firms.

Table 2.4: Summary of the interviews.

2.5 Interview Analysis

When the interviews were transcribed, interesting parts were highlighted. After all interviews had been transcribed, the transcripts were read through and highlighted once again, this time with the highlights categorized into different areas, based on the research questions. The purpose was to synthesize the data gathered from the interviews and to let different themes and concepts form new patterns. A first outline of the empirical chapter was thereafter written. After that, all interviews were read through once more, and relevant information was included in the text. The purpose with the analysis is also described in table 2.5. The opinions of the interviewees with more work life experience were regarded as more reliable and therefore valued higher in the analysis. For more information about the interviewees and duration of the interviews, see appendix B.

The great challenge when analyzing a large volume of collected qualitative data is to reduce and restruc-ture it in order to define the relevant parts, and present them in a way that is easy to understand for the reader (Collis and Hussey, 2009). The method chosen will reduce, restructure, reorganize, and focus the amount of data being presented in a way that makes it possible to draw final conclusions from it (Collis and Hussey, 2009). Since it was not possible to sort relevant data from irrelevant data until the authors were familiar with the complete sample, some of the collected data was finally ignored because it was not in the scope of this research.

Two of the companies were atypical in their sample of interviewees. One company had two persons participating in one of the interviews. Since they had the same role and the same experience, their answers were regarded as coming from the same person. Another interview had one person representing two roles; a sales role and a managerial role. In this case, the authors chose to divide the interviewee’s answers and encode them as both a sales employee and a manager depending on the question asked. This makes it impossible to differentiate the atypical companies from the ones that followed the template. The total number of interviews were thereby 14, with 15 different participating interviewees.

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Purpose Data Collection Interview Analysis Structure and reduce the data

from the interviews, to be able to generalize and draw

conclusions.

Transcripts from 14 semi-structured interviews.

Table 2.5: Summary of the analysis.

2.6 Literature Search and Review

The literature review was conducted in three steps, illustrated as a lying Christmas tree, see figure 2.2, meaning that every step starts wider than the previous step has ended. By doing this, new areas were included in each step and combined with a deepening of the remaining topics from the previous step (Engwall, 2013). This allowed the authors to expand and deepen the literature search at the same time.

Figure 2.2: The literature review process.

Step 1 A very wide literature search started during the pre-study, which spanned over many areas

regard-ing consultregard-ing and time reportregard-ing. This enabled the authors to gain knowledge from surroundregard-ing areas. The risk of not covering enough was thereby decreased.

Step 2 Refinement of the literature search based on the conducted interviews was done. But despite

this, step 2 started out wider than step 1 had ended. New areas had been identified during the interviews that now needed to be covered, as well as performing a more thorough review of already relevant areas.

Step 3 After the analysis of the empirical data, all relevant subjects were identified, meaning that

all areas of the literature review could be revised and complemented with additional sources of information. The relevant subjects presented in this report are; Introduction to Consultancy, The

Value of Time, The Value of Information, Business Intelligence, and Performance Management.

The literature found was then critically analyzed and presented in the report.

The aim of the literature study was to get a view of the already existing knowledge within the research area and identify a gap that this research can fill. This purpose is described in table 2.6 below. The pre-study resulted in a starting-point where the research could begin, the literature pre-study on the other hand identified areas where this study complements existing knowledge. Because of the inductive approach of this study, the literature review was mainly done after the empirical study. This means that most literature is of the type that confirms the empirical findings (Collis and Hussey, 2009).

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Purpose Data Collection Literature Search and

Review Find the research gap and takepart of the already existing knowledge.

Books, articles and websites.

Table 2.6: Summary of the literature review.

2.7 Credibility and Correctness of Data

This study is mainly based on semi-structured interviews, which has allowed for more detailed expla-nations, helping to gain high validity to this study. The authors’ previous knowledge, assumptions and prejudices may have colored the perceptions and interpretations of the interviewees’ answers and how the questions were asked. This might have had an effect on the reliability of this research. In research where the results are interpreted it is hard to gain high reliability (Eriksson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 2008). Collis and Hussey (2009) state that reliability is not as important in a qualitative and interpretive study as it is in a positivist study.

