What should I expect to pay for Project Management Consulting?

The answer to this depends on the type of project you are considering.

The project advisory role should be in line with 15% of the total project cost when a “buy” option is selected. I would consider project advisory services in a “buy” option to include definition of the requirements, evaluation of options, identification of any customization required and recommendation of a vendor.

The total cost of the project could either be the total hardware, software and customization required to implement a software package, or, the total cost of ownership for a hosted solution over a 2 – 3 year life cycle. I would select 2 – 3 years because it would likely be important to evaluate other alternatives at that time, to ensure you have the most recent features and functionality. 

For custom development projects, or “build” options, the percentage of budget for project advisory services can climb as high as 35% of the total project costs, as the project manager may increasingly have to act as a conduit between the programmers and the users. Hybrid options, such as a project to customize a software package, would likely fall somewhere between these estimated percentages.