Project4EU. a unified Work Programme Management solution for European Union Agencies. White Paper April P a g e

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1 Project4EU a unified Work Programme Management solution for European Union Agencies White Paper April P a g e

2 Executive Summary The European institutions and agencies have unique needs and requirements when it comes to project portfolio management. Project management processes must support the efficient and transparent management of Work Programme objectives and activities, as well as other projects. It must also align with project management practices recommended by the European Commission, such as the PM 2 project management methodology. Organizations face the limitations of traditional tools, such as spreadsheets not being robust enough, slow what-if scenario s, lack of collaboration, high Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) etc. Project4EU, tailored to meet the project management and reporting needs of EU institutions and agencies, is an easy-to-implement project management solution that helps EU organizations align with European standards and goals, while streamlining projects an d processes. This white paper looks at the solution approach in Microsoft Project Portfolio Management, specifically for European organizations. It aims to give you some insights about the benefits when using such a planning solution. This whitepaper has been written for EU agencies and their Head of Departments, Head of Unit, PMO, Project & IT directors and Project Officers. 2 P a g e

3 1. Why are PPM solutions becoming so important? Keeping track of multiple projects, budgets, timelines and goals, and multiple project managers, can be a challenge. Organizations that have difficulty handling projects often perform poorly too. According to the Project Management Institute, high-performing organizations complete more than 80% of projects, meeting their original goals on time and on budget. Low-performing organizations, on the other hand, meet the goals of 60% or fewer projects on time or on budget. And that s not all the low-performing organizations also waste 13 times more money. 1 Project Portfolio Management (PPM) solutions provide a flexible, comprehensive way to manage multiple projects. Offered by a wide variety of companies, PPM solutions can range from a one-sizefits-all software package to a fully customized offering. For organizations looking for a PPM solution, finding the right solution and partner is key. Choosing software that doesn t quite fit, or that s implemented improperly, or working with a partner without the necessary expertise, can be expensive. Mistakes can result in a whole range of unexpected costs, such as software replacement, dual system costs, customization fees, legal wrangles, business disruption, or even damaged customer perception. Careers can be damaged as well. Employees who lead failed software projects can bear a personal cost ranging from being denied promotion to being fired, 2 warns Chris Doig, tech writer and consultant, in an article at The agencies and institutions of the European Commission operate in a highly-regulated, highly-visible environment. The President of the European Commission sets overarching political priorities, which are translated into Work Programmes that outline the priorities for each EU agency and institution. Each Work Programme features strategies, objectives and goals, which cascade down at the agency level into multiple projects and tasks. As a result, projects have to be managed in a complex framework that meshes efficiency, visibility and control with Work Programme tasks and goals, and that is compatible with the project management methodologies recommended by the European Commission, such as PM 2. 1 The Project Management Institute, 2015, Pulse of the Profession, PMI s annual global survey of project, program and portfolio managers, retrieved from 2 Chris Doig, April 27, 2015, What a bad enterprise software purchase will cost you, retrieved from 3 P a g e

4 2. The business benefits of Project4EU Project management tools used to be viewed as being mostly for IT departments. But today, project management solutions are considered central to the success of organizations across all industries. Project4EU is a project management solution approach created for EU agencies and institutions. Based on Microsoft Project Server, Project Professional, and SharePoint, it was designed to match the requirements of EU organizations. The methodology and processes applied by these organizations are embedded in solution, which is structured to support Work Programme strategies and goals. Project4EU - Work Programme Management For EU agencies and institutions, Project4EU offers three important benefits: 1. Harmonization 2. Cost Reduction 3. Real-time insight and information. 4 P a g e

