Oracle@Oracle : Implementing Primavera in an IT Services Environment – Does it work?

Oracle@Oracle: Implementing Primavera in an IT Services Environment – Does it work?

Chris LynhamSenior Principal Project Manager


Case Study Agenda

Background Phase I – The Journey Starts…. Phase II – After a short break the journey continued…. What did we Implement What really Worked


Case Study Agenda - continued

What went Awry Lessons Learnt The Journey Ends?

– Summary and Questions


Background


Summer 2008• Identified

the need for a PPM tool

Autumn 2008• Oracle

announced Primavera acquisition

• Hence our assessment turned to Primavera

October 2009• Engaged a

Primavera Consultant

• Spent 2 weeks working on initial solution

• Started in an OnDemand environment

March 2010• Started

partnership with PDIT PMO

• Started on a script for data transfer from PRP

• Producing standard templates

Sept-Oct 2010• PMO Leadership

meeting• Too many

obstacles• Define

Implementation Plan

Implementation Timeline

GO LIVE 1st November2010


In the Beginning…..

Global Projects Database

The screen shot above is the project listing that each PM would have as a standard page after login

Then by selecting the update/edit button for a project the PM would see the complete project data

Shortly we will see how we maintained some consistency for the PMs; this aided acceptance (familiarity)

Insert Picture Here


Phase IKeep it Simple!


The Journey Starts….


Phase IIMore Complexity!


One clear view that had changed during that year was the attitude towards Primavera and how it could benefit the organization, hence 2 new phases were confirmed as part the program─ Phase II to deploy resource management for our Service Design group─ Phase III to deploy Workforce Management across all Global IT

January 2011 Phase II kicked off; this was our first attempt at scheduling with active engineering resources logging time─ Service Design used another legacy ‘Home Grown’ solution they called PIRT in

which they controlled engineering effort that was not under a project and this effort we called ‘Work’

Resource Managers received resource requests in their dashboards from the PMs that equated to an estimate of the effort required over a duration for a specific Role

After a short break the journey continued….


─ The PM and RM would negotiate to ensure availability and capacity before the RM assigned a Resource from his team to the Role

• Each Resource had a primary Role and might have a number of secondary Roles─ It was the responsibility of the PM to ensure engineers were fully informed on

the activity required and given the chance to revise the estimate if necessary• This would require re-negotiation with the RM if the agreed effort or duration changed

Resources were responsible for logging their time (on or before CoB on Friday) in Progress Reporter─ Project Schedule Services were set up to Capture Actuals, Schedule and

Summarize the projects just after Midnight on Friday Pacific Time At this time the PMs were only responsible for monitoring the data

collected and not the validity of the effort captured; RMs were specifically interested in the resource utilization─ The PMs only got involved if their completion dates were affected

And continues….


What did we Implement – for the RM


What did we Implement – for the PM


What really worked – Phase I The announcement to go created an excitement / expectation

─ PMs were looking forward to getting a professional PM tool─ The Templates worked

• Also gave the PMs the opportunity to contribute─ The Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) was a good solution

• It allowed the Portfolio Managers to filter projects─ PM sessions set out help topics for daily improvements

• For example how to set up their Dashboards, Portfolio Views and filter only their projects

─ The retained consistency between the old GPD data and the new environment – keep it simple policy

• PMs immediately recognized the data fields and understood their purpose─ The BI reporting approach provided a ‘self-service’ solution for

stakeholders to check project status


What really worked – Phase II The benefits for the PMs were less than those for the RMs

─ The ability to see what key design resources were working on was a revelation

─ The ability to see what time engineers were logging to a project was key for the RMs utilization and capacity decisions

• Interesting for the PMs as this had not been formally attempted before─ PM training went well, but ideally could have been later─ The Service Design self service training provided the basics, but really

worked well in conjunction with working ‘brown bag’ sessions• The CBTs also allowed repetitive viewing – if at first you don’t succeed

─ The Service Design project team were really committed to getting the solution working and became highly skilled by the time we went live

─ The support teams were keen to learn and understand the new environment – this helped mitigate migration issues


What went Awry

Misconceptions on ease of deployment─ Avoid the politics─ Early access to the team meant they started to Prototype/RAD─ They failed to focus on the requirements and design activities

Maintaining a Sandbox ─ Supports understanding of the tool

Keep the organization informed─ Due to delays the organization got mixed messages─ Take your champions on the journey with you

Encourage users to engage and do their homework─ Keep the training going─ Keep the help sessions going


What went Awry If you are partnering with another group make sure they understand

your objectives ─ Our partner couldn’t support the level of users we were intending

There is a fine balance between flexibility and anarchy─ If you have Templates keep them simple─ If something is mandated, make sure there is a clear message─ Feign ignorance as an excuse for non-compliance─ Reduce Project workload; too many active projects to work the process

effectively─ RMs did not have the utilization data they needed; result was

availability unknowns – work in progress Integration with other systems might be more important than initially

thought?


Lessons LearntWhat would we do differently? Ensure we maintained a Sandbox Keep your partner informed; ensure they can support you

─ We ‘assumed’ they would have the capacity to support our needs Identify all systems requiring integration

─ Thoroughly assess all potential pros and cons and consult the organization

Do not allow the team to get carried away with the new tool─ Limit access until key requirements/design activities complete

Try to limit the number of managers in working sessions─ Use the managers for validation and not for definition─ Try to control personal agendas and dominant individuals


Lessons Learnt What should we do differently?

Always carry your champions with you every step of the way Using UPK would provide valuable help at the touch of a button Schedule refresher working sessions periodically─ Targeted Brown Bag sessions─ Training re-runs

Keep the Templates to an ‘absolute’ minimum; especially for Phase II

Keep sight of that primary principle, to keep it simple─ There will always be enough time to add complexity later.....


Lessons LearntSummary Whatever you do it is never enough….. natural resistance!

• The training will never be enough• The help sessions will never be enough• However many times you repeat something will never be enough• However many times you show them something will never be enough

In other words, stating the obvious here….. TRAINING and HELP is Key to Success! There will always be exceptions

• You can’t teach old dogs new tricks Keep the communications flowing – take the organization with you on the journey Don’t let personalities dominate the project or working sessions Ensure the requirements capture and use cases are fully documented

• Limit system access until this is completed Don’t assume providing a useful tool that had been discussed for many years will be

welcomed with open arms.....• The key concern was how long will this data capture take each week?

Keep your expert close• We lost close contact with our Primavera Consultant during Phase II

Keep your supporters even closer• Don’t lose the internal help and support


The Journey Ends?Summary and Questions As we all know the journey never ends…. We continue to improve and learn Was the journey worthwhile?

─ It wasn’t perfect, but I would definitely say yes; there are others who might disagree, but then again nothing is perfect?

Did we achieve what we set out to achieve?─ For Phase I definitely─ For Phase II partly─ and for Phase III we will have to wait and see.....

So for the $64000 question, does it work in an IT Service Environment?─ Most definitely, but you have to pay extra attention - what exactly

are you trying to achieve from the deployment─ It is not a ‘one size fits all’ environment

Any Questions?


If you have any further questions or need any information, please contact either:

Chris Lynham [email protected]

Dave Graham [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Oracle@Oracle : Implementing Primavera in an IT Services Environment – Does it work?

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