vpvi-65 · for more information, please email full sail partners’ marketing communications ... 1...

VPVI-65:Implementing Project and Resource Planning – A Success Story

Michele Jackson, Gresham Smith

Michael Kessler, Full Sail Partners

Today’s Agenda

• Introductions

• Why we chose Vision Resource and

Project Planning

• Planning for Project Planning Roll-out

• Post Implementation

• Critical Success Factors

• Benefit from having project plans -

Earned Value Report in Vision

• Q&A

Gresham Smith is an architecture, engineering and

design practice that provides creative solutions

while genuinely caring for each other, our clients

and our communities.

Headquartered in Nashville

since 1967,

now with 25 additional

office locations.

5

Approximately

1,000 Employees

Building Value with

Our Clients, Our People

and the World

6

Our Markets

Deltek Products Utilized by Gresham Smith

• Cloud Vision v7.6

• Core

• Project and Resource Planning

• Payroll

• CRM

• Performance Management

Talent

Management

Michele Jackson

Senior Operations Analyst

• Over 25 years at Gresham Smith

• Provide performance analysis and reporting to the

Management Team

• Liaison between Corporate Services, Operations and the

Practice in implementing new and revised processes

connected to Vision

• Facilitate monthly Vision Team meetings

• Managed the Vision Planning implementation project

About Full Sail Partners

Full Sail Partners provides client-focused

technology services and solutions for

more than 1,000 professional services’

firms nationwide. As a Deltek Partner, Full

Sail Partners helps project-based firms

fully integrate their business processes by

connecting their front end and backend

systems. We seek to help organizations

identify the critical resources needed to

create a faster, more efficient, and

cohesive business infrastructure.

Full Sail Partners –

Keep Your Business on Course.

For more information, please email Full

Sail Partners’ Marketing Communications

Department or visit the Full Sail Partners’

website at http://www.fullsailpartners.com.

http://www.fullsailpartners.com/

Michael Kessler, PMP

Principal Consultant

• Expert consultant on Deltek Vantagepoint and

Vision Finance and Resource Planning

modules

• Over 30 years A/E industry experience

• Past Deltek consultant

• FASB ASC 606 expert

Implementing Deltek

Vision Project Planning

Why We Implemented Project Planning

Management called

for improved bottom

line by way of

improved project

management

Decision was made to

focus on expanding

and improving PM

tools

Director of PM had

two non-negotiable

expectations:

1. Ability to track

Earned Value

2. Scheduling

capabilities

Determined Vision

Project and Resource

Planning would give

PMs ability to predict

and better manage

project outcomes

Selecting the Right Implementation

Partner

• Having a trusted partner for implementation

was a requirement

• Bringing in outside expert helped keep project

on track and on schedule

• Training was better received –

expert provided validation

Planning for Project

Planning Roll-out

Established Project Planning Core Group

Accountin

g

Manages billing

term set up and

invoicing

Operation

s

Mkt Analysts &

Asst PMs create

and maintain

projects

Two full-day planning sessions with

representatives from:

• Management (COO and CFO)

• Operations

• Project Management

• Accounting

• IT

• HR (training support)

+ +

Developing a Rollout Plan

There were four phases:

1. Fact Finding



1. Fact Finding

2. Determining Configuration Requirements and

Follow-up Testing

Configuration

Considerations

• Plan Billing and/or Cost

• Custom project planning calendar

requirements

• How Generic Resources will be used

• How % complete will be entered/used

• Planning to what level

• Security access



1. Fact Finding


Follow-up Testing

3. Training Decisions and Development

Create a

Training Plan

100%user adoption

required

150employees

needed training

6onsite training

sessions

~25attendees

at each

100%of training materials

developed in-house

1all-day content

development

session

[ PMs + Assistant PMs + Market Analysts + Market VPs ]

[ PowerPoint, definitions list, hands-on workshop ]

Develop Training Agenda

1. Management Introduction

2. Communicate Goals and Objectives

3. Report Overview

4. Project Planning Demonstration

• Steps for Plan creation

• Module review tab by tab

• Order of operations

• Plan creation demonstration

5. Planning Workshop – all attendees created a plan from

scratch

6. How to create plans from existing projects

7. Closing

• Expectations for plan maintenance

• Deadline for compliance

• How to get help



1. Fact Finding


Follow-up Testing

3. Training Decisions and Development

4. Report Development

Post Implementation

Improvements Since Implementing Project Planning

Estimates to Complete (ETCs)

updated monthly resulting in

improved Labor Resource

Forecast (Revenue

Projections)

60% of our projects have %

complete info updated at least

monthly resulting in improved

insight into project

performance

Improved project

communication

Areas that Need Improvement

Entering % complete on a

monthly basis needs to be

at 100%

Balancing needs of Project

Management with

Resource Management

Determining who can review

and revise plans

Accuracy of “Billing

Amounts” needs to be

improved

Experts still being developed

Critical Success

Factors

Critical to a Successful Roll-out

Management buy-in and

reinforcement

Establishing ownership of

the plans

Defining steps for plan creation (order of operations)

Steps to Creating a Plan in Vision

Choose a

suitable

method in

creating your

new plan

Enter

information on

General &

Rates tabs of

the plan

Configure the

Accordion

Calendar

Format

Insert resources

and hours,

expense and

consultant

amounts in

Labor/Exp/Con

tabs

Enter the

plan’s work

breakdown

structure

(WBS) in the

Labor tab

Set schedule &

establish task

dependencies

in Schedule tab

1 2 3 4 5 6

Order of Operations for Plan Creation

General Tab

Enter data in all white fields including

Probability field for active projects

(100%) and Target Multiplier

• IMPORTANT: enter the project

manager field prior to entering the

Start/End Dates.