5 2.1 Harmonization For organizations that operate within the European perimeter, alignment with strategy, methodology, and process is key. Project4EU was built to incorporate the needs of EU agencies and institutions. The standard configuration of Project4EU matches the initial EU requirements of managing projects and programs. Its reporting is based on EU requirements and best practices. And because it was developed in line with EU standards, it fosters a unified way of working, across different directorates, departments or units. With a single, unified PPM solution such as Project4EU in place, silos whether they re individuals, departments, units, or agencies are eliminated. A single PPM also helps agencies harmonize ways of working, both within separate agencies, and across multiple agency entities. Different agencies might have differing missions, but they can control, monitor and close projects in the same way, all in accordance with project management standards. An agency or institution can choose to implement all standard PM2 processes, or can implement a Lite or Extended version, depending on the organization s maturity and needs. Project4EU is also customizable, so that it can go beyond the standard configuration and align even more closely to the varied needs of different agencies or institutions. 2.2 Cost reduction Project4EU helps to reduce costs, by means of consolidated planning and op timized capacity usage. It provides a clear view on time and budgets, unified on a single platform. In addition, the implementation of project management policies and procedures, which are embedded in Project4EU, helps to improve control and efficiency. Teams are more efficient, because of improved communication and collaboration. Projects, budgets and resources are tightly aligned with Work Programmes, which minimizes wasted spending and effort. Project4EU s financial management processes, and ability to track cost performance, help to ensure delivery within budget, and determine whether a project has achieved the forecasted results. And helps to prevent, identify, and mitigate potential business or project-related risks and issues. 5 P a g e

6 2.3 Real-time insight and information Project4EU offers a one-stop-shop for Work Programme reporting, global budgeting and provides a real-time view of project progress and alignment with objectives. Decisions can be made based on current information. It also brings heightened visibility to Work Programme projects, helping to keep the most important projects and priorities top -of-mind for team members as well as project managers. Project4EU is also available for PMP and PRINCE2 project management methodologies. 6 P a g e

7 3. Product details and functionality 3.1 Product design Project4EU is based on the Microsoft PPM platform. It starts with Microsoft Project Server, a flexible on-premises solution for project portfolio management and everyday work. It also includes Microsoft Project Professional, a project management software system designed to work seamlessly with other Microsoft applications and cloud services; and Microsoft SharePoint, an online application that enables enterprise social networking and collaboration, content and document management, web development and more. 3.2 How it works With Project4EU, you can easily capture your project demand, and analyse the optimal work. Your Work Programme mix will highlight your strategic objectives, along with constraints such as budget and resources. 7 P a g e

8 Once your optimal Work Programme composition has been implemented, you can plan your projects, determining the time, resources and budgets required for each one. Because it works with real-time information, Project4EU allows you to constantly evaluate the best use of your existing capacity. As projects go into execution mode, they are managed by the project managers. Project4EU incorporates best practices for project management, along with PM2, helping you to optimize budgets, and manage time, scope and quality constraints. The standard functions of Project4EU include: PPM collaboration and communication Financial management and business intelligence reporting Schedule management and project status Resource and capacity management Demand and portfolio management Programme management Issue and risk management In addition, Project4EU supports specific agency needs, such as: Contract management EU Work Programme management Activity-based management Function point analysis 8 P a g e

9 3.3 Project work space Project4EU provides a fully searchable collaboration environment where project -related documents, calendars, risks and issues, change requests, etc., are centralized and offer a single version for all users. Having a Project Site has become a common practice among project organizations, to ensure that team members have easy access to project artefacts, project logs or other valuable information needed for the successful completion of a project. The objective is to prevent that the project team loses track of critical information and to minimize the burden of mails. Three major benefits: Continuity: project information is always available for the project stakeholders and continuity contributes to the next benefit, transparency Transparency: the project site can highlight many key project metrics. Giving stakeholders a full insight into the project s timeline, budget and scope, will bring everyone on the same page Collaboration: the last benefit is of a project site is to enable collaboration among team members and stakeholders. In addition, the Project4EU environment integrates with other collaboration tools including Skype for Business and Yammer. 9 P a g e

