A management consulting view on the statistical consulting process

In an earlier contribution to this journal, Kauermann and Weihs (Adv. Stat. Anal. 91(4):344 2007) addressed the lack of procedural understanding in statistical consulting: “Even though there seems to be a consensus that statistical consulting should be well structured and target-orientated, the range of activity and the process itself seem to be less well-understood.” While this issue appears to be rather new to statistical consultants, other consulting disciplines—in particular management consultants—have long come up with a viable approach that divides the typical consulting process into seven successive steps. Using this model as a frame allows for reflecting the approaches on statistical consulting suggested by authors published in AStA volume 91, number 4, and for adding value to statistical consulting in general.