Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management (EPM)
Public agencies are under considerable pressure to manage capital projects to successful completion, both on time and within budget. The odds of success improve significantly when managers can track project costs and status in real time and can share vital information with all agencies and individuals involved in the project.
The Microsoft Enterprise Project Management (EPM) solution provides critical assistance to capital project managers at each major stage of the process. Using this solution, organizations can manage capital project portfolios to maximize value and ensure that constituents, contractors, and stakeholders receive clear and accurate progress reports on a regular basis.
Project selection
Successful organizations align investment decisions with clearly defined priorities. Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 provides the systematic support you need to identify the capital projects that will deliver the highest value to your constituents, taking into account your budget and resource availability. Using this solution, you can capture standardized business cases and evaluate each potential capital project against them, factoring costs, benefits, and risks into the prioritization process. The result is smart, defensible project selection.
Project management
Managing a project to completion is a complex, multifaceted task that includes solid planning, deft execution, and ongoing resource management and progress tracking. Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 provides powerful tools for scheduling, tracking, and updating projects that help you optimize resources, minimize costs, manage scope, and deliver on time. Team members can enter labor and status directly to keep project information continuously updated.
As the project moves forward, it's important to update and monitor progress and to keep participants, constituents, and senior management apprised. The Microsoft EPM solution provides a wide range of reporting and analysis that you can deliver in almost real time. For example, if earned value management (EVM) metrics are required across the portfolio, you can produce them accurately and with minimal effort. Rapid reporting capabilities provide you with the information you need, when you need it, to respond quickly to changes and minor issues—before they become major problems.
Portfolio/project evaluation
In the final project phase, the Microsoft EPM solution provides advanced reporting and analysis of the capital project portfolio using Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007. You get a clear picture of where value has—or has not—been realized.
Key features of the Microsoft EPM solution include:
- Program and project dashboards that provide status-at-a-glance reports and digital alerts keyed to performance indicators, such as budget, schedule, and risk, that help you identify problems before they become critical.
- Powerful scheduling tools that support schedule, resource, and cost management using the methodology of your choice. Team members enter details directly so project managers have more time for planning, managing, and tracking projects.
- Collaborative project management and communication tools that streamline delivery of continuously updated project information to project stakeholders and other constituents.