The primary sources of information were the interviewees (see appendix B) and the observation par-ticipants. The interviewees came from different companies and had different roles to provide multiple perspectives, and the observation was done at one IT consulting firm. Since all participants had different experiences the authors had to take this into consideration and evaluate the answers differently depend-ing on whom the participant was. Other thdepend-ings that might have affected the interviewees’ answers are; anonymity, the obligation to make the company look good, and the time and place of the interview. The anonymity can make the interviewee give more open answers, while the obligation to make the company look good can have the opposite effect. The time and place of the interviews affect how comfortable the authors as well as the interviewers feel.

The literature review was mainly based on books, peer-reviewed articles and web pages. In order to have relevant information the aim was to find newer publications, resulting in most of the literature not being older than ten years. Information on web-pages was more carefully considered than information in books and peer-reviewed articles.

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Part II

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Chapter 3

Why Working with Time

Management in Consulting

In order to facilitate understanding of the environment in which this research has been performed, this chapter will start by providing a background covering the consultancy industry. The section about con-sulting will be followed by two sections covering the value of time and the value of information, which are two relevant aspects within the consultancy industry and two important subjects within the scope of the research. The two last sections will also provide information of why IT consultants work with time management.

3.1 Introduction to Consultancy

Many researchers have tried to define what consultants do. “Consulting is a service which helps

organi-zations in re-engineering and rethinking their business through technology, strategy, people, and business processes.” (Basil et al., 1997, p. 304) Consulting services are characterized as “intangible, time consum-ing, tailor-made and often provided on the location of the client.” (Plantenga and Remery, 2002, p. 472)

Consultants use their knowledge to deliver results and growth to their customers, something that can be done within a number of different areas and professions, e.g. construction, management, human re-sources, public relations, and IT. Freedman (2000) states that consultants sell billable hours, and for a consulting firm to be profitable it is sufficient to sell enough of them.

Consulting firms’ most valuable asset is the employees’ knowledge and time (Pellicer, 2005; Kreitl et al., 2002). A risk of having employees spending most of their time at the customer’s site, which is the case in most IT consulting projects, is that they might identify more with the customer’s culture and organization than their own employer’s (Plantenga and Remery, 2002). This could have a negative effect on the level of commitment towards the own company (Plantenga and Remery, 2002).

Consulting firms are characterized as being knowledge intensive, having close client interaction, and signing unique contracts (Kreitl et al., 2002; Pellicer, 2005; Vinnova, 2013). The uniqueness of each contract makes it difficult to plan in advance; the required number of hours in a project cannot be certain (Plantenga and Remery, 2002).

As previously mentioned, there are several different areas in which consultants operate, this study focuses on IT consultants. Most of the descriptions in this section are valid for all consultants, unless otherwise is stated. The two following sections will describe how consultants get paid, what business is the most profitable and how consultants need to adapt to customer needs in order to grow.

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CHAPTER 3. WHY WORKING WITH TIME MANAGEMENT IN CONSULTING

3.1.1 The Consultancy Business Model

Consultants can be paid on an hourly basis (Vinnova, 2013), called billable hours. The customer hires the consultant for specific tasks and pays according to the rates stated in the contract. The advantage of hourly payments is that the price reflects the real cost of the service; it provides some flexibility in the number of hours, letting the customer add and subtract services at known prices (Harrington, 2004). The disadvantage is that the customer cannot predict the total cost in advance (Harrington, 2004). Consultants can also be paid a fixed price for an agreed service (Vinnova, 2013), the advantage with fixed price contracts is that it provides cost predictability for both customer and supplier (Harrington, 2004). The disadvantage is that the supplier takes on all risk in the project, but a good execution can be very profitable for the consultancy firm (Plantenga and Remery, 2002).

