Agency TRANSPORTATION DEPT

Contractor High Monkey Consulting, Inc.

SWIFT Contract Number 3000001643

Project Name SharePoint 2010 Implementation

Project Number (if applicable) 98424

Summarize purpose of the contract, including why it was necessary: In May of 2011 MnDOT entered into a time and materials contract with High Monkey to lead MnDOT in the deployment of their SharePoint environment and with the creation of a custom SharePoint site called TIKN (Transportation Innovation Knowledge Network).

Project Duration

Start Date Mon, 05/23/2011 - 00:00

Original end date Mon, 06/30/2014 - 00:00

Actual end date Thu, 07/12/2012 - 00:00

Did project finish on time? No

Total billable hours utilized (if applicable) 5184

Contract Amounts

Original contract: $648680

Amendments $477075

Contract total $1125455

Did project finish within budget? No

What was the funding source? TH

Is this a sole source contract? No

If this was a single source contract, explain why the agency determined there was only a single source for the services (if applicable) {Empty}

Evaluator Name Kay McDonald

Evaluator Email Address Kay.McDonald@state.mn.us

Evaluate the contractor's timeliness Contractor displayed a lack of sense of urgency and follow through.
• Follow-ups were not acted upon in a timely manner.
• MnDOT requested numerous times to pre-review documents (Esig requirements, SharePoint Governance documents, TIKN Use Cases &TIKN Test Cases) before they were produced by the Contractor.
• Key dates for deliverables were not met (Governance, Use Cases, Test Cases)

Evaluate the contractor's quality Contractor displayed a lack of attention to detail and lack of quality.
• Documentation provided to MnDOT consistently lacked accuracy, showing a lack of attention to details as well as a low quality product (Esig requirements, SharePoint Governance documents, TIKN’s Use Cases &TIKN Test Cases)
• Key deliverables were missing (Traceability Matrix &Test Plan)
When requested to provide additional information/documentation, High Monkey stated that it was out of scope.

Evaluate the contractor's cost MnDOT was billed 3 different rates:
Project Manager Rate($135/hr):
• Rate being charged was higher than market rate for a consulting PM
• PM provided was not a senior PM, and did not have the experience for the project, which required the MnDOT PM, and other MnDOT leadership, to closely monitor the progress of the project.
SharePoint Architect Rate ($180/hr):
• Higher than market for a consulting Architect
• Architect was doing multiple roles on the project and billing at architect rate
• Architect was spread too thin on this project and other High Monkey projects
• Due to issues, MnDOT added an additional SharePoint architect to the project, prior to High Monkey’s release, for ½ the cost of High Monkey’s rate.
SharePoint Developer Rate ($170/hr):
• Higher than market for a consulting developer
• Developers provided were junior with inadequate SharePoint experience, requiring daily supervision by the architect
• Continuously failed to follow best practices of completing unit tests prior to delivery, resulting in ongoing, low quality deliverables.
• Due to issues, MnDOT added an additional SharePoint developer to the project, prior to High Monkey’s release, for ½ the cost of High Monkey’s rate.
Travel Expenses:
High Monkey did monitor travel expenses and kept them within budget

Evaluate the contractor's overall performance Contractor repeatedly displayed a lack of Ownership/Leadership
• High Monkey was responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of SharePoint and TIKN, but did not successfully meet the responsibilities.
• High Monkey was engaged for their SharePoint experience to help lead MnDOT. However, High Monkey consistently did not provide the necessary direction/expertise (for example, Governance plans at organization level vs. functional; TIKN roles)

Note:
A subcontractor was sometimes used by High Monkey Consulting for this project, Summit 7 Inc. Summit 7 Inc, did provide high-quality deliverables, for the SharePoint Governance, Strategy and Roadmap for MnDOT. This evaluation does not reflect the high quality of work, timeliness and leadership provided by the Summit 7 team.

Would you engage the contractor's services again? No

Describe any negative action taken during the duration of this contract (i.e., termination, pursuit of suspension, etc.): {Empty}

Please rate the overall experience with the contractor 1 - very dissatisfied