But when the project actually begins, it's staffed by MBAs right out of college. This allows the consulting firm to charge big hourly fees to the client while paying its employees entry-level wages. This is when the consulting firm encourages the client to keep adding features and functions, so that the project is never completed. Each new feature adds more dollars to the consultant's bottom line because there's very little additional sales cost. That way, the consultant can turn around and blame the client when the project goes south.
Unscrupulous consultants have numerous ways of covering their tracks.
Some ask a client's low-level employee to sign a document saying that a particular piece of software is up and running before it has been adequately tested. That way, if the client ever tries to sue, the consultant can produce a legal document saying that everything was hunky-dory when delivered. Like most con artists, consulting firms rely upon the silence of their victims to avoid detection. Let's face it - most IT managers figure it's best to keep their mouths shut and hope for the best when a big IT project goes south. What's ironic about this is that many IT consultants are completely unaware that they're doing anything unethical.