managing your it organization’s costs with ms project karl vantine

Managing Your IT Organization’s Managing Your IT Organization’s Costs with MS ProjectCosts with MS Project

Karl Vantine www.pcubed.com

ObjectivesObjectives

2. Explore some non-traditional uses of MS Project

1. Rethink the Project “User”

What’s MS Project for anyway?What’s MS Project for anyway?

Schedule Management – Usually

Resource Management – Sometimes

Cost Management – Rarely

Then Who’s Using it?Then Who’s Using it?

Project Managers for Scheduling Tasks – Usually

So Why Not?

Resource Managers for Tracking Work & Availability – Sometimes

Finance & Accounting Managers for Tracking Costs – Rarely…Almost Never

Cost is TrickierCost is Trickier Project costs are fairly straightforward But coordinating organizational costs harder

For example, how does one deal with… Cost Centers vs. Project Numbers Actual Labor Cost vs. Blended Rates Cash vs. Accrual Attributes Operating vs. Capital Expenses

So how do we capture this stuff?

Getting StartedGetting Started

Find out… What costs your organization money? How you categorize those costs? Who’s responsible for managing them? How you plan for future costs? How you measure success?

Then you have the ingredients for managing costs with MS Project…

What Costs Money?What Costs Money? Internal Labor: But not just time on projects, also

upgrades, maintenance, bug fixes, training, etc. External Labor: Contractors, Consultants, etc. Equipment: Software, Hardware, Supplies, etc.

Tool Tieback: Resource Type: work, material Task Type: admin tasks, recurring tasks

(invoices or equipment payment) Custom Coding: contractor vs. consultant

How are those Costs Organized?How are those Costs Organized? Project Costs? Cost Centers? Department? Cash or Accrual Accounting? Calendar or Fiscal Year? Rate Structure? Operating vs. Capital Expenses?

Tool Tieback: Custom Codes to distinguish categories Payment Milestone Placement Blended Rates, Actual Rates, Role-based Rates Life Cycle Phases (labor) & HW/SW standards

Who’s Accountable for Costs?Who’s Accountable for Costs? Project Managers? Resource Managers? Cost Center Managers? Finance or Accounting Managers?

Tool Tieback: Plan Ownership Views (Portfolio Analyzer vs. Resource Usage) Update Processes

Planning for Future CostsPlanning for Future Costs Strategic vs. Operational Planning? Historical Trending, Lessons Learned? Resource or Deliverables focused? By Department, Program, Initiative, or Project?

Tool Tieback: Multiple Baselines Templates Generic Resources Custom Coding

Measuring SuccessMeasuring Success

Actual vs. Planned Earned Value ROI, IRR, NPV

Tool Tieback: RYG Indicators Formulas Views – Outlook Integration, Portfolio Analyzer, Project

Center (find out what’s used today & reproduce it)

Can’t improve what you can’t measure.

Sound like a lot of Work?Sound like a lot of Work?

Sure…so why Bother?Sure…so why Bother?

Picture your Typical ScenarioPicture your Typical Scenario

Project Effort managed in MS Project Actual Costs managed in LOB system Timesheets captured in another LOB system Costs forecast in Excel

Manual Processes + Multiple Tools = Inaccuracy

Confusion

Extra WorkOutdated Data

Wouldn’t it be Great if…Wouldn’t it be Great if… Managers used same data (Project, Resource, &

Finance) That data set was complete (cost & time) That data was real-time (LOB Interfaces) That data was kept in one place & accessed

through one system

Automation + Centralization = Accuracy…which facilitates better planning

DemoDemo

Project 2002 Architecture Project 2002 Architecture

Microsoft Project ServerMicrosoft SharePoint Portal

Server

Internal Internal Business Business SystemsSystems

Champions & Champions & SchedulerScheduler

SQL Server

CALCAL CALCAL

Executives, Owners Executives, Owners & Team Members& Team Members

Microsoft Project

Professional

Microsoft Web Access

QuestionsQuestions

For More Information Contact:

Karl Vantine karl.vantine@pcubed.com