Since the technology continuously changes, IT consultants have to keep developing their skill sets. Because the customers get more and more sophisticated and pay high fees, they expect the consultant to always be one step ahead of them (Freedman, 2000). The consultants’ knowledge has to match the customers’ demand (Freedman, 2000; Plantenga and Remery, 2002).

3.1.2 ‘Customerizing’ in Order to Grow

It is desirable for consultancy firms to have repeat business because it requires less work and investment and is therefore more profitable (Kirkham, 2006). According to Kirkham (2006) over half of a consul-tancy’s business is repeat business. Basil et al. (1997) state that a consulting firm can only survive if it maintain its existing customers. One way to be successful in the consulting industry is to ‘customerize’ -meaning that the consulting firm should be more responsive to its customers and adapt to the customers’ business (Basil et al., 1997). Successful consulting is when the customer is satisfied and the consultant is trusted and hired again. Trust is also what enables the essential team-work between customer and supplier (Bloch, 1999). As (Grisham, 2010, p. 279) states; “Trust is a fragile commodity; it takes time to

build, but it can be lost in an instant.”

Repeat business might thereby lead to company growth. Company growth causes many challenges that need to be tackled, Penrose (1995) states that one of them is the administration (cited in Kreitl et al. 2002). When the organization’s structure become more complex, communication and reporting become more important to keep the organization under control (Kreitl et al., 2002). Growth can be measured in many ways, e.g. by company size, turnover or profit. But the most appropriate measure for consulting firms is the number of employees because, as stated earlier, that is the company’s most important asset (Kreitl et al., 2002).

These administrative tasks often include time management. The next section will talk about how con-sultants turn time into money, the value of time in the consultancy industry and how time can be rated differently.

3.2 The Value of Time

IT consultants are, together with e.g. lawyers and other professional service providers who bill hourly, in the business of turning time into money (Freedman, 2000). As Yakura (2001) states, the work of IT consultants is hard to put a value on, which results in it being measured in hourly units. Within the consultancy industry, the valorization of time is the process where time is turned into billable hours, which in turn is transformed into money.

Time is also the basis of management and what all predictions and estimations are based on (Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012). In Yakura’s (2001) study it was observed that billable hours are used as a perfor-mance measure and a way of controlling each consultant’s workload. The company’s overall perforperfor-mance

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can also be measured by the amount of billable hours since the company’s profitability is closely related to the number of hours billed (Yakura, 2001). Time is measured with comparison to what it is used for, meaning that it is not time that is being managed, but rather the activities that are performed during that period (Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012).

3.2.1 Rating Time

Despite the fact that time is turned into money, the amount the customer is billed might change because of other reasons than the number of worked hours (Yakura, 2001). It is not uncommon that hours are cut from projects in order for the projects to stay within budget (Yakura, 2001). To avoid great losses and shift the risk, consulting firms try to avoid fixed price contracts (Plantenga and Remery, 2002). With fixed price contracts the risk of working more hours than planned is greater, and when that happens time is no longer equal to money (Yakura, 2001; Harrington, 2004).

In Yakura’s (2001) study it also became clear that a time management system enables the ranking of different types of time. The most valuable time is billable hours - time that creates revenue. Second came time spent on looking for business, but it was only valuable if it later resulted in new business. The lowest ranked time was time spent on administrative tasks, sick-leaves and vacations. (Yakura, 2001)

Yakura (2001) also states that there is a substantial problem that it takes a lot of effort to assign an economic value to time. One hour of work for one consultant is rarely equivalent to one hour of work for another consultant. This ambiguity is caused by different contexts and events, which affects the amount of the invoice sent to the customer (Yakura, 2001). To keep track of how time should be rated there is a need for time management.

3.2.2 Time Management

Management of time is a central problem in today’s society (Clink and Newman, 2000). Time management encourages managerial staff to achieve goals, establish priorities and enhance communication (Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012) and can thus contribute to an organization’s profitability (Burt et al., 2010). According to Burt et al. (2010), stress, exhaustion, and other health issues can be an effect of poor time management.

