Facilitating Project Management and Systems Engineering with Collaborative Technologies

Facilitating Project Management and Systems Engineering with Collaborative Technologies

Mario OrtegaSenior AssociateBooz Allen Hamilton [email protected]

Sean GallagherSenior AssociateBooz Allen Hamilton, [email protected]

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Agenda

Reality and Challenges Managing Today’s Projects Technology Investments – How They Help & Hurt Collaborative EPM Capabilities Lessons Learned from EPM Deployments at the

enterprise level

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Reality and Challenges in Today’s Project Management

We’re all taught that this is how it works, but upon implementation, what does it really look like?

Many of us are familiar with varying versions of a Systems Development or Systems Engineering Lifecycle

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Even our best laid plans, complemented with industry leading tools and technology, often result in a much less structured execution….

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We’re all taught that this is how it works, but upon implementation, what does it really look like?

Taking a similar look at our Project Management processes

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Despite extensive planning, certified management, and industry leading Enterprise Project Management (EPM) tools, many projects are often challenged with a much less structured execution….

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Technology Investment Improves Many Areas, But Still Falls Short

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Increases in Data and Information Challenge Knowledge Management and Program Awareness

Many of our Clients have limited success in standardizing and managing their internal business processes and need Program Management Support and Tools.

Mission critical personnel and Client resources are challenged by:

– Lack of on demand authoritative, relevant information on Program and Project health posture including financial information

– Increased time spent on Information gathering activities reducing focus on Client Service mission

Access to reliable, authoritative information is critical to every Client engagement and their satisfaction and perception of Booz Allen

Project managers and Client managers are being challenged by an exponential increase in the rise of IT systems and data sources associated to program and project management efforts

Investments in proprietary or high maintenance custom solutions

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The Role of Collaborative Tools in Project Management

Collaborative tools, already available to most organizations, can fill those missing holes

– Improve Team communication– Provide Visibility across workstreams– Integrate your project teams and workstreams– Provide Access to relevant, contextual information and data to all roles

within your organization– Provide Visibility into contracts & subcontracts– Transparency– Connecting expertise across the enterprise– Providing an enabler to Knowledge Management

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Business Trends and Drivers for Implementing a Collaborative EPM Solution

Without standardized tool sets, Project resources are forced to procure their own tools to meet their mission requirements not able to leverage a hosted or Enterprise wide Program Management (EPM) solution

There is a need to provide secure, external access to users, PMs, PMOs, partners, subcontractors, and clients

Visibility of program and project status and progress is key to effective program, subcontractor client relationship management

On demand availability of Decision Quality Data will reinforce the value of an EPM solution to Clients

Institutionalization of firm and industry Best Practices can be facilitated by an enterprise platform that ensures program decisions can be based on systematic, integrated approach to cost, schedule, technical, and risk factors

The need to Integrate project data, documents, tools, and processes into a single modular, expandable environment

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Goals for a Collaborative EPM Solution

Ensure consistency and repeatablity

Visibility and awareness across all teams

“Need to not know” vs. “Need to know”

Make disparate teams and locations a non-issue

Motivate users to adopt the technology

Provide effective data management capability that is easy to use

Provide and effective communications platform for decentralized resources

Provide transparency of who is doing what, how well and their performance against plan

Assist in managing risks at the project, program and portfolio levels and set appropriate mitigation plans

Keep all team members “in the loop”

Make me see the big picture with the ability to drive down into details

EPM

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Trends in Collaborative Technologies Provide an Opportunity for Project Managers – Single Access to Tools, People, & Process

The market continues to evolve toward software driven EPM solutions with feature rich platforms

The technology solutions are available in varying degrees of specialization and cost. The value proposition to an EPM deployment is to get one stood up, in use and adopted by the organization.

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So… How Does an Organization Incorporate This Capability?

Exploit the capabilities within the collaborative tools you already own. Standardize templates and processes that leverage:

Leverage your collaborative technologies as a platform for micro-applications and as a single-access project information portal:

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Lessons learned – Case StudyCollaborative Enterprise Program Management (EPM) Platform

Implementing and EPM solution forces you to understand the difference between temporary project initiatives and on going portfolio / program initiatives. These are monitored and measured differently

Built on industry leading COTS technology leveraging MS SharePoint MOSS and project Server 2007 as its initial EPM platform.

Have leveraged the existing firm wide investments in technology and tools reducing costs, increasing efficiency and adoption through a standard interface.

EPM is leveraged by all our markets and provides a continuous improvement feedback mechanism.

Process methodologies in concert with technology lead to better adoption and returns on investment that technology alone

Projects using an EPM solution for scheduling, project tracking, and risk management are fully compliant with organizational measurement submission requirements 92% of the time.

Business Intelligence (BI) as well as additional COTS applications have been integrated to provide a broader more robust EPM offering that scales to address critical business drivers for Booz Allen and Clients.

A business intelligence Data Mart consolidating dozens of data sources and poised to provide dimensional growth and integration to other applications and data allowing the EPM solution to take advantage of a loosely coupled but highly cohesive architecture.

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Lessons Learned – Visibility and Transparency Across Projects, Programs, and Organizations

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In Closing

Assess and Align your Organization, Processes, and Programs

Evaluate your Systems Engineering, Project Management, Content Management, and Collaboration Tools

Integrate your EPM capabilities with existing Enterprise Information Management, Collaboration, and Knowledge Management Initiatives

Documents

Facilitating Project Management and Systems Engineering with Collaborative Technologies