Automation of the project management system

The reasons for building CPMS in companies that have reached a certain level of development are usually called two expected effects. The first of these is saving valuable time for project managers due to the created infrastructure. The second effect is to simplify the control over project managers in an environment where their number in the business is growing. It is quite natural that without the information system component (PMIS) it is difficult to imagine modern project management. This is due to the requirement of efficiency achieved by the technological support of CPMS.

Project management support tools

Project management is gradually shifting more and more into a virtual implementation environment. This is due to the need to multiply the most important resource potential for solving unique problems - human. Even in Russia, in the coming years we will face the fact that a qualified responsible resource for the implementation of the project task will be the most scarce among many others. Therefore, the question of transferring project teams to a virtual basis of activity will arise. And neither linguistic nor cultural restrictions will be able to significantly prevent this trend.

The first steps in this direction are already laying the foundation for the future business management model. They consist in a set of measures for the implementation and development of technical, software and information and communication tools PMIS (project management information systems). Automation costs seem to be incommensurable with the achieved effects, not all projects of this type end in success. But the overall process is gradually gaining momentum, interesting deeply integrated solutions are emerging, and support for project management processes is becoming more and more real.

From the position of project practice, companies actively use specialized software products (SP), including the creation of a single information space in this type of management activity. But PMIS is not only a set of software elements. An important role in it is played by the hardware, server component, specialized corporate systems and communication with them.

Project management information systems should be considered as complex software and hardware solutions as part of the implementation of the company's overall IT policy. At the same time, a key role for users of the system is played by its external and essential aspect, expressed in interaction interfaces, operation logic, communication and service convenience. At the moment, there are a lot of specialized programs on the software market, among which the MS Project package dominates. Further, a model of the tools used to automate project management is offered to your attention, taking into account their compliance with process blocks.

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The model shows a distinction between PPs in three main sectors.

Business planning and cost-benefit analysis that solve relevant problems.
Development of the project in terms of its direct implementation, minimization of risks and the actual management of work. In this sector, the tasks of work planning are solved taking into account the pool of available and attracted resources. Control measures and correction of plans are carried out.
Communication support in terms of information, reporting and documentation support, including archiving.

Tasks and functions of the information system

The development and development of PMIS pursues several goals that fit into the general target context of the corporate project management system. First of all, this is an increase in management efficiency due to an increase in speed, manufacturability and procedural content. Secondly, automation makes it possible to increase the rationality of using all the company's resources in project activities: working hours, finances, capacities, etc.

Among the main tasks of the ISPM are the following:

translation of the idea into the planning model of the project;
performance of financial and economic calculations for projects, their analysis, forecast scenarios and decision-making support for the entire range of initiatives;
creation and optimization adjustment of project work plans, starting with the portfolio, programs and ending with local design tasks;
ensuring the functioning of a single information field, collected from the results of batch work using specialized software of different directions.

It should be noted that the functions of planning and control occupy a dominant place among the areas of automation based on software involved in PMIS. Recently, however, solutions have been actively developed, where the emphasis is on reporting, labor cost assessment, motivational models, efficiency in setting and executing tasks, and workflow. In this regard, the matrix of functions of the information system, based on the principles of detailing in the selection of projects and stages of the project cycle, is of interest. The matrix is shown below and is based on function blocks.

Calendar-network planning.
Resource management: personnel, finance, equipment, materials.
Reporting on work in terms of labor costs.
Documentation support of project management.

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As you know, automation should not develop spontaneously, although this is often what happens in many companies. In any case, the first PPs in the field of project management appear just like that. First, there are people who are partially or fully employed in projects. Then one of the project managers initiates the use of software tools, and, finally, the software gets developed. But at a certain stage, the PMIS paradigm undergoes a change.

Management concludes that a comprehensive, systematic approach should be taken, as project activities are becoming a fairly common practice and even more so. It begins to take up too much time, human resources, to not care about its effectiveness, given the synergy with the operational context of management. It is then that there is a need to answer a number of questions related to the organization of an integrated PMIS of a higher level.

According to the project management methodology, in terms of importance and feasibility, which business processes should be delivered in the first place?
How to rank the described business processes in terms of their automation?
What "boxed" solutions does the IT market currently offer?
What integration measures will be required when introducing PP into project practice?

Software in the information system

As we found out in the previous sections, a holistic view of the current model of the project business paradigm is required. It is necessary to rethink the financial, investment policy, IT policy in such a way that, having discovered pockets of improving the efficiency of projects at a qualitative level, include the issue of developing PMIS in the information and communication strategy.

Three managers must do this: the director of development or the person responsible for the investment direction, the financial director and the IT director. The basis for building an information system development plan is its structure in the CMMS component. Structuring is carried out taking into account several reasons:

stages of the life cycle of projects;
management and IT support functions;
level of project and functional management;
specialization and range of services of software products considered for use.

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Due to the Russian specifics, for business planning and evaluating the economic efficiency of projects, it is best to use one of the flagship domestic software companies Expert Systems or Alt Invest. These products have been successfully used for more than 20 years, they allow you to work in a program and portfolio mode, working out the whole range of modeling issues at the pre-investment stage. For information support of the investment and post-investment stages, both Western-made software and domestic developments can be used. The market is dominated by Microsoft's product line.

The MS Project Portfolio Server package is designed to provide higher quality and service in the portfolio management of the organization, it has a modular structure. The first module solves the tasks of collecting projects in a single interface, checking them for compliance with the strategy, and initial selection for development. The second module allows you to optimize the portfolio, build ratings of project tasks in it, helps to compile and approve a corporate portfolio. Monitoring projects against planned indicators to identify current problems is carried out in the third module, with its help, management gains flexibility across the entire portfolio.

Software for scheduling and managing project time resources perform the following functions:

planning work on the composition and sequence of execution;
planning and allocation of resources;
analysis of the working time budget;
calendar optimization;
plan visualization;
reporting on the implementation of the project schedule.

Programs for effective cost management and project budgeting provide:

investment modeling and development of a fundraising program;
development and scenario modeling of the project budget in dynamics;
cost and cost controls;
reporting and integration into the general corporate finance system.

PMIS software blocks related to risk management and project communications are actively developing, they have great potential. There are interesting prospects ahead for the development of integrated units or individual products related to the management of virtual teams. This is a very promising direction for the internationalization of business. It is true that Westerners are predicting even greater isolation and regression for us, but I do not believe in this. Russian management, in spite of any challenges, retains chances for both resuscitation and expansion.