ITadviser Autumn 2009 29
business efficiency
recession relate to investing properly in
planning. While a big software
investment may seem counter-intuitive in
a cost-cutting culture, ensuring better
project planning and monitoring can pay
dividends.
Accurate reporting has never been so
important. Projects that are tightly
managed are more resource- and cost-
effective. Losing money on projects is
even more unacceptable in down times,
which means monitoring the cost of time
spent on projects, keeping an eye on
actual project expenditure and avoiding
cost overruns becomes paramount.
Underperforming and loss-leading
projects must be spotted and acted upon.
This cannot be done without the ability to
see across and into all the projects at the
same time. Absorbing scarce consulting
resources by underperforming projects
makes no sense at all � to be able to
redeploy and get the value from them, the
black holes in which they are trapped
have to be found first.
Missing milestones and allowing
projects to slip carries a clear and present
danger when client companies are
becoming less and less tolerant of failure.
They have to be seen to be managing their
funds and resources well, and that
includes their consultants. Reputations
and contracts can be quickly lost when
the pressure is on.
The industry is witnessing a continued
stream of restructuring and redundancy
announcements from all types of company
in a bid to cut costs. Consulting team
leaders know that they must maintain a
team with a breadth of capability or they
will lose out when the situation eases and
they find they have critical skills
shortages.
However, planning for the "what if
headcount is reduced" scenario is vital.
Teams with a strategy for managing
through changes work harder for each
other, share and spread responsibilities
and concentrate more on winning despite
the odds.
A system that not only allows for the
planning of individual projects but offers
a macro-level view across them all is
essential. Companies need to be able to
deploy and manage individuals and teams
to help alleviate individual bottlenecks
and barriers and spot duplication of
effort. Handling all this information is a
daunting task, what is really needed is
software that can do it for you.
If it didn't exist you would have to
invent it -- fortunately it does. It has
taken quite a few years to perfect and
goes by the somewhat cumbersome title of
Project Portfolio Management software
(PPM). It is now more than fully mature,
and may be one of the most important
investments companies can make right
now.
PPM is particularly right for the
current scenario because it helps
consultancies see how contracting staff
are operating and plan for a reduction in
demand for their services should the
worst happen. It also allows businesses to
share their scarce resources by grouping
projects so they can be managed as a
portfolio.
Getting PPM in place
The first and most significant challenge
at the moment is gaining management
buy-in to PPM technology. It is essential
to create a strong business case which
compares the cost of the solution against
the potential cost of NOT implementing it,
such as the loss of a contract.
Of equal importance is the need to get
project managers (PMs) involved and
active in order to drive acceptance. One of
the reasons why companies freeze up on
efficiency gains is because processes are
not allowed to change and evolve. Often it
is the project managers themselves who
prevent it because their perspective is
wholly focused on their specific project
responsibility. The trick is to make them
take a step back and recognise that each
project is part of a bigger company
picture, while ensuring they feel
confident, not fearful.
It may feel like loss of control, but it
actually unlocks the ability for companies
to control in a collaborative way and move
in a direction of continuous improvement
within
which every PM has a chance to perform
better than ever before.
No more `dreaded'
timesheets!
Project managers need to know that they
are still in the driving seat. They have to
drive acceptance through teams
reluctant to fill in timesheets that are
collated and analysed across the whole
company. They need to understand that
timesheets help to prove their value and
are a direct protection of their role and
relevance.
Selecting the right solution is essential.
`One-stop-shop-solutions' are all very well,
but there are PPM solutions to suit all
types, optimised to align with specific
needs and with APIs, which enable
seamless integration with industry-
standard tools.
Conclusion
Issues affecting the consulting sector hold
lessons which could be learned equally
well in other sectors. What industry does
not need to maximise
team effectiveness, manage programmes
and projects well, and report effectively to
management, shareholders and clients?
Consultants need to identify the
benefits that PPM can bring and have the
courage to stand up and insist on
implementation. Only in this way, can
they be sure that whatever the future
holds, they will always stay on top and in
control of their workload mountain.
Why planning and
project management are
vital
l Reduces the risk of missing
milestones or allowing projects to slip.
l Ensures projects are resource- and
cost-effective.
l Builds a reputation for great
reporting and absolute transparency.
l Ensures a capable team is available
whatever the economic conditions.
l Ensures that each team member and
each project is sufficiently resourced.
It will also assure maximum
productivity (and profit) levels.

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