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What does Cora Systems do?The product is called ProjectVision, and it’s a complete PPM solution. It aims to be the single package for project planning and tracking, handling human resource allocation, performance analysis, governance, H&S, and even fringe roles like communicating project information with the outside world (more of that later). Every day $15 billion worth of projects are handled on ProjectVision, supporting hundreds of thousands of users in more than 50 countries.

Who uses it?ProjectVision is suitable for all verticals. It is popular in the public sector, life sciences, healthcare, IT, manufacturing and logistics. Teleflex, Honeywell, the NHS, and the City of London Corporation are all users. Project managers and directors are the obvious core, but the package will be used by CFOs and finance, logistics, procurement, and CIOs.

What does it do?On Monday morning the first thing you’ll do is log onto the My Dashboard homepage. This collection of interactive widgets sums up all your ongoing projects at a glance. A list of projects shows what you are working on. An executive map with milestones sets out progress according to a timeline, with deviations easy to see. A risk matrix chronicles the dangers, and their status. A traffic light status widget offers an immediate overview. It’s a well put together synopsis.

What can it tackle?Cora’s ProjectVision is a central planning platform for all aspects of project management. Plot each stage of a project, with duties, timeline, resource allocation, and notes. During a project, users can update information – and here’s where the package excels. ProjectVision aggregates data from micro-operations with two people, through to the entire enterprise’s operations. Zoom up and

Cora Systems www.corasystems.com

by Charles Orton-Jones

The Irish project management system is a global hit. PM Today explores the platform that claims to be the most comprehensive and flexible on the market. In the recent past Ireland was the biggest software exporter in the world. Microsoft set up shop in Dublin, IBM poured cash in, and Intel spent billions on chip production in Leixlip, County Kildare. Today Ireland is still a powerhouse (although India snaffled the top title), and is host to a marvellous number of world-class software companies. One is Cora Systems, founded by entrepreneur Philip Martin in 1999 in the little town of Carrick-on-Shannon, where it is still HQed. Cora’s a fast-growing business, and is now a blue-chip platform in the Portfolio Project Management software space. It’s a head-to-head competitor with Workfront, which PM Today profile last edition. So we sat down with Cora experts for an in-depth demo, to find out whether the package lives up to the hype. Here’s what we discovered.

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down the project tree with a couple of clicks. Then drill down into specific areas, such as finance, timelines, or resourcing. Data flows from the micro to the macro fairly seamlessly.

What else?Play with the click and drag interface and ProjectVision feels sophisticated. For example, in the Status chart offers colour-coded warnings: red, amber, and green. Click on a project and a breakdown of the details is presented. Across the entire suite of functions this concept holds true. Click on a chart, and new information is presented. It’s addictive. It’s really the essence of ProjectVision’s appeal: information across multiple projects is held within a single package. Uses get a single “source of truth” to use the infelicitous parlance of the trade. The aesthetics are decent too. For example, a radar graph plots how different elements of any given project are progressing. If health & safety or finance metrics are slipping, the radar makes it instantly clear.

Users say:“We work in 78 countries, with 12,000

people in our part of Honeywell, we are a

$4bn division of Honeywell. We have 30,000

projects live everyday. ProjectVision has

insight into all those projects. If it is a sales

project, at the opportunity stage, or a live

delivery project, every single one of those is

now brought into Project Vision.”

Phil Howe, Honeywell Building Solutions

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Can it manage people, too?This is a critical function of any PPM. To be honest, rival package Workfront set a high bar. We loved the ability to research the skillset of employees, to assign projects, and track employment history of each and every worker. Well, we are happy to say Cora Systems offers competition in this area. The interface offers an at-a-glance view of which workers are qualified and available to undertake a certain job. They can be assigned, and the relevant project manager automatically notified to give approval to the allocation. There’s a nice forward projection tool: forthcoming demand levels are plotted against availability. This means there will be no more discovering you are short of an electrical engineer with 48 hours to go.

Agile or waterfall?All major ways of working are supported: Agile, PMBOK, Prince2 etc. It’s easy to set up charts aligned with each methodology.

Cloud or On Premises?Either.

Unusual capabilities?An extra function of ProjectVision is the way it interacts with the outside world. A “portal” facility allows members of the public to input suggestions or data into the package, via a simple webform. Also, information can be published using the portal. This is ideal for organisations with a public remit, such as transport agencies, which need to publish data for public consumption.

Will it make other packages obsolete?Your choice. The philosophy of Cora is to integrate with other packages, so users can work how they want to. The list of suitable software is encouraging: Jira, SAP, Documentum, Esri mapping software, Excel, Salesforce, Alfresco, Oracle, Microsoft Project Server, and umpteen others. The Cora API means it’s straightforward to weave the package into other enterprise technology.

Is it secure?ProjectVision offers a variety of security features. We like the ability to limit permissions by project and by function. For example, a client can be shut out of the costings zone, which may be commercially sensitive.

How can new adopters learn to use it?Cora say they prefer a one-to-one consultancy style relationship with clients. Their advisors will sit down with your team and discuss what you need. They’ll provide a personalised demonstration, and if given the go-ahead, will educate users as to get the most out of ProjectVision. There is also a suite of accredited training courses, and online tuition too.

Can it be customised?Yes. Cora will work with clients to amend the product according to bespoke needs. Most users will find the flexible interface sufficient, but there Cora is willing to engineer solutions to specific technical requests.

What does it cost? Price depends on your organisation. The billing model is flexible. Either Software-as-a-Service, or Perpetual, and there are variety of hosting options.

PM Today verdictCora Systems ProjectVision is a market leader for a good reason. The functionality is rich, and covers the full gamut of planning, scheduling, analysis, resource management, and reporting. The interface makes is easy to use. The liberal use of charts is visually attractive and makes it simple to spot issues such as cost over-runs or missed milestones. We like the flexibility of the package. It’s possible to flip from Gantt presentation to a colour-coded Sticky Note format with a single click. Data flows across projects to provide a unified overview of operations. We set out to see whether Cora’s reputation as an enterprise-grade one-stop solution was justified, and came out genuinely impressed.

RIGHT TO REPLYCharles, thank you for taking the time to learn all about Cora Systems and for reviewing ProjectVision. ProjectVision is a mature portfolio and project management software solution that provides organisations with full control, governance and insight into their business plans, strategic objectives, portfolios and projects.As more is demanded from your organisation, it is vital that you have a proper structure in place to manage your projects effectively. It is equally vital to have visibility of your key strategic objectives being achieved through your project work. ProjectVision eliminates the time and frustration around report generation, decision-making, resource allocation and financial tracking. ProjectVision is a comprehensive, established portfolio and project management software solution that has been proven to fit any industry in both the public and private sectors. “We’re privileged to have so many clients we partner with across our industry sectors, many of whom are happy to discuss why they chose Cora and ProjectVision as their PPM platform”. For more information, please feel to reach out and we can organise a personalised demonstration.

Paul Rees, UK Country Manager, Cora Systems. prees@corasystems.com

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