Project cost and project performance management is a relatively broad term referring to what is a critical process for any project team.
This is the first article in our Back to Basics Proteus Project Management Guide. We aim to give an overview of the tools and techniques commonly used in energy sector project management over a series of digestible, easy-to-read posts.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the basics of project cost and project performance management, how it is core to everything that Proteus is about, and how it can benefit your organization and guarantee project success.
1. What is Project Cost and Project Performance Management?
Project cost and performance management is the systematic process of planning, tracking, and controlling project costs and performance. The goal is to ensure that a project is completed within its budget and schedule, and that it meets or exceeds the expectations of its stakeholders. This includes regular monitoring and reporting of progress, as well as taking corrective action if necessary. Project cost and performance management is an important part of any project, large or small. It also helps to identify any potential problems early on, so that they can be addressed before they cause major delays or cost overruns.
Project cost and project performance management includes the following activities:
– Planning: Developing a project budget and schedule
– Tracking: Monitoring project costs and performance against the budget and schedule
– Controlling: Taking corrective action to keep the project on track and to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.
This is particularly true for the large-scale, complex projects common in the energy sector. The energy sector is constantly evolving, and with that comes the need for better project management to improve the bottom line.
2. The benefits of PCPM in energy sector projects
The energy sector is under constant pressure to improve project cost and performance. One way to improve performance is by using a structured Project Cost and Performance Management (PCPM) system. A PCPM system can help energy sector organizations optimize their project portfolios, improve project cost management, and deliver better project outcomes. Some of the benefits of using a PCPM system include:
– Improved portfolio management: A PCPM system can help organizations manage their project portfolios more effectively. Cost management is important in projects and by tracking projects across the entire portfolio, organizations can identify issues early and prevent them from becoming problems.
– More effective cost management: A PCPM system can help organisations better manage project costs. By tracking costs throughout the project lifecycle, organisations can identify areas where costs are higher than the estimated cost and take steps to reduce them.
– Improved project outcomes: A PCPM system can help organizations deliver better project outcomes. If you’re involved in the energy sector, then you know how important it is to keep track of project costs and performance. After all, projects in this sector can be extremely expensive, and any delays or problems can have a major impact on operations.
-Increased Efficiency: A PCPM system can help energy companies increase their efficiency by providing visibility into project costs and performance. This can help managers make better decisions about where to allocate resources and how to improve project performance.
-Improved Decision Making: Energy companies need to make informed decisions about their projects. Having accurate data can help managers understand where projects are over budget or behind schedule, and make adjustments accordingly.
– Improved coordination between different teams and stakeholders: The energy sector is complex, with many different stakeholders and factors at play. Clear, well-managed management systems can help to streamline processes and improve communication between all parties involved.
3. How to implement Project Cost and Project Performance Management in your company
A structured Project Cost and Project Performance Management system can give energy sector organizations a significant advantage over their competitors. Implementation of a well-used, well-configured system takes time and investment. The following steps provide a framework of what may be involved:
- Structure your company: The backbone of any effective PCPM process is a tool that allows you to manage project data. This data needs to be organised in a way that meets the structure of your company to allow the project management team to add as much detail and granularity as possible to their project plans. At Proteus we use Departments, Disciplines, Grades. This can be changed to meet the needs of any company. For example, your team members maybe better split and analyzed by Location, Job Function and Level.
- Bring onboard a software tool that brings everything into one place: As discussed, having visibility over live project data is the key to any PCPM team. Implement a software that brings all project data into one place and can be used to generate reports on a regular basis. These reports are used to track progress, identify issues, and assess the overall health of projects. In Proteus this reporting capability is built in to each workflow and forms the basis of the project controls features.
- Use software to create project templates: templates and form-led document creation will allow you to quickly and easily create new projects that are based on existing ones, which can save a lot of time and effort. Proteus is integrated with Microsoft 365 and Google, making it very easy for teams to work in their Sharepoint filing or Google environments as normal.
- Use dashboards to get instant overviews: Make sure your software has clear PCPM dashboards to display project cost and performance data in an easily digestible format. This data should be accessible to all employees so that everyone is on the same page when it comes to understanding the financial status of projects. Proteus has multi-level user access so team members can easily access the data they need in real-time.
- Create internal software utilisation checks: Once you have implemented your PCPM software the next thing to do is to ensure that your employees are using it correctly. This means creating and enforcing policies and procedures around its use, as well as providing training to employees on how to use the software effectively. Proteus clients are each assigned a one-on-one customer success manager ensuring all users are able to get maximum value from the tool.
- The final step is to continually monitor and adjust your PCPM processes as needed. This includes reviewing project costs and performance data on a regular basis and ensuring your software is update and still fit for purpose. Proteus is cloud-based and all updates are automatically pushed to live meaning clients benefit from constant enhancements and improved functionality.
In today’s challenging economy, with businesses under pressure to do more with less, it is essential to have a clear understanding of where your projects stand in terms of costs and performance. Otherwise, you run the risk of overspending or missing important deadlines. PCPM can help you avoid these pitfalls by giving you visibility into the health of your projects. By tracking costs and performance indicators, project managers can more effectively manage the project as a whole, resulting in more successful projects.
About Proteus Project Software
Xergy Group’s Proteus project management software is designed to work with your existing systems and to scale and evolve as your business grows. Created by project management leaders, for the diversified engineering consultancy sector, Proteus delivers an end-to-end work management software platform with detailed workflows from the early opportunity stage through to project delivery.
Proteus’ end-to-end project management software is a cloud-based system designed for businesses of all sizes to handle projects of unlimited complexity and is compliant with common project management frameworks and ISO standards. Each feature is aimed at making bottom-line improvements by improving utilisation, streamlining workflows, providing quick and efficient access to resources, and reducing overheads. Check out some of our client case studies to learn more about how Proteus makes a tangible difference.
How to Get Proteus
We recommend getting setup on a free trial. Proteus operates under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. We offer Enterprise packages and flexible pricing solutions: contact our team to learn more.
We designed Proteus to be simple, and that means you can get up and running on Proteus without an IT team or support from a programmer. You will want to spend a bit of time configuring the admin console so that you have everything set up to suit your company