Project Controls Expo, 18th Nov 2014 - "The 6 Key Elements for Improving Project Maturity and Visibility" By Jim Malkin
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The document outlines six key elements essential for improving project maturity and visibility, emphasizing the need for comprehensive data management in project-based businesses. It highlights guidelines for enhancing visibility, risk and opportunity management, change management, forecast accuracy, actionable information, and collaboration. Effective implementation of these elements aids executives in making informed decisions, thereby reducing surprises and enhancing profit margins.
Project Controls Expo, 18th Nov 2014 - "The 6 Key Elements for Improving Project Maturity and Visibility" By Jim Malkin
- 1. The 6 Key Elements for Improving Project Maturity and Visibility Do you know where each of your projects stands on cost, schedule and value? If you needed that information right now, would you be able to find it? The ability to answer these questions is a mark of project maturity and visibility. Project-based businesses need visibility in six key areas to proactively manage their business and avoid schedule surprises, enable predictability and better manage profit margins.
- 2. 2 CONFIDENTIAL ©2014 Deltek UK Ltd. All Rights Reserved
- 4. 4 Project Portfolio Management • Visibility into existing projects and pipeline • Comprehensive and consistent data • Resource adjustments Six Guidelines for Improving Project Visibility
- 5. 5 People • Communicate organizational goals to employees • Train Business Development and other capture personnel on the gate process • Role based training on where to access data that effects their work Processes • Consolidate project information into the portfolio level • Proposal processes and the need for upfront analysis • How to gain access to data – past and present Tools • Understand the performance of the product line • Provides information on projects, PMs, etc….who is the most profitable • Understand business mix – FP vs. CP • Bottoms-Up Portfolio view Check List – Project Portfolio Management
- 6. Six Guidelines for Improving Project Visibility 6 Risk and Opportunity Management • “Do more without more.” • Move to fixed-price contracts • Minimize surprises
- 7. 7 People • Provide a risk culture • Reward reporting of risks and opportunities • Provide role based training on risk/opportunity discipline Processes • Have a RIO policy in place for project/portfolio/and enterprise • Schedule Risk Analysis (SRA) at proposal stage as well as during execution • Mitigation steps, inclusion in EACs and Schedules • Diagnose the schedule and understand the risk Tools • Collaborative risk register • Scoring for each level of the organization • Mitigation Plans and MR burn-down • Optimization tools Check List – Risk and Opportunity Management
- 8. 8 Change Management • Efficient and accurate contractual changes • “What if” analysis • Consistent documentation Six Guidelines for Improving Project Visibility
- 9. 9 CONFIDENTIAL ©2013 Deltek, Inc. All Rights Reserved People • Train on Change Control process processes • Communicate the need to avoid scope creep • No hand shake agreements in this environment Processes • Robust change control processes • Workflows that force adherence • Detail out how to replan/restrucuture work • Contract Value updated timely Tools • Forces compliance to the processes • Sand box environment to do what if analysis • Management by Exception • Automation of the change control process (cost and schedule) Check List Change Management
- 10. 10 Forecast Accuracy • Project-level forecasting • Resource planning • Revenue plans • Timely visibility to proactively make decisions Six Guidelines for Improving Project Visibility
- 11. Check List - Forecast Accuracy 11 People • Concept Training – Budgets, Schedules, and EACs • Tools training where appropriate • Role based training on company policy Processes • Establishment of Baseline (Cost and Schedule) • Define who is responsible to complete and approve the forecast • Frequency of Grass Roots or Bottoms-Up Forecasts • Certifications? Tools • Time Phased by Resource and Element of Cost • Capability to do What-if’ing with the ability to compare multiple forecasts • Will easily integrate with a scheduling tool • Methods to expediently get info into the system • Access to the information for decision making
- 12. 12 Actionable Information • Identify, plan for, evaluate, communicate and manage obstacles • Automated alerts • Data rich, knowledge poor • Drill-down capability Six Guidelines for Improving Project Visibility
- 13. 13 People • Encourage participation in the creation of dashboards and reports • Define dashboards and reports that different roles require • Train on the information in the report Processes • Need report generation and format change (IT) • Define cadence so that status delivered on a defined basis • Define the use of BI vs. Associative Tools Tools • Associative model analysis • Users can drill the way they think • KPI’s delivers that are role appropriate • Monitor project/program status and KPI Check List – Actionable Information
- 14. 14 Collaboration • Better communication needed • Automated business processes • Standard Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Six Guidelines for Improving Project Visibility
- 15. Check List - Collaboration 15 People • People are basically social so that need a venue to socialize • Need information to make day to day and strategic decisions • Role based conversations with all stakeholders • Alerts based on defined roles Processes • Define a business cadence that will force collaboration • Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly • Workflows that allow all the stakeholders to gain insight into the process Tools • Tracking of conversations without maxing out email and keeping history • Notifications of issues that effect work • Management by Exception • Process Enforcement and Tracking