Rates Tab

Update Labor Billing Rates section and

enter Billing Multiplier if method is

Employee Provisional Rate. Attach table

if Labor Rate or Labor Category Method

is chosen.

Security Tab

Add the DMs/PPs that are responsible

for managing resources and providing

budgets, physical % complete, ETCs.

At a minimum provide read-only access.

Can be given edit access if the DM/PP

has had project planning training.

MVPs, Location Leaders, Market

Analysts and APMs automatically have

edit rights.

Way to Manage | 30

Remember

to save and

save often!


Accordion Calendar

Establish the Accordion Calendar from

earliest to latest dates (click Options) if

known. Can be established after

Start/Finish dates are determined for all

WBS levels on the Schedule tab.

Labor Tab

Build WBS. Start/Finish Dates will

default to Start Date.

• Use New Row to add WBS Levels

• Use Indent/Outdent to control WBS

level)

Add Fee amounts to all WBS levels if

known at the time of creation

• IMPORTANT: do not add fee

amounts if creating a project from a

plan

Schedule Tab

Change Start and Finish dates at the

lowest WBS levels

Add task dependencies by right clicking

in the calendar grid

View the schedule Gantt chart format

Way to Manage | 31

Remember

to save and

save often!


Labor Tab

Assign resources and hours based on

accordion calendar

• Use Insert to search/add resources

• Enter hours in the Planned hours

field (left side) and hours will spread

evenly across the defined schedule

for that WBS or hours can be added

manually in the calendar grid (right

side).

Expense Tab

Enter planned expenses at the

appropriate WBS level

Assign Vendors to expense amounts

(not required)

Forecast expense amounts

Consultant Tab

Enter planned consultants at the

appropriate WBS level

Assign Vendors to consultant amounts

Forecast consultant amounts

TIP: Enter entire planned amount for

each expense/consultant in the last cell

that accommodates the WBS finish date

and then reduce by the actual

expense/consultant amounts monthly.

Way to Manage | 32

Remember

to save and

save often!


Summary Tab

Review multiplier, compensation, cost

and billing information

Cost & Billing Analysis Tabs

Click Actions – Refresh Analysis

Compensation to update Fee amounts

from the Labor tab to the Cost

Summary tab

Review and revise plan as needed.

Way to Manage | 33

Remember

to save and

save often!

Typical Sequence

PPs estimate

Physical %

Complete

(Complete by

End of Day of

2nd Timesheet)

PM inputs

Physical %

Complete to

Calculate

Earned Value

(Complete by

1st Day of

Billing Review)

PM Uses

Earned Value

to Complete

Billing

(Completed

during Last 3

Days of the

Month)

PPs Develop

Estimate to

Complete

(Complete

Between the 1st

and 8th of the

Month)

PM Inputs

Estimate to

Complete and

Adjusts

Schedule as

Necessary

(Complete

Between the 1st

and 8th of the

Month)

Plan Updates

are Complete

(Complete by

9th of the

Month)

1 2 3 4 5 6

PM/PP Collaborative Effort



reinforcement


the plans


Showing how plan

maintenance fits into your monthly

processes

Implementing multiple ways to

review plan data

Ways to Review

Plan Data

• Revenue Projections using Labor

Resource Forecast

• Project performance

• Earned Value Management

• Project Health

• Show Connection to other

performance reports

• Net Revenue/Project Profit

Reports Breakdown

Edit Master text styles · 37

Reports Breakdown




reinforcement


the plans


Showing how plan


processes


review plan data

Ongoing training

Ongoing Training

• Sent weekly emails enforcing what

was learned

• Developed internal experts

• Incorporated into PM boot camp

• Instructional videos

• Email account dedicated to Project

Planning questions



reinforcement


the plans


Showing how plan


processes


review plan data

Ongoing training

Listening to user issues

and quickly addressing their

problems

No excuses!!

Additional Benefit of

Project Planning:

Earned Value Reporting

Earned Value Management

• Provides project managers with the ability to

measure project performance

• Systematic project management process used to

find variances in project based on comparison of

worked performed and work planned

• Great for project forecasting based on costs and

schedule

The U.S. Government Accountability Office

states that if EVM is applied to a project, a firm

can accurately forecast total project

performance at the 16% - 18% mark of project

completion.

BAC

Update Date

Pro

gre

ss

Time

EAC

VAC

Example

Earned Value Graph

Gresham Smith and EVM

Gresham Smith’s Director of

Project Management required

EVM be implemented with

Project Planning to produce EV

analytics

Project Managers were required

to attend a project management

bootcamp that was mostly

focused on EVM

Project Managers were also

required to attend Resource

Planning that included an EVM

webinar

How to Create EVM in

Deltek Vision

• Vision can show an EVT chart under the

resource planning reporting but only shows

labor

• Vision can be configured to show other

calculated fields that represent Project

Management Institute (PMI) standard

analytics

Reports Breakdown


Questions?

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