Megan Cacioppo wrote a comprehensive article titled, “FROM PROPOSAL TO PROJECT EXECUTION: TIPS ON INTEGRATING TO WIN” for Deltek, insightful and we thought we would share and pass it along! She writes “Is your organization struggling to produce high quality project schedules? Are you interested in better managing the costs of your projects while being able to quickly spot trouble areas before it’s too late? Would you enjoy implementing project control process automation for change control and variance analysis?
If you answered yes to some or all of the questions above, then I encourage you to read on…
In today’s complex business environment, the more aligned an organization’s people, processes and tools, the better it becomes at executing projects and delivering exceptional results to both internal and external clients. A lot easier said than done, right? Today we’re offering tips for how you can implement an integrated toolset for Project & Portfolio Management – from the proposal phase all the way to project execution and closeout – to drive realistic planning, reliable execution, and ultimately, consistent project success.
The Proposal Phase
The two key components of a winning proposal are 1) an achievable project plan; and 2) a realistic cost estimate. However, more often than not, these components are developed in either Microsoft Word or Excel, and don’t always contain relevant or accurate information.
By using a more robust scheduling tool (like Deltek Open Plan), you can simplify the process of developing a well thought out project plan – either from scratch or by using existing project templates that are unique to your business area. Simply input a bit of key information, and your scheduling tool will produce a high-level project plan that accurately captures dates and durations. With a complementary tool for cost management (like Deltek Cobra), you can also streamline the effort required to put together the cost estimate portion of your proposal. Simply load your company’s rates and enterprise resource structure in the system, input data related to the specific proposal, and you can quickly derive a total cost and price for your given project.
The Planning Phase
Now that you’ve been awarded the bid, it’s time to move into the actual planning phase. Since you already developed a high level plan in your scheduling tool during the proposal phase, transitioning to an active project is a seamless process. But as project scope gets further broken down, complexity increases – typically resulting in flawed logic. Using an intuitive tool for measuring schedule quality and risk (such as Deltek Acumen) can help eliminate this challenge. You can run schedule diagnostics, pinpoint shortcomings, and set up project risk registers to provide a more accurate and realistic forecast. Then, after your schedule has been validated, you can go back to your cost management tool to create a time-phased cost baseline and/or multiple forecast models to account for changing project scenarios.
The Execution Phase
Now that the project is officially underway, you’ll need to support a variety of activities – from providing status updates and reporting to upper management, to managing change control. A consolidated dashboard or portal-like tool (such as Deltek PM Compass) can offer just what you need. They key is making sure it includes workflow capability, alerts, and automated collaboration. It’s also important that your dashboard/portal tool connects with your scheduling tool, so that updates can be pushed in real-time to reduce cycle time and decrease the likelihood of errors in your data.
The Monitoring & Control Phase
During the final phase of a project, progress is reviewed, changes are incorporated, variances are addressed, and corrective actions are implemented. The same dashboard/portal tool that helped you during the Execution phase will be just as important and useful for monitoring and control. You can use it to initiate changes and then review and administer them electronically, providing adequate documentation and a comprehensive audit history. Beyond change management, the tool can also be used to highlight and analyze cost and schedule variances, as well as document corrective actions.
As you can see, an integrated toolset for PPM can help organizations build realistic project plans, accurately evaluate and manage risk exposure, and manage costs, forecasts and performance to drive consistent project success. To learn more, I encourage you to download our latest solution brief, Integrate to Win: How Deltek PPM Supports End-to-End Project Management Business Processes or contact us for a more personalized discussion.” [end]
PMO Advisory offers courses throughout the year designed for project professionals interested in Portfolio (PfMP), Program (PgMP), Project (PMP & CAPM) Risk (PMI-RMP) Management, and Agile (PMI-ACP) certifications.