The objectives of the column are:

• to create a marketplace of ideas, frameworks and tools that increase the value of an IMC membership by expanding a consultant’s knowledge and toolkit
• to create a forum that facilitates connections, partnering and intellectual discourse amongst IMC members and readers of the IMC SoCal Newsletter

This month, IMC Past-President and Board Member, Jerry Savin, discusses a recent expert witness experience:

What happens when an implementation project falls apart?  One option is to turn to the courts for redress.  This involves hiring attorneys who, in technical matters, often hire or refer their client to a technical expert.  The job of the technical expert is to sort out what is usually a confusing situation, determine the merits and risks of the case and assemble facts that objectively support the client’s arguments.

Last fall, John Cosgrove and I were contacted by a law firm in the matter of a failed payroll implementation.  The payroll processor worked for nearly a year to parallel the customer’s existing payroll service.  After a year of problems, the project was stopped.   The processor’s contract contained a provision that allowed it to bill its customer for the time invested in the project if the project ended prematurely.  The processor sued its customer for the time invested in the project and damages.

We were hired to sort out the conflicting claims and allegations.  We ultimately testified in court as to the professional standards of care that apply in situations such as this and the degree to which the processor failed to satisfy those standards.

The case was a bench trial.  Both parties now await the decision of the judge in this matter.

Jerry Savin is President of Cambridge Technology Consulting Group, Inc., a management consulting company that specializes in information technology and business information systems. He can be reached at: jsavin@ctcg.com.