Burt et al. (2010) state that there are four dimensions of time management: (i) supervision, (ii) co-worker interaction, (iii) job descriptive processes, and (iv) time values. They are described as:

• Supervisors can be encouraging and supporting of good time management behaviors in their com-munication with employees, and through this also provide tasks, goals and priorities.

• The co-worker interaction and discussions can make team members better coordinate time usage, and moreover provide a mechanism where tasks, goals and priorities are better clarified.

• Information about tasks, goals and priorities can be provided in a more formal way by e.g. job descriptions.

• The link between time usage and productivity makes it easier for managers to support time man-agement behaviors.

Kennedy (2004) cites Mitter “Despite years of training, time management is still a huge issue within

organisations with heavy workloads and email overload.” Daily work tasks of an administrative nature are

not always measured properly, but probably still make up a great deal of the working day (McManus, 2008). Moreover, today it is possible to use ‘dead time’ e.g. when waiting on public transportation, to communicate (Kennedy, 2004), making it even harder to properly measure the time spent on adminis-trative tasks.

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Time management activities produce information of different quality depending on how the data is handled. The next section will describe how different ways of handling the data affects the quality and timeliness of the information, and what a consultancy should take into consideration when selecting a business system.

3.3 The Value of Information

Huge amount of data is generated in the daily activities of a company and the generated data is both historical and current (Hayes and Radosevich, 1974). Since the amount of data is so large, the real problem as (Hayes and Radosevich, 1974, p. 45) states, is “getting the right information to the right

people at the right time in a form they can understand and will use.” Bielski (2007, p. 68) agrees and

states “relevancy counts”, that there are more metrics to take into consideration today than there were ten years ago, due to more diversified and complex products that serves the clients’ needs. Kopp (n.d.) as cited by Bielski (2007) continues by stating that the best performance measures are a challenge to measure because they are often indirect.

The information usually appears out of phase and requires storage and processing before it can be used for strategic decision-making. Even though there might exist historical data about how a former project was planned, the likelihood that this information is relevant for a current project is low (Mackellar, 1991). Yakura (2001) states that despite previous examples, knowledge-based services cannot be com-pletely specified in advance because of the uniqueness of the customer organization. The scope and the environment of the new project are likely to be different (Mackellar, 1991).

3.3.1 Manual Data Handling

According to Kirkham (2006), key business processes in consultancy firms are not being automated, making it impossible to get an accurate view of bills, resources, and profitability on a day-to-day basis. Despite all available technology tools, the use of spreadsheets is extended (Kirkham, 2006). (Ariyachandra and Frolick, 2008, p. 118) cite Gruman (2004) that says “In many organizations, performance data tends

to exist in various user Excel spreadsheets.”

This manual way of handling huge amounts of data will make the data unreliable, and compromise the statistics and the conclusions that are drawn (Kirkham, 2006). Serbanescu and Radulescu (2012) agrees and adds that when data is extracted from the system it can easily lose its credibility because users and time can change the data. By extension this will mean that the consulting firm will plan and execute new projects based on inaccurate data (Kirkham, 2006). Instead of managing metrics and data manually in a spreadsheet there is a value in automating the process (Bielski, 2007).

3.3.2 Automatic Data Handling

Business systems make companies more efficient by giving them the information they need. The in-formation can include financial results, customer inin-formation, procurement volumes, and much more (Conghua, 1999). The information gives the business a clear view of their current business performance and allows for employees at all levels to make efficient and effective decisions (Conghua, 1999). By the use of a business system, the consultancies’ processes can be standardized and continuously delivered to the customers, increasing the amount of repeat business (Kirkham, 2006).

