CBA, Inc. has a highly educated and experienced staff that can provide a myriad of Project Management related services. Our Consultants have expert knowledge in the field of Project Management and are highly skilled at applying that knowledge to a variety of projects across multiple Industries.
Below you’ll find many of the services we provide.
Project Management Methodology
Project Management is a methodology for achieving defined objectives by planning, monitoring and controlling a series of interrelated activities under constrains of cost, time, resources and technology. Effective Project Management requires a detailed plan for the philosophy to be implemented throughout the organization.
Initiation
The initiation process “recognizes that a project should begin and commits the organization to do so.” It is the process of planning to plan.
The project’s mission, goals, objectives and scope are determined. A project charter and work breakdown structure can be developed. Defined and repeatable processes are determined and established, becoming the foundation for success.
Planning
The planning processes “devise and maintain a workable scheme to accomplish the business need that the project was undertaken to address.”
The scope of the project is further defined to produce the deliverables and/or elements of measurement. The work breakdown structure will be utilized to identify the work to be done, gain the participation of those best qualified to do the work, and to develop appropriate cost and schedule objectives.
Execution
The execution processes “coordinate the people and the other resources to carry out the plan.”
The scope of the project is continually verified and monitored to ensure the quality of the deliverables. Individual and group skills are developed to enhance project performance. The baseline project plan is recorded.
Controlling
The controlling processes “ensure that the project objectives are met by monitoring and measuring progress and taking corrective action when necessary.”
It is essential to measure the variance of the performance plan against the baseline project plan. Status is communicated and changes are managed and evaluated, then necessary corrective actions are taken to achieve the objectives.
Closing
The closing Processes “formalize acceptance of the project or phase and bring it to an orderly end.”
The closing of a project commences with the customer’s formal acceptance of the project’s results. It also consolidates the various inputs of the project’s life cycle to document the project’s successes, opportunities and lessons learned.
Who in your organization is best suited to perform various project management functions?
Deciding whether you should you adopt the use of a project / program offices?
What training needs exist within your team?
The level of detail you should include in your project tracking system?
Should you track costs in your project management or accounting system or both?
How frequently should you status your projects?
Which managers should receive which reports?
CBA can assist you in responding to these questions by conducting a NEEDS ANALYSIS using the following steps:
Kickoff Meeting
The kickoff meeting communicates to all concerned the purpose of the needs analysis. Participants will be identified and their roles explained. Timeframes to complete each step will be established. Purposes of each step will be discussed in detail. This will be the forum to raise issues and have questions answered.
Conduct Interviews
During the conducting of interviews, the introducing of project management into the business, implementation of new software, or other requirements will be discussed. Questions will be asked concerning what business problems require resolving or what effects will the implementation or change have on current business practices. An understanding of your company’s business, goals and objectives are documented at this time. These are just a few of the areas that will be covered during the interview process.
Document Processes
Documenting Processes includes reviewing existing process relating to each of the company’s business functions. If these do not exist, documentation can be created. This is beneficial when defining the scope and objectives of what is being implemented. This will also be helpful in determining how project management software or project management principles can assist in the solving of problems. It will assist in identifying where improvements or changes can be made to improve the overall business.
Define Scope & Objectives
Defining Scope and Objectives for the implementation of Project Management into a company, introducing new PM software across an organization, or installing a new release of existing PM software are all examples where understanding of what is to be implemented is important. Defining the boundaries and content influences the nature of the solution. Defining the extent of the effort is critical to the success of the PM solution. Stating the benefits that are to be expected from implementing new PM processes or software need to be documented.
Define Requirements
Defining requirements encompass many areas. A review of a company’s existing Project Management processes is necessary to determine at what level of Project Management that the company should be operating. Learning what PM tools are in place and to what extent they are deployed across the company to determine potential improvements. Compiling data and tasks along with data structures are important pieces of the solving the PM puzzle. Hardware, Software, Communications, and report requirements are vital ingredients in the overall PM solution. Understanding the needs at all levels of the PM organization is vital to the success of applying Project Management principles and tools.
