Project and Portfolio Management

Change is inevitable. Progressive leaders make change happen.

Organizations have to work smarter than before to play and win.
They need to develop and deliver new products and services faster and more predictably.

Projects have become a strategic vehicle for leading change.

•  New product and service development projects

•  Process improvement projects

•  Policy and organizational development projects

•  Technology development and implementation projects

•  Focused activities to deliver specific outcomes for clients

The list of the kinds of projects organizations are initiating multiplies by the day.

For some organizations, projects are a small, but important part of their business. Many organizations are projectizing their strategic work – so they can more effectively focus on key initiatives.

For others, projects ARE their business. From architects, builders, engineers and construction companies to marketing teams, IT organizations, and software developers . . . projects are the main way they work.

No matter what role projects serve in your business, you need to be good at managing them.

Project management has rapidly become a core area of management knowledge and practice. Today's business leaders need both strategic project management methods and consistent project management processes to be truly efficient and effective.

Advisicon excels in delivering expert strategic project management methodology and project management process consulting.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE (PMO) IMPLEMENTATIONS

Project Management Offices Advisicon helps clients develop and implement standardized project management methodologies that both fit their organizational culture and allow them to grow from one level of project management maturity to the next. Advisicon has helped many clients develop their Project Management Offices, which help guide their projects and teams to apply their standards and best practices so they can deliver consistent, successful projects. Tactical PMO Implementation Project Management Consulting - from Basic to Advanced Advisicon helps clients identify opportunities and implement strategies to develop their project management capabilities from initial training to the most advanced Enterprise Project Management (EPM) solutions. Some organizations start with standardizing project management processes and standards. Others are at the point where they need expert guidance in deploying advanced EPM solutions to support their project management processes. Many need both. Strategic PMO Implementation Beyond Project Management: EPM The need for managing projects effectively – doing projects right – has grown rapidly in the last decade.  So has the need to know how to select which projects should be pursued – doing the right projects. This management discipline is Project Portfolio Management. The level of business analysis required to do Project Portfolio Management effectively requires advanced tools. The technologies developed to support this are referred to as Enterprise Project or Portfolio Management applications – EPM . Growing numbers of leaders are leveraging the power of EPM applications to enable them to quickly view and monitor the progress of their strategic initiatives and projects across their whole enterprise. These tools deliver real business intelligence to support and direct decision-making and management . . . far beyond what has been possible in the past. EPM is one of the fastest growing areas of new technology. Microsoft® has invested heavily in this new wave of project management technologies: •  Microsoft® Office Project 2007 •  Microsoft® Office Project Server 2007 •  Microsoft® Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 •  Microsoft® Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) and Microsoft® Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) The results are real. •  Identify and measure business metrics that map to strategic directions and initiatives •  Evaluate all activities and proposals based on their alignment and contribution to strategic directions and initiatives •  Plan, budget and deliver projects consistently . . . and successfully •  View and track all project resources, tasks, activities, and milestones

PROJECT AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

Assessments Integrating the Best Methodologies and Technologies Our consultants help our clients assess their needs, goals, and current processes and technologies. We guide our clients through the steps of implementing EPM systems that fit their needs and strategic objectives. Portfolio Optimization Delivering Project Management Solutions that Work Businesses and organizations need a partner that can deliver expertise in both the best practices of project management and the best-of-breed project management technologies to deliver solutions that work. Advisicon's strong capabilities in both these critical knowledge areas enable us to deliver practical, scalable solutions to clients . . . and to support our clients as they grow. We help our clients leverage the power of today's advanced EPM systems, so they can focus more energy on producing and less on expensive and frustrating cycles of rework, slipping deadlines, and failed projects. Our goal is to enable clients to •  Plan, track, budget and analyze projects •  Forecast resource needs and plan proactively •  Model what-if scenarios quickly and accurately •  Analyze the impacts of changing priorities or requirements •  Report on all project activities and resources quickly and accurately •  Analyze past estimates against the actual outcomes to guide process improvement efforts Project teams need good processes . . . and the right technology. Give your team both. Project Management Services •  General project management administrative support •  PMO tool development: templates, and organization and process flows •  Project coordination over multiple stakeholders •  Project schedule development, management and maintenance •  Website managment

PROJECT AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT TRAINING

Practical Project Management (2-3 days) A pracitcal approach to managing projects from initiation to close-out Target Audience: Executives, project managers, functional managers, project contributors and team members This course teaches participants how to successfully initiate, plan, execute, control, and close-out projects. Participants will be introduced to practical industry best practices, project management concepts, terminology, and methods based on the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge . Our hands-on training is extremely practical and gives participants the conceptual and practical tools, templates, and checklists they need to collaborate on and manage projects successfully. See course outline Managing Technology Projects (4-5 days) How to manage complex IT project successfully Target Audience: IT project managers, team members, senior management This course is a geared around Technical projects, using basic project management concepts, tools and techniques and takes attendees through the project lifecycle in the same sequence they would face when managing a real project in the workplace. During the class attendees will be introduced to the essentials of technical project management with focus on managing complex requirements, limited resources found in many organizations. This course applies tools and methodologies to organizations that want to promote project management concepts, thinking and techniques within their organizations. The methodology is drawn primarily from the PMBOK® (Project Management Body of Knowledge) but also includes industry best practices. The course also includes topics on using Microsoft Project as a project management tool. See course outline Mastering Requirements Gathering (2 days) How to gather and manage project requirements successfully Target Audience: Project stakeholders, team members, and anyone responsible for initiating or managing projects This course teaches participants how to elicit, characterize, document, analyze, validate, verify and manage requirements for new projects, products and services. See course outline