Kirkham (2006) states that there is a need for technical solutions that can keep real-time records, im-prove reporting, visualize information, and measure billable hours in order to win repeat business. This information can, in addition to provide information about ongoing projects, also be used when planning future projects. To ease the communication with the customers, they can get access to the systems,

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allowing them to check time records and other information. In this way all information is displayed, making the customer feel in control. And if the customers feel like they are in control, there will be no surprises and the likelihood of lucrative repeat business is increased. (Kirkham, 2006)

3.3.3 Choosing a Business System

As stated in the introduction, there are multiple business systems available for a company to choose be-tween (Kirkham, 2006). Consulting firms should be wary of purchasing a system that is more complicated and bigger than necessary (Kirkham, 2006; Bielski, 2007). Depending on what the company’s needs are, the system should serve them. The system should be able to deliver from day one, and provide real-time data across all company levels and ensure profitability (Kirkham, 2006).

For a business system to be successful in an organization it is important that it is aligned with the company’s strategic management. In addition, the means of gathering data must be communicated to the whole organization, as well as the results of the gathering. (Hayes and Radosevich, 1974).

It is important to consider the timeliness of the data when selecting a business system. Serbanescu and Radulescu (2012) state that up-to-date, correct and complete data is necessary for decision-making managers. The cost and the value of information are affected by the timeliness; real-time data is more expensive but gives more valuable information. Information can be made available at almost any time; with an increasing cost as the response time is shortened (Hayes and Radosevich, 1974). The age of the data also affects its reliability, older data is less reliable than newer (Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012). To enhance the business’ performance, it is, according to Kang and Han (2008), essential that the analysis and measurements of managerial performance are in real-time.

There is often an abundance of information, historical and new, continuously collected within a company. By automating information handling the credibility, correctness, and timeliness of information can be improved. The quality of the data is an important aspect to consider. Keep in mind that an overflow of information can be a burden, only the detail level that is needed for the employees to perform their work should be provided. One rule to follow is to provide only the amount of detail that one would want if one was the receiver of the information. (Grisham, 2010)

3.4 Concluding Words

This chapter has provided a short description of what characterize consultants and how the consulting business model looks like. The value of time and information have also been described and connected to the concept of time management. The purpose of this chapter is to answer the question why IT consultants work with time management. The next chapter will describe how IT consultants can work with time management.

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Chapter 4

How to Work with Time

Management in Consulting

The previous chapter described why IT consultants work time management. This chapter will explain

how IT consultants can work with time management. The chapter is divided into two parts; business

intelligence (BI) and performance management (PM). BI is used to support decision-making on an or-ganizational level while PM also considers the individual level. Data from time management systems is one source of information for the decision-making in consultancy firms. Because of this it is natural to combine BI and PM with time management. The connection between BI and PM is explained in this chapter, as well as how they can be used when developing a time management strategy.

4.1 Business Intelligence

Business intelligence (BI) is the technique where computers are used to spot, collect, and analyze business data (Pollieri, 2002; Cebotarean, 2011). BI is also described as the ability to understand the relationships between information from different sources, which can be used when adjusting strategies towards achieving desired goals (Pollieri, 2002; Cebotarean, 2011). (Pollieri, 2002, n.p.) states; “BI enables organizations

to gain complete and timely insight, distribute intelligence pervasively and drive more effective actions and processes.”

As Sharma and Djiaw (2011) state, it is not possible to manage what cannot be measured. The aim of BI technologies is to support business decision-making (Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012), but many organizations have not yet realized the full potential of BI (Sharma and Djiaw, 2011). BI is also used with the intent to measure, analyze, report, collaborate, and manage knowledge (Cebotarean, 2011). BI is used to capture knowledge that only can be gained by experience or by interaction with someone who has experienced it (Sharma and Djiaw, 2011).

The two following sections will describe the benefits with BI and why IT is necessary for BI.

4.1.1 Benefits with Business Intelligence

BI allows companies to have the right information when making decisions regarding projects, people, and processes (Pollieri, 2002; Andonov-Acev et al., 2008). A small benefit can make a big difference by letting

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CHAPTER 4. HOW TO WORK WITH TIME MANAGEMENT IN CONSULTING

the whole organization access information; e.g. if just a few minutes are spared, there is a big difference when that is multiplied by the number of employees (Cebotarean, 2011).

