Resource Planning Dashboard
The Resource Planning Dashboard, as shown in Figure 7-10, provides a user-selected list of resources with the resource’s attributes and relationship to projects. This Dashboard has many different purposes depending on the user’s objective.
A Project Manager uses the Dashboard to list staffed resources to see when resources are scheduled to participate on other projects when evalu- ating project schedule adjustments or to find the availability of a specific type of resource for planning. There is additional content not currently displayed that would also show when (dates and hours) the resources are planned to conduct the work. The goal is to have the project scheduled effort and the resource schedule to be in synch.
The Resource Management Team uses this Dashboard to review assign- ments and whitespace management. This Dashboard is used to assist with scheduling adjustments and resolving resource conflicts.
Resource Planning Drill Down
The user can click on the Icon to get the details about the individual resource.
In this screen shot (Figure 7-11) the detailed time allocation for the second resource (Joseph) is displayed. This display has the same content as theResource Planning Dashboard, but now displays the specific projects that Joseph has worked on. Note that Resource Managers and Project Managers dynamically adjust the timescale real-time to create appropriate views.
The Resource Management Team make resource schedule adjustments from this Dashboard. Resources are encouraged to use this dashboard to get short- and longer-term views of their schedules.
7.4 DASHBOARDS IN ACTION: PIEMATRIX, INC.
Consider the following scenario, which appears to be happening in a multi- tude of companies. Senior management is actively involved in the selection of projects that will go into the portfolio. Once the projects are selected, however, senior management gets one summary dashboard to look at and cannot easily find any appropriate detailed information that could influ- ence their decisions at the moment. While there is some merit to providing executives with just summary information, there must be a drill-down pro- cess in place for easy access to more critical information that may appear on working level dashboards.
At the time of writing this book, there are many project and portfo- lio management systems but not very many that elegantly tie the execu- tive dashboard down to the front-line team member execution the way PIEmatrix’s does. Not only does their software provide this drill-down
Figure 7-10 Resource Planning Dashboar
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Figure 7-11 Resource Planning Drill Down (©2010 by Computer Associates, Inc. Reproduced by permission.)
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capability, but it is done with user-friendly software that can be learned in minutes. Customers can turn complex projects into more manage- able views that make it easy for executives and front-line people to make informed decisions in a timely manner.
Unlike many dashboard systems that focus only on strategic issues and financial numbers, the PIEmatrix system takes a process focus on project management. This means that the data being displayed in the executive dashboard is not just data about how we do things, but data about how we do things consistently right. Predictability of success becomes more con- trolled, and we may have more confidence knowing that the execution is being done with truly best practices. The remaining information in this sec- tion is devoted to PIEmatrix and their online project management software platform.3
PIEmatrix Overview
PIEmatrix Inc. produces an enterprise online project management platform called PIEmatrix. It functions as a pure software-as-a-service system, which means the user only needs a browser and a secure login for access. An executive can log in and review real-time status from any computer on the Internet around the world. Along with being a cloud solution, PIEmatrix is unique with its simple user interface made for complex organizations.
It’s also a project and portfolio management system built with a focus on process. The unique PIEmatrix visual user interface is based on the idea that most all enterprise initiatives, large and small, are process-driven.
PIEmatrix is made for any business initiative and for any industry. Their customers span from federal and state government public sector to private industries like pharmaceuticals, banking, and energy. Their customer base includes Fortune 500 firms, mid-sized organizations, and small gazelles (fast-growing companies). The functional use of PIEmatrix covers different departments across the enterprise, such as IT, finance, HR, operations, and marketing. Their only criteria for a project or initiative are that it has a start and a finish and it has a process of steps and deliverables. PIEmatrix is a platform, which means it provides all the tools an organization needs to easily set up projects and repeatable best-practice standards for execution and governance.
