One of the perks of speaking at DAMA meetings is the ability to hear what's going on in the trenches with real data architects -- those of you working day in and day out trying to squeeze even more business value out of your data models, process models, and other architectural components.
At a recent DAMA chapter event, I was discussing some of the ways I've dealt with a particular issue and the person I was speaking with said "I really wish we could have you come in for a few days and tell us how we could better collaborate with our developers". When I said that this is what I do, the other person said that he didn't know that consultants were available for short term contracts. He went on to explain that most of the consulting agencies his company deals with will not enter into engagements of less than 30-60 days and usually ask for 6 months to a year of commitments. In speaking with others, I've found that the agency rule of pushing for long term assignments is common.
I guess that's the difference between getting consultants through agencies and dealing directly with independent professionals. Sure, I've had long assignments (my longest contract ended up being seven years long), but we do quite a bit of work on shorter term, project-specific efforts.
We even have clients who pay a small retainer and use increments as small as 30 minutes for a quick phone call on how to deal with a specific question. Some of our clients have us give yearly "Data Modeling for Non-modelers" training for new staff. Some have us provide ad hoc commentary on their data models, especially those prepared by third parties under longer-term contracts.
My philosophy is that I want InfoAdvisors to be profitable based on quality of work, not quantity of billable hours. There are places you can go to get a warm body to help out, with a great deal of supervision and client-provided training, but that's not us. We aren't in that business. In fact, our ability to work with shorter assignments is what allows us to do so much data management community volunteering and support.
You don't have to enter into some large, onerous long-term contract to have us help you meet your goals.