It is reported that BI contributes to the alignment of organizational goals and objectives (Sharma and Djiaw, 2011). Other benefits with BI are: better customer handling, improved productivity, creation of new business opportunities, reduced costs, and increased profits (Sharma and Djiaw, 2011; Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012). Serbanescu and Radulescu (2012) explain the increased profitability with better decisions based on correct information. A downside with BI is that it will only work if data exists and is of good quality (Cebotarean, 2011).

4.1.2 Business Intelligence and IT

IT is an important enabler for BI initiatives, since the initiatives are executed by combining IT and orga-nizational structures to acknowledge existing knowledge and create new knowledge (Sharma and Djiaw, 2011). The information might be internal or external, historical or forecasted, collective or individual, structured or unstructured (Pollieri, 2002; Cebotarean, 2011; Sharma and Djiaw, 2011).

A BI system finds ways to deliver information to all levels of a company, to be able to display how every employee contributes to the company’s success (Pollieri, 2002). BI systems make it possible for all employees to obtain analyses and reports in an instant (Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012). BI systems usually provide functions for analytics, performance management (PM), and forecasts (Pollieri, 2002; Cebotarean, 2011; Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012), thanks to the ability to collect huge amounts of data from difference sources (Serbanescu and Radulescu, 2012). When designing a BI system it is important to understand both the business’ and the users’ needs and priorities (Cebotarean, 2011).

By having an effective BI system, where resources are coordinated in new ways, it is possible to deliver more value to the customers (Sharma and Djiaw, 2011). Through the use of BI, an organization can utilize and develop its knowledge in a way that is superior to its competitors’ (Sharma and Djiaw, 2011). The following section, 4.2, will address PM, since an integration between PM and BI can link the information from the analytical tools to the objectives and processes of the business (Andonov-Acev et al., 2008). PM should not be confused with BI, which is rather the technological infrastructure and applications that are necessary when PM is being implemented (Ariyachandra and Frolick, 2008).

4.2 Performance Management

Within the BI area, PM has become one of the new most talked about and highly relevant topics since it can act as a bridge between company strategy and individual contributions. PM addresses issues, solves problems, and delivers the latest information and analyses to facilitate decision-making. It is also possible within PM to combine the business strategies with the technological systems at a company and use it to point out the direction that leads the company in the desirable direction. (Andonov-Acev et al., 2008; Ariyachandra and Frolick, 2008; Black and Marshall-Lee, 2011; Sharma and Djiaw, 2011)

Wilkens et al. (2011) state that PM at its simplest can be to monthly track parameters such as revenues, costs and profits. PM can also be very complex with tracking of many parameters with the help of an appropriate system. PM can be described as a process of three phases according to Sharma and Djiaw (2011), that starts with (i) understanding where the company is today, (ii) formulates where it wants to go to and sets goals, and finally (iii) declares how resources should be allocated in order to fulfill the goals.

The exact definition of PM is not commonly agreed upon (Pinheiro de Lima et al., 2012; Ariyachandra and Frolick, 2008; Franco-Santos et al., 2007), and therefore varies slightly between different authors. In this report the term PM will be interpreted according to the definition Ariyachandra and Frolick (2008)

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CHAPTER 4. HOW TO WORK WITH TIME MANAGEMENT IN CONSULTING

are using, which is a fairly broad and general definition that covers the topics raised in the conducted interviews. It includes two tasks:

• “Facilitate the creation of strategic goals.

• Support the subsequent management of the performance to those goals.” (Ariyachandra and Frolick, 2008, p. 113)

The following sections will explain what factors that should be considered when implementing PM, what dimensions that need to be taken into account, and finally how a performance measurements system (PMS) should look like.

4.2.1 How to Succeed with Performance Management

Ariyachandra and Frolick (2008) points out a couple of critical success factors for implementing PM in a company. These can be grouped into four larger topics.

• An accepting management that supports and promotes the project, making sure that the information and metrics are handled with true transparency throughout the company.

• The right balance of sufficient resources regarding financial resources, time, and people, where the persons in the implementing team possess both strong process skills and technical skills, and where users are involved in the development.