The executive dashboard quickly displays important information that shows the progress and compliance with company best practices or stan- dards, or just the right way to get things done. The administrator can set up visibility rights to certain people within the enterprise and even with
3. The remaining material in this section has been graciously provided by Paul Dandurand, CEO PIEmatrix Inc.; Office 802-318-4891;Mobile 802-578-5653; paul.dandurand@piematrix .com; www.piematrix.com; © 2010 PIEmatrix Inc.; Patent pending #12/258,637. Reproduced by permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.
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external partners as needed for transparency and governance. We will show how this product displays the dashboard information and how it gets that information from the execution teams in real time.
PIEmatrix Executive Dashboard
The PIEmatrix Portfolio progress view displays how they came up with their company name (see Figure 7-12). The project phases are the slices of the pie. The layering of the stacked projects displays the matrix side. The pie images are circular to represent how projects can be iterative in nature. The labels of the phases (or what are called “slices”) can be anything the orga- nization chooses. Using the same nomenclature across like projects is help- ful for keeping everyone on the same page. Imagine two teams building software. One team submits a project report with the phases “Initiate, Plan, Build, Close.” The second team submits a report with the phases “Plan, Discover, Design, Construct, Test, Deploy.” How will the executives know the difference in what is meant by words like “Plan”? The two instances could cover the same types of processes or not. The PIEmatrix structure helps maintain better consistency to help reduce communication issues.
Show me the progress of my preferred project set. Give it to me in real time.
We’ll first take a look at the main PIEmatrix dashboard view. Figure 7-12 displays a portfolio of five projects. These are filtered from a larger portfolio set with the Business Units and Public Tags drop-down filter lists. PIEmatrix provides a hierarchical view of the enterprise, where a business unit options can show either the entire enterprise or just a business department such as IT, HR, or finance. It could also be used for geographical regions such as Asia, North America, EMEA, and the like. The Public Tabs can further group within a business unit. For example, a business unit IT could have tags for filtering such as Project Proposals, Innovation Projects, System Upgrades, and so forth.
The simple color codes on the projects show the progress of different states. The dark green bars represent what is completed. The light green shows what is in progress. The rest, in gray, represents the not started state.
The data displayed is automatically updated from the field every 30 sec- onds. PIEmatrix is made not only for executives to govern their portfolio but also for the teams and stakeholders to execute these projects on a daily basis. This link means the front-line work is automatically sent to the exec- utive dashboard results in real time.
Show me milestones and key status indicators.
PIEmatrix uses a contextual approach to displaying screen information.
Their approach is to keep the views simple and clean and then allow the
Figure 7-12 PIEmatrix Portfolio Progress—Main Page (Reproduced by permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reser
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user to expand upon the view with a click. The visuals are very simple and accurate. With a click, the executive can choose to look at more information.
Figure 7-13 shows the same PIEmatrix dashboard with phase milestones turned on. Red dates represent milestones that are behind schedule. Black dates are on schedule. The project managers can indicate an executive sum- mary status with green, yellow, or red icons with different shapes. The view can be turned on with a click, also shown in Figure 7-13.
Show me only what’s important.
An executive can select only the states that are important for him or her to review. Figure 7-14 displays a portfolio view with the status set to show only projects in risk and issue states. This is helpful for executives who don’t want the noise of all activity and would rather see what requires their action.
A good feature in PIEmatrix is that the application remembers the user’s last view, so that when he or she logs back into PIEmatrix, it will take that person automatically to the last page they viewed, including the last filtered states. This is important for setting our quick viewing states when we just want to keep our most important view at our disposal.
Show me all projects grouped by priority.
What if we want to look only at projects in the high-priority state?
PIEmatrix has a feature where the executive or director can set relative pri- ority states based on certain criteria. Figure 7-15 displays a complete port- folio of projects within a business unit that are grouped by priority. The high-priority projects are in the top grouping. The executive can change a project’s priority by clicking the icon to the left of a project’s name. When the executive does so, the system records his or her name, date, and action for accountability and governance.
