Today managing both separate and associated projects/programs as well as their portfolio has become one of the key business management competences along with financial management, supply chain management, staff management and so on. The reason for this is that a company of any size or activity profile can turn its goals into reality only by realizing its projects.
Increasing interest to project/program/portfolio management discipline can also be explained by the fact that the company's ability to proceed from ideas/goals to their implementation quickly and within set restrictions is one of the key competitive advantages in the modern world and often defines not only the overall commercial success of the enterprise but also its ability to survive. Nowadays the competitive advantage deals not only with the most up-to-date production means, high quality goods or efficient supply chain but also with possessing the latest PM technologies, i.e. the mechanisms that allow the company to change its key activity indicators.
Such a system is essential not only for project-oriented companies but also for "ordinary" (functional) organizations whose activity is not directly connected with project realization.
A Project Management System is a set of procedures, approaches, and tools which allow to implement projects successfully, including the following:
- Methodology and approaches to high quality projects selection
- Project, program, and portfolio management methodology (standards)
- Project implementation procedures connected with other company procedures
- Structure necessary and sufficient for the project implementation
- Financial models allowing to conduct actual project expenses and incomes as well as financial indicators forecasting (if applicable to the given company)
- IT infrastructure necessary to accomplish all the project activities (initiation, planning, implementation, control, and closure of projects)
- Qualified staff trained and prepared for project & program management.
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High Quality Project Selection (Initiation) |
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High Quality Project Selection (Initiation) |
In order to plan and to estimate the projects essential for the company and its goals on one hand, and to avoid wasting time and resources to projects that are not connected with these goals on the other hand, one needs a system which would allow high quality project selection (i.e. initiation of only those projects that are essential for the company). The process of qualified project selection allows the company not only to save resources and time but also to connect key indicators of its goals (business drivers) with each project in order to track its realization in accordance with the business indicators.
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Project Planning |
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Project Planning |
High quality project planning is the second important key factor after the initiation that allows to successfully implement the project, i.e. initially estimate the amount of work that should be done as well as time and money needed for that. How and what do we plan? Based on what data? "Top-down", "bottom-up", parametrically or analogically? Improperly planned project is usually condemned to failure, because wrong tasks (terms, money) are put in it initially. Also one should understand that the planning process is a periodical process executed during the whole project. We are forced to constantly schedule and reschedule tasks, human, financial and material resources, risks, relations with subcontractors, alterations, information exchange ways and so on. A system approach is necessary for all that.
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Project Implementation |
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Project Implementation |
The process of project implementation includes not only execution of works (both planned and the ones that appeared as a result of accepted changes) but also processes of interaction between the resources performing these works & people making decisions, processing large amounts of information, report preparations, meetings, resolving conflict situations, conferences, working with contracts and so on. Thus, the necessity of corresponding procedures, rules, infrastructure allowing implementation of all this work is obvious. Data concerning the realization of project works, deviations, problems, project documents are required now!
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Control over Project Implementation |
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Control over Project Implementation |
An integral part of PM system include functions to control how planned indicators of projects and programs match to those that "appear" during implementation process. The control itself is based on various data and realized at different levels- at the level of project managers (or working group leaders for larger projects), at the level of subdivision managers (project customers or resource suppliers) and finally - at the level of portfolio owners (top management).
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Project Closure |
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Project Closure |
The processes of project closeout include project works acceptance, data archiving, assessment of the achieved results, summing up and learning lessons procedures. These processes which are executed not simultaneously and in conjunction with others are neces sary not only to assure the fact that the project is completed but also to prepare for the next projects.
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Business Development and Company Scaling |
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Business Development and Company Scaling |
PM system allows to substantially increase the efficiency of the company's work including productivity of the staff working on the projects as well as to optimize the use of productive means. Therefore, for the companies having both desire and possibility to grow and to develop their businesses, PPM is a key tool which can help them realize their potential.
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What Innoware Proposes |
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What Innoware Proposes |
Services of PM consulting provided by Innoware include:
- Analysis of the customer's business needs
- Selection of the elements of project management system (PM system) according to the needs and abilities of the customer as well as the strategic goals set before his/her company
- Project environment organization and PM System implementation in accordance with the predefined needs and priorities
- Company staff training
- Educating selected employees of the company on project, program, and portfolio management methodology
- Consulting on project cost management system development
- Building the optimal breakdown for company's activities (elements of project office);
- IT infrastructure deployment that can include Microsoft Office Project Server & Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007, Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007, 2007 Microsoft Office System
- Post-project support for providing 24/7 availability of the system (critical for enterprise functioning) as well as its relevance i.e. support of legislative & company's demands changes.
Implementation of Project Management system is the same investment project as, say, the extension of production capacities. The value PM system brings to its users overlaps all its costs