• Effective communication between IT and business that leads to a common understanding of the strategic goals, and also a direct strong link to the business strategy and to appropriate goals. • The actual implementation of the PMS concerning IT infrastructure and development

method-ology. The existing data management technology must be considered when implementing the IT infrastructure, and Ariyachandra and Frolick (2008) propose an iterative development methodology. In addition to these factors, in order to have a successful PM within a company, Ariyachandra and Frolick (2008) and Pinheiro de Lima et al. (2012) emphasize the importance of aligning the business strategy with the IT strategy to achieve a coherent strategy within the company. They state that there must be a clear link to the business strategy when a company tries to implement PM. Biazzo and Garengo (2012, p. 57) confirm this opinion with, “The lack of alignment between performance measurement and

business strategy in traditional models has been found to be one of the main obstacles to achieving the expected results from a performance measurement system.” When correctly implemented, PM helps the

management to drive the organization in the direction that supports the strategic objectives and targets (Sharma and Djiaw, 2011).

4.2.2 Results, Processes and People

Wilkens et al. (2011) mean that there are three dimensions that should be taken into consideration regarding PM, namely (i) results, (ii) processes, and (iii) people. The results, that cover quantitative indicators such as costs and profit, often get a lot of attention. The other two dimensions, processes and people, must also be regarded. The processes dimension covers aspects such as defining goals, planning and budgeting, monitoring, and allocation of resources. While the people dimension covers aspects such as motivation and inspiration to get employees to perform better, how they are managed and how decisions are made. A company with a business model that depends on creativity or customization, such as a consultancy firm, needs PM to focus on the people dimension. (Wilkens et al., 2011)

To have a successful and sustainable PM, it is important that both management and the employees take a shared responsibility. A shared responsibility can highlight how PM can make employees achieve more both on a personal level and for the good of the company. Because of this a good manager does not only

Working with Time Management in IT Consulting: Developing a Time Management Strategy by Using PerformanceManagement

Degree project in

Computer Science

Second cycle

Stockholm, Sweden 2013

Working with Time Management in IT Consulting

Emma Angermund

Emma Lindqvist

Working with Time Management in IT Consulting

Developing a Time Management Strategy by Using Performance

Management

Course:

Master thesis at KTH

DD221X

ME200X

19 augusti 2013

Att arbeta med tidshantering i IT-konsultbranschen

- Att utveckla en tidshanteringsstrategi med hjälp av performance management

AV

Working with Time Management in IT Consulting

- Developing a Time Management Strategy by Using Performance Management

BY

Abstract

Att arbeta med tidshantering i

IT-konsultbranschen

- Att utveckla en tidshanteringsstrategi med hjälp av

perfor-mance management

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Contents

I Background and Methodology

II Literature Review

13

III Findings

27

IV Final Conclusions

37

List of Figures

List of Tables

Part I

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Background and Relevance of the Study

1.2 Objective and Research Questions

1.3 Delimitation

1.4 Outline

Chapter 2

Research Process

2.1 Research Approach

2.2 Pre-Study

2.3 Participant Observation

2.4 Semi-Structured Interviews

2.4.1 Sample Selection

2.4.2 Interview Development and Technique

2.5 Interview Analysis

2.6 Literature Search and Review

2.7 Credibility and Correctness of Data

Part II

Chapter 3

Why Working with Time

Management in Consulting

3.1 Introduction to Consultancy

3.1.1 The Consultancy Business Model

3.1.2 ‘Customerizing’ in Order to Grow

3.2 The Value of Time

3.2.1 Rating Time

3.2.2 Time Management

3.3 The Value of Information

3.3.1 Manual Data Handling

3.3.2 Automatic Data Handling

3.3.3 Choosing a Business System

3.4 Concluding Words

Chapter 4

How to Work with Time

Management in Consulting

4.1 Business Intelligence

4.1.1 Benefits with Business Intelligence

4.1.2 Business Intelligence and IT

4.2 Performance Management

4.2.1 How to Succeed with Performance Management