Show me progress in a timeline.
PIEmatrix provides a traditional Gantt view of the project portfolio.
The Figure 7-16 screenshot shows the progress of each project relative to a time span. In this example, the time span is set to two months. The bars to the right of each project represent the start and end date spans. The dark green bar represents what is completed to this day. The executive can easily expand a particular project to see its major phases or milestones for more detailed information.
Show me project details.
Clicking on a project’s name in the main portfolio progress view brings up the project’s detail view as shown in Figure 7-17. What is interesting
Figure 7-13 PIEmatrix Portfolio Progress—One Click to Display Milestone Dates and Pr Indicators(Reproduced by permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.)
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303 Figure 7-14 PIEmatrix Portfolio Progress—Filtered to Only Show Risk and Issue State Projects(Reproduced by permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Figure 7-15 PIEmatrix Portfolio Progress—Full Portfolio Grouped by Priority PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.)
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Figure 7-16 PIEmatrix Portfolio Gantt—Timeline View (Reproduced by permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.)
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Figure 7-17 PIEmatrix Portfolio Progress—Project Drill-Down View Showing Process Layers permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.)
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with PIEmatrix is that the layering of the processes being executed can be displayed. In this sample project called Axis, the project has three pro- cess flows: Project Management, Development, and Governance. These are similar to work streams or swim lanes. They represent a set of process steps across phases that are managed and executed by different groups of people getting things done. The Project Management layer could contain process steps for the project manager to execute such as defining the plan, getting the budget approved, and managing the scope. The Development layer could be used for getting the project’s deliverables built and delivered.
This could contain steps for engineering leads, architects, business analysts, business users, and so forth. The Governance layer could be used for risk planning and control along with sponsor management. This could be man- aged and executed by a risk team.
PIEmatrix makes it easy for the organization to define and execute steps for any process needs (details shown later). For example, other pro- cess layers could be for quality alignment, budget management, or ongo- ing project value analysis. This approach is a great way to break down silos between groups on complex projects. And coming back to the executive, this dashboard view at the project level provides a great view for governing the execution of the process flows.
Show me the issues and let me solve them in real-time.
In the previous Figure 7-17 screenshot, we notice the Governance layer has a red indicator in the Plan phase. The executive can click on the red line to view the issue at hand. The Figure 7-18 image displays an issue popup window. This is a collaboration view of comments made to date.
PIEmatrix provides it easy not only to view the issue details but also to respond with comments on the fly. The executive can enter his or her com- ments as needed to help resolve the issue. Entering a reply will automati- cally send an email and a message post to the project’s manager and those responsible for the issue. PIEmatrix also has a separate issue list page for overall issues management.
Show me detailed metrics.
Sometimes, the executive wants to view metrics in more details or different formats. The Figure 7-19 image displays the PIEmatrix Portfolio Metrics page. As an extension of the visual Dashboard tab, this page pres- ents the portfolio data in a table format. The top section of this page shows the summary for the business unit and the filtered set of projects. The exec- utive can easily click on any of the blue metric numbers to obtain more detail about that area. In this example, we clicked on the number 6 under the Total Projects column. This expanded the view to show the Project List section. Hovering over the small pie icons on the right will give a quick
Figure 7-18 PIEmatrix Portfolio Progress—Collaboration Window Displays Conversations Regar Project Issue (Reproduced by permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.)
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Figure 7-19 PIEmatrix Portfolio Metrics—View Multiple Drill-Down Options with One Click (Reproduced by permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.)
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semi-transparent snapshot of the progress bars going across the project phases as you saw in the earlier main dashboard progress page.
Executive Dashboard and To Do—Where Does All This Data Come From?
For a dashboard to be at all useful, its data needs to come from some place.
