Use Cases - Project Management

ASM can link Programs and Projects in several ways depending on your organization's specific need. You can perform Project Management with or without the MPO Integration.

Before you Start

You should be familiar with IPK Management, Workflow Management, System Administration settings and configuration and CMDB configuration. You should also be familiar with the MPO Integration Settings and behaviors.

Alemba recommends you seek the assistance of Alemba Professional Services to configure Project Management if you are not familiar with all of these topics.

The CMDB's role in Project Management

The CMDB should be used to capture programs and projects, requirements and associated contracts - where parent child relationships are easily managed. All project documentation can be attached to its relevant CI and maintained in perpetuity. By using the CMDB you can link associated stakeholders, contracts, and related CI and financials.

These data can then be easily added to either implementation method below (with workflow or without workflow) to form a cohesive PM capability.

The inclusion of templates for Project Initiation, Chartering, PIR, and Requirements Definition make the project management process in ASM effective from cradle to grave. It will also keep all project artifacts together, which will make managing all aspects of the project efficient.

ASM is able to track financials, contracts, MOSCOW, RAG, RAID, and all other project related data elements.

Suggested Implementation Models

Model 1: Using IPK

You can use IPK Screen sets for basic tasks. ASM ships with the following:

• Project Template – to hold the details of the project itself

• Project Task Template – These are created for each project task.

• A default project template is available where the controlling Program can be linked to a project with a filtered field linked to the CMDB.

If you implement the MPO integration, Microsoft project will create the project tasks and assign them automatically.

Model 2: Using Workflow

You can use the ASM workflow capability. This will allow you to build your project and program processes in a codeless environment.

• The MPO integration will automatically call any workflow tied to work packages.

• Rather than create a basic project task, instead, ASM will call the relevant workflow.

For example: If your project calls for provisioning a new environment, you can select the new environment workflow from the pick-list in Microsoft Project and it will be added as a work package. The request will be submitted in ASM using the Project’s data. Effectively this provides the project manager with one task to manage in the project, but in ASM all the requisite tasks for provisioning a new environment are triggered as with any other workflow.

This data is also reportable and captures key project information as mentioned above.

Model 3: Hybrid Approach

The hybrid approach allows you to incorporate both Model 1 and 2 to form a comprehensive solution allowing not only project tasks, but the addition of work packages. This is the most common implementation model.

Implementation Planning Checklist

• Configure System Settings to support Project Management: Do you need a separate partition, statuses, IPK and workflow groups. Consider all the system settings you will need to support your PM approach.
• Configure the CMDB: Will you track everything from the program to each requirement? Will you need to setup contracts and external suppliers?
• Check and Configure your screens: Is there more data you need to capture? Less?
• Check and configure your workflows: Who are the approvers? Do you have the correct email templates, Completion statuses? Should the task screens be configured or customised?
• Will you publish any of it to the SSP? if so will you need to configure a special portal or update security roles and My Menu Options to show additional content?
• Prepare a Knowledge article so that agents understand what they should do to keep the Project tasks updated.
• Do you plan to use Resource Manager? You will need to configure members to be resource managers and enable resource managed tasks.
• Will you use the MPO Integration or some other integration to send project data to ASM? You will need to configure these details too.
• Will you use Nano? If so you will need to prepare Nano screens and training for your nano agents and project managers.
• Configure your project statuses for Nano. The statuses available in Nano correspond to the agents default partition. This may impact your decision whether or not to have a separate project management partition.

For example: you may want the KanBan to only show relevant statuses to a project when project managers log in; Backlog, Sprint 1, 2 or 3, In-Progress, etc... whereas in the IT partition there would be very different statuses displayed.

Example: KanBan from Nano displaying IT status. In the KanBan, agents can drag and drop tickets from one status to another without opening the ticket.

Project Methodology

ASM supports both traditional and agile project management methodologies. It can also easily support a combined approach. Utilising the workflow module, any project management approach can be instantiated through a drag and drop zero code workflow builder.

Project Management in ASM is preconfigured to a basic agile approach for a standard project initiation, and then is handed off to the Microsoft Project online via integration (when enabled) where the project is actively managed. The integration maintains the status of tasks as they are assigned within ASM for the work that must be accomplished.

For clients electing not to use the included integration to Microsoft Project, the workflow processes needed to control a project from start to finish are provided, are easily configured, and easily maintained with workflow management.

Project Managers need only drop the tasks onto the palette and then complete the details as they would in Microsoft Project.

Resource Management

ASM has a native resource management module that can be used to allocate resources by availability, skill set and overall workload. Simply drag an open task up to the line that corresponds with the resource and date(s) the task should be scheduled.

Portfolio Management

ASM provides portfolio management and integrates to MS Project to manage multiple project plans and provides the ability to link multiple projects to portfolios.

1. ASM can track corporate objectives tangibly, allowing all related projects to be linked, thus provided quality and useful reporting against each.

2. ASM provides 360-degree view of the entire project portfolio allowing quick, informed decision making.

3. ASM’s resource management module, included, means it is easy to manage the workload of teams and individuals whilst taking into consideration availability, skills, and capacity. a. ASM has skills based assignment and workflow built into all person and task records.

Risk Management

ASM can manage, calculate, and assign risk in any manner or method the client requires and the calculation criteria can be configured individually by each client.

Change Management

ASM is fully integrated throughout with change management. You can submit a change from within any project entity, task, CI or call.