10 3.4 Business Intelligence & Reporting Business Intelligence (BI) transforms project data into easily understood reporting and offers systematic analysis of these data, to ease the executives in the decision-making process. They will be able to make decisions instantaneously based on the direction of the Project, Programme or Portfolio. Major benefits include: Limit the production time of reporting: reduce the administrative burden & shorten the reporting cycles A unified way to report ( everyone speaks the same language ) Enhanced reaction time in terms project monitoring and control Styling features for executive reporting The extensive reporting capabilities of Project4EU allow you to easily report on different subjects and levels. A variety of pre-canned reports are offered in the solution. 10 P a g e

11 Work Programme: report on Work Programme status based on real-time information (budgets, resources). Project information can be aggregated to get a view on the entire Work Programme. o o o Project dashboard: customizable measures help you keep track of project health with one click. Resource management and capacity reporting: identifies bottlenecks so you can allocate work optimally. Project Status Reporting: a real-time progress report giving a clear view on tasks, deliverables, resources & budget. In addition, project managers can follow up & report the project progress in terms of budget (in value and in man-days). 11 P a g e

12 Project4EU offers a visibility in Framework Contracts & Specific Contracts (Purchase Orders) linked to a certain project and can be rolled up on portfolio level, to gene rate the portfolio procurement plan. Power BI - As a complementary feature we introduce Power BI as an analytic tool for your Portfolio. It is a Business Intelligence platform that transforms your project data into reach visuals. It enables stakeholders to explore their project work space on their desktop and even on their mobile devices. 12 P a g e

13 The Project4EU content pack in Power BI allows you to explore your project data with outof-box metrics such as portfolio status and project compliance. 13 P a g e

14 3.4 Project Management Office An important part of a Project4EU implementation is the establishment of a Project Management Office (PMO). The PMO is created at the very beginning of an implementation, with the support of Project4EU business consultants. Your PMO might be a team, or an individual, depending on the size and scope of your organization. The staff assigned to the PMO work with Project4EU business consultants to develop ways to manage procedures, develop templates and forms, assign responsibilities, control the status of projects, and devise programs to help colleagues learn about the capabilities of Project4EU, and incorporate it successfully into their work. The business consultants behind Project4EU have made it their focus to understand the needs of EU agencies and institutions, researching different types of requirements. They ve learned about the challenges and objectives that are shared across different organizations. This knowledge is leveraged for future agencies. Since much of the initia l work has been done, they arrive ready with pre-defined workshops, pre-defined interview questions, and pre-defined deliverables. Functional and technical materials are ready to go, and Project4EU provides pre-designed reports and dashboards, making for a smooth implementation. 14 P a g e

15 4. Product details and functionality For EU agencies and institutions, effective project management and alignment with Work Programme strategies are critical. Project4EU offers three important benefits harmonization, cost reduction and easy access to real-time insight and information towards achieving Work Programme tasks and goals. Key benefits of Project4EU: The best practice solution for Work Programme project management Features PM2 embedded methodology Offered in a standard configuration for EU agencies and institutions Facilitated implementation Includes processes and project reporting specific to EU Customizable to meet specific needs of agency or institution Agencies that have adopted Microsoft PPM include: 15 P a g e

16 About Tobania Tobania is a full-service ICT System Integrator and one of the most important partners concerning certified and qualified consultants on the Belgian ICT market. IT-sourcing is in our DNA. Over the last ten years we have become an expert in finding the right people, meaning that we currently benefit from the expertise of over 575 motivated ICT specialists: analysts, architects, developers, project managers, to name a few. With our database of over profiles, we can find you the perfect consultant in no time at all. We are not just about people, but also about solutions. To be able to create a dynamic digital company, you need a flexible and adaptive IT policy within your company. With our extensive range of services and solutions we are sure to transform your IT policy. We are a leading center for open source solutions, a gold partner for Microsoft and a pioneering expert in the development of mobile, web, cloud and company apps. Our solutions are implemented in a wide range of industries, in the banking industry, financial services, utilities, health care, production, governmental and social administration. Tobania is a Belgian company with a turnover of 62M EUR in Contact Details If you would like to find out more about PPM solutions for EU agencies and institutions, contact: Tobania Heizel Business Park - building II Romeinsesteenweg Strombeek-Bever Belgium T F E info@tobania.be P a g e