We usually come across two types of people when companies are ready to invest in project portfolio management (PPM) solutions. The first person is in the Project Management Office (PMO) and has been trying for years to get their company to invest in enterprise level PPM. They know that the technology will make their job easier and their tasks more manageable.
The second audience we frequently speak with is the C-Suite. They primarily want to know what the return on investment will be. But they also want good hard data that can show them if they are allocating human resources most effectively. When we present to this audience, we often show them how our Hammerhead technology makes Microsoft Project Server such a valuable and worthwhile investment. Hammerhead helps uncover a lot of the rich functionality in Microsoft’s PPM tools which help them get a clearer picture of their resource utilization.
We also have to show them how when project management and schedule management are done more crisply and diligently, they will get a better idea of how long a project should take, pervasive issues that are sabotaging their projects, plus a better understanding of what types of workers need to be hired.
They need to know more than “yeah, our people are doing a lot of work and working real hard.” This is information the C-suite needs and the investment in PPM will answer these questions.
We’ve often shown the C-suite how investing in PPM will help them hire the right people. It will show when projects should be completed and alert them to systematic issues that need to be addressed. It will also give them clarity on whether or not people are spending their time properly and in alignment with the goals of the company. All of this information will help them decide which projects are the right ones to choose to fund! It will also help justify to the rest of the organization where additional resources might be needed.
We help the people in the PMO offices who will specifically benefit from the technology investment show the C-suite that more crisply run projects will deliver more productive staff and better executed projects. Project Server also will produce information that clearly spells out which projects to invest in.
But we know that it comes down to money. So we have to demonstrate that the investment can show what they can and should they be doing to help the company achieve its overall goals. Also, what is consuming the multitude of internal resources.
Executives need to be able to see how employees are spending what percentage of their time, doing which activities, which are important or not, and which activities either support the business drivers or don’t. We have to show them how the PPM investment can help them make decisions about what people are doing, what should they be doing, and why more people may be needed. And that is why we built Hammerhead.
How Projility Hammerhead Helps You Better Manage Your Projects
Hammerhead has been rapturously received by PMO leaders for years. The product is named Hammerhead because it’s a no-nonsense, hard-hitting and powerful tool to help you better get your arms around your enterprise-wide projects. Plain and simple, Hammerhead helps you get more out of your Project Server implementation so that you can reap your return faster.
Many PMOs we engaged with said they were looking for a solution that can help them get more value from their Project Server investment by reducing their customization and maintenance needs, hastening deployment, reducing training costs, and driving user adoption. Project Server is a powerful solution and Hammerhead makes it even more so. We think of it as an expert solution for effective change.
There is a great amount of functionality in Project Server however all users do not need every function it offers. To make Project Server even more usable, Hammerhead groups critical functionality by role type such as project manager, executive, and portfolio manager. This solves Project Server low usage adoption concerns, since users now have just what they need per their job requirements at their fingertips.
The benefits in cost savings can be enormous. Hammerhead organizes functions so that all of the information each employee needs is in one place. It also highlights what requires attention as well as what’s important to know. It provides a very intuitive mechanism to show what needs your attention so that you can drill down as needed. It can also filter out stuff that shouldn’t concern you such as sifting through all the data, acting on unnecessary tasks, and seeking additional information when everything you need is already there for you.
And one of the top functions is that you can finally manage multiple projects from within one location. You can do cross-project activities from one place without having to jump throughout the application.
The rank and file in the PMO office needs to speak the C-suite language of return on investment. “Convincing execs to invest in Project Server can be difficult. We know because we’ve spent years developing expertise in how to cut to the chase of what they’re looking for and then demonstrating the relevant capabilities in a compelling manner that speaks directly to their needs. We’ve helped companies around the world make this argument stick. Send me an email and I’ll you know how we can help.