Compile and Analyze Data
Compiling and analyzing data are the next step in completing the Needs Analysis. During this step all of the data and information that was documented from the previous steps is compiled and organized so that it can be easily referenced during data analysis. Analyzing the data will help determine if processes need to be changed, deleted or added to enhance the PM solution. Hardware and software usage will be scrutinized to determine specific needs related to capacity, speed and technology improvements. Examination of each functional area occurs to determine their specific PM processing needs. All of this will be communicated during the Reporting Results step.
Report Results
Reporting the results occurs after all of the previous steps have been completed. All of the data has been organized into a workable format and converted into a document. This report summarizes the information in a way that can be shared with the various members of the core project team or other areas of the organization. A meeting is scheduled with the various participants. This meeting is the forum where the results of the Needs Analysis are reported to all concerned. It can result in a questions and answers session which should lead to the next step; Plan for Action.
Plan for Action
The plan for action is the final step in the Need Analysis cycle of events. The success of the Needs Analysis is determined during this step. If it was successful, the decision may be made to formally initiate the design and implementation of a Project Management Solution for the organization or to postpone a decision to a later time.
Project Management Software Implementation
You’ve been smart enough to buy the best project management software available, but how do you make it work to its maximum potential? The consulting staff of CBA is available to help you develop the best way to apply all the software tools we represent. Whether it activity or cost coding structures, resource hierarchies, project configuration, importing or exporting data, or anything else you need.
CBA can help fully document your use of any of the software tools we represent. Our procedure manuals cover the application(s) you desire and feature modular based screen shots depicting your project data and the definitions of what goes in each field.
This development service includes documentation of your report specifications, client unique uses, database structure and procedures directly related to the use of the software tool.
Example:
P3e Backup Procedure for Interbase
It is a good practice to backup the database on a regular scheduled basis, which can be accomplished in the following manner:
Company Specific Training Curriculum Development
Let CBA take the basic foundation of a great training curriculum and customize it for your organization by using sample projects and data oriented towards your industry, materials that emphasize the software features you will be using the most, and examples that are based on your company’s procedures and projects.
Project Scheduling / Resource and Cost Allocation
CBA consultants, being well versed in the use of P6, P3, and SureTrak, can create project plans for use on your internal projects or for those of your clients. We can simply input your data or facilitate your team meeting to get the vital information form all affected parties to produce the required schedules, updates and reports.
Are you looking for a report that is “just like the one in this example except I want this over here and that over there and maybe our company logo in the corner?” CBA has the expertise to modify project management reports using Infomaker, Reportsmith or MS Access to create reports in exactly the format you would like.
Application Integration Services
How many times have you entered data in more than one place? Or how many times have you avoided the exchange of information between applications because it meant you would have to enter data twice? CBA has the ability to help you integrate data from disparate applications and databases in a variety of ways. We have experience exchanging data between Oracle, Btrieve, MS Access, Sybase SQL Anywhere, Excel – even mainframe flat files. Let us be part of your data exchange solution.
Would you like an interactive method to choose options in plain English that can be used to generate an on-screen or printed report? P3 clients who have taken advantage of this service have found it quite simple and extremely helpful.
Software Installation / Troubleshooting
Our staff of Information Technology consultants can get all of the software products we represent (and a number of others as well!) up and running in your network environment. We not only install, but also fully test for true multi-user functionality and ensure peripheral product compatibility. Many times we find a client may be experiencing a problem with the performance of a particular software product and we eventually trace the root of the problem to network configuration issues. If you think it should be running better, it probably should, and we can help.
ASP Hosting Services / Application Management
Critical Business Analysis, Inc. has the capability to provide access to Primavera software applications as an ASP hosted solution through LoadSpring Solutions, Inc. LoadSpring Solutions, Inc. provides first-class collaboration and application management solutions enabling CBA’s customers to save valuable time and money while eliminating IT roadblocks. LoadSpring Solutions has developed a powerful proprietary web application which connects users to enterprise-level server software, best of breed data centers and web-enables their software using the Internet. LoadSpring’s software, the CAM console, acts as the facilitator to enable subscribed customers to easily and securely access applications such as Primavera Expedition and Primavera Enterprise and share information on-line in real-time with any authorized partner that is connected to the Internet. For more information, contact John Gordon at CBA, Inc. at 800-874-8080 or info@cbainc.com.