- 16. 16 When organizations implement solutions that deliver these six elements of visibility and control, they provide their financial and program managers, as well as executives, the tools they need to improve predictability, avoid surprises and better manage profit margins. IPM Six Guidelines for Improving Project Visibility
- 17. How to introduce greater visibility 17 CAMSYSTEMSchedulerAnalysisPM Stage 1 Stage 2 BCRProcess WADUpdated Progress Update ForecastUpdates Explanation Analysis Stage 3 Stage 4 Analysis Stage 5 Stage 6 WAD
- 18. Project Controls CAM Initial Typical Cycle 1811/19/ 2014 Scheduler Program Mgr #1 New Change Request #2 Scheduler Updates Schedule Subs #3 The CAM Reviews Engineering Cost Analyst #4 The FA Reviews Project Mgr Business Manager CAM #5 PM Reviews #6 Schedule and Cost Updated
- 19. Integrated Approach – Improved Visibility 19 CONFIDENTIAL ©2014 Deltek UK Ltd. All Rights Reserved
- 20. Meet the Project Team 20 • Plan work & update baseline • Validate Information & Progress • Evaluate Changes • Facilitate Communication • Coordinate & Integrate Staff SUSAN Scheduler • Gain Transparency & Visibility • Make Effective Decisions • Take Action & Reduce Risks • Communicate Progress & Status • Optimize Resources • Manage Change JASON Control Account Manager • Analyze cost and EV metrics • Forecast & Status • Validate Information & Progress • Request & Implement Changes • Facilitate Communication • Coordinate & Integrate Staff WALTER Program Control Analyst • Gain Transparency & Visibility • Make Effective Decisions • Take Action & Reduce Risks • Communicate Progress • Optimize Resources • Manage Change MARGARET Program Manager • Gain Transparency & Visibility • Make Effective Decisions based on Profit and Status • Review status at Program Level DON VP of Programs
- 21. • Gain Transparency & Visibility • Make Effective Decisions • Take Action & Reduce Risks • Communicate Progress & Status • Optimize Resources • Manage Change JASON Control Account Manager 9:00 AM Jason logs into Deltek PM Compass Sees a personalized, interactive program command center Monitors the status of the control accounts within each project that he is responsible for PAST DUE! Status update due in 30 minutes.
- 23. • Gain Transparency & Visibility • Make Effective Decisions • Take Action & Reduce Risks • Communicate Progress & Status • Optimize Resources • Manage Change JASON Control Account Manager 9:00 AM Jason reviews and updates the status for his individual projects Information is fed from the scheduling tool into PM Compass Updates are made directly in PM Compass
- 25. • Plan work & update baseline • Validate Information & Progress • Evaluate Changes • Facilitate Communication • Coordinate & Integrate Staff SUSAN Scheduler 9:30 AM Susan accesses the status update from Jason and other CAMS through her role-based dashboard in PM Compass Reviews and accepts all proposed changes
- 27. • Plan work & update baseline • Validate Information & Progress • Evaluate Changes • Facilitate Communication • Coordinate & Integrate Staff SUSAN Scheduler 9:30 AM Susan also Evaluates the impact of changes Updates the Open Plan baseline with a single click ALERT! The critical path has changed!
- 29. • Analyze cost and EV metrics • Forecast & Status • Validate Information & Progress • Request & Implement Changes • Facilitate Communication • Coordinate & Integrate Staff WALTER Program Control Analyst 10:30 AM Walter imports actuals to produce earned value metrics and analyze performance Analyzes budgets, actuals and forecasts Uses integration wizard to attach resources to activities Recalculates added costs from schedule changes
- 31. • Gain Transparency & Visibility • Make Effective Decisions • Take Action & Reduce Risks • Communicate Progress & Status • Optimize Resources • Manage Change JASON Control Account Manager Noon Jason checks in on the projects Accesses a re-configured VAR form standardized across the business. Reports variance, impact and corrective action ALERT! You’ve exceeded a threshold on your schedule. VAR required.
- 33. • Analyze cost and EV metrics • Forecast & Status • Validate Information & Progress • Request & Implement Changes • Facilitate Communication • Coordinate & Integrate Staff WALTER Program Control Analyst 1:00 PM Walter’s PM Compass workspace presents him an exception report Highlights anomalies and inconsistencies Drill down into the details to determine reasons behind inconsistencies
- 35. • Plan work & update baseline • Validate Information & Progress • Evaluate Changes • Facilitate Communication • Coordinate & Integrate Staff SUSAN Scheduler 1:45 PM Susan accesses a cost/schedule validation report automatically sent to her Pinpoints any place where cost & schedule doesn’t match Enables traceability Demonstrates compliance
- 37. • Gain Transparency & Visibility • Make Effective Decisions • Take Action & Reduce Risks • Communicate Progress • Optimize Resources • Manage Change MARGARET Program Manager 2:50 PM Margaret views her role-based command center for project status Immediately sees everything that’s happened since 9:00 AM Utilizes risk management tool to review mitigation steps Tracks these mitigation steps as Jason completes them
- 39. • Gain Transparency & Visibility • Make Effective Decisions based on Profit and Status • Review status at Program Level DON VP of Programs 5:15 PM Don reviews the entire portfolio of programs in his PM Compass work space Looks at profitability Reviews schedule status Evaluates forecast vs. actuals Analyzes KPIs to evaluate high level performance trends and objectives Reviews overall product line to evaluate current project mix
- 44. Visibility and Control Drives Business Advantages 44 • All stakeholders have a clear understanding of Who, What, When • Current performance is available for course correction • Everyone is marching with focus to achieve the same goals • Resources are managed across the enterprise • Automated insight into project/programs/portfolios • Improves Control by arming Executives with decision making information Manage Profit Reduce Surprises Increase Predictability