The PIEmatrix dashboard data is automatically derived from people getting their work done in real time from day to day. The organization’s executives, managers, team members, stakeholders, partners, and anyone else who has a role in getting the work done uses PIEmatrix. They follow their process, collaborate, and update their statuses in the platform. This activity is then automatically updated in the executive dashboard and metrics pages.
Show me what I need to do this week.
We’ll first look at the team member’s To Do list page. Figure 7-20 shows how simple it is for the team members to view their own work. Keep in mind that the team member can be anyone assigned to a project. This can be a business analyst, a part-time consultant, or an executive in a steering committee who’s responsible for reviewing and signing off on certain deliv- erable documents. (PIEmatrix also has a built-in repository and workflow process of document files).
In the To Do list page, the user can filter his or her view to show only what is important to them. In our example in Figure 7-20, the filter is set to show only In Progress and Issue steps for the project called Axis. Once the user changes the step’s P button to any state like In Progress, Completed, or Issue, the systems updates the executive’s dashboard within 30 seconds across the Internet. The executive doesn’t even need to refresh his or her screen. The update automatically pushes the changes to everyone who has visibility.
Show me how to best get my work done with while minimizing issues or risk.
Imagine all team members knowing not only what tasks to get done but also how to get the work done right with the help of guidance, tips, or required instructions. This is one of PIEmatrix’s key strengths in the mar- ketplace. Figure 7-21 shows what happens as we hovers over an assigned step. A popup with text displays exactly what to do to ensure we get the step done the best way possible. The instructions can be set up as guidance or a concrete explanation to ensure compliance with regulations. In either case, it provides what to do and how to do it so nothing slips through the cracks. It’s up the organization’s process experts to create the process con- tent. The PIEmatrix platform comes with simple tools to help the organiza- tion establish repeatable processes. PIEmatrix also provides an easy way for
Figure 7-20 PIEmatrix To Do—Real-Time Dashboard Data Is Automatically Derived When Team Members Execute Their Steps (Reproduced by permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.)
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Figure 7-21 PIEmatrix To Do—Hover over a Step to Show the Step’s Instructions for Corr (Reproduced by permission of PIEmatrix, Inc. All rights reserved.)
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the team members to send feedback to the process content author to help with continuous improvement. Another nice and important feature is the ability for the team members to create their own custom process steps and tasks on the fly.
The dashboard should not only reflect how things are being done on time and on budget but also that things are indeed being done according to best standards and procedures. This is critical for any initiative or proj- ect type that is repeated. PIEmatrix’s unique structure allows organizations to set up preestablished process templates that contain all the right steps, people roles, and document file templates. These preestablished templates can be from best practices, process standards, or critical procedures. Many organizations already have this kind of process content sitting on their serv- ers as documents. However, PIEmatrix makes these standards come alive, ensuring they get integrated into daily executable steps. Organizations that do not already have process standards can use PIEmatrix story boarding features to build them from scratch. A project manager can select their best process template from a list in PIEmatrix. Kicking off a new project with repeatable standards is powerful, especially for novice managers.
The bottom line is the executive can have more confidence that the information on the dashboard is based on executing the projects the best way possible.
Project—Governing and Executing the Project in a Visual and Friendly Way
The PIEmatrix user interface makes it easier for us human beings to follow complex project process. This is done with their unique visual approach.
This section will show how the team member or executive reviews and exe- cutes their part of the project process.
Launch my project.
A user can launch a project from multiple pages such as from the Dashboard, the To Do, or the Project List page. The Figure 7-22 screenshot shows a project being loaded from the Project List page. In this example, the project has three process layers. We will select the Project Mgmt layer to load. This will load all the project’s objects such as process steps, people assignments, dates, files, and so forth.
Show me the dates and progress for the project phase.
Once the layer loads, the user decides which phase (“pie slice”) to view.
In Figure 7-23, we selected on the Plan phase to show its process boxes.
Process boxes are the high-level steps of the phase. An executive can get to this view directly with one click when drilling down from the dashboard