In this White paper Peter Harrad compares modeling tool buy-in to gym membership. An organization needs their architecture consultant to be similar to the gym's 'personal trainer', someone who checks up on progress and introduces concepts over time in order to maximize results and value.

I sometimes joke about how some organizations buy a modeling tool in the same way that people join a gym. People join a gym and fail to get benefits from the gym because they don’t actually go and exercise. In the same way, many organizations buy a tool, even appoint a chief architect… but they don’t go through the discipline. One approach to getting going with an exercise program is to use a personal trainer – the same is true of a modeling practice.

Summary: A good way to get value from architecture consultancies that I’ve seen is to have them come in for regular visits to check up on progress and introduce concepts and disciplines over time. This is in contrast to a ‘big bang’ of effort where a consultancy comes in at the start, tosses ‘the product’ over the fence and then leaves. At the end of this paper are some recommendations for how to approach such an engagement.

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