Arbutus Solutions has delivered a wide range of solutions to our clients. Some recent projects include:
Resource Capacity Planning
Business Objectives
- To more efficiently plan and forecast resource utilization over multi-year projects.
- To provide management with accurate, up to the minute reports on project status.
- To put in place a platform for coordination and collaboration that cut across functional silos.
Solution
Arbutus Solutions was brought in to “rescue” this project. There were issues with the solution design and ability of the previous vendor to deliver.
Over a eight month period, a custom solution was developed, based upon Microsoft Project Server 2010 and SharePoint 2010. Working with the client, a number of inefficient processes have been replaced with new processes that integrate technology and provide greater transparency. Resource planning is now much more open, with resource contraints identified well into the future, enabling Executives to develop and implement strategies to manage these contraints.
Reporting and project updates are now driven by staff directly, with Executives able to readily see the current status of any and all projects. The collaboration platform provides a framework for more effective cross-functional communication, at a much earlier stage in the project. In short, everyone has a much clearer picture of the overall project, and their roles and responsibilities.
Portfolio Management
Business Objectives
- To select projects “rationally”, taking into account organizational constraints (funding, risk and resources)
- To make ongoing tweaks to the project portfolio composition over the course of a budget year
Solution
The Portfolio management functionality of Project Server 2010 provided the core technological framework for this initiative. By allowing Executives to rank projects according to contribution to strategic drivers, the portfolio could be reviewed much more objectively. Formerly, adhoc processes ruled, with little consistency across functional units around portfolio selection. Arbutus Solutions facilitated in elucidating strategic drivers, and developing a number of scenarios (taking into account various economic conditions) that are used to drive and maintain the project portfolio. Now, Executives are in a position to reevaluate the portfolio composition on a monthly basis and can be much more responsive to changes in market conditions.
We are now in the process of extending this solution further, through the use of workflow. The client is looking to more effectively integrate the various stage gates of project selection with portfolio managment, and development of a custom solution integrating SharePoint 2010 and Project Server 2010 is ongoing.
Portfolio Visualization
Business Objectives
- To effectively visualize and make decisions regarding a large, complex portfolio of projects
Solution
Arbutus Solutions developed a custom solution for the client that integrated Project Server 2010, SharePoint 2010 and PivotViewer. Executives now can visually identify problem projects and readily drill down to the required detail. The supporting reporting on the various projects is now focused on exceptions and indicators that are outside of an acceptable range (or rapidly trending that direction). A great deal of effort in the review of routine items and issues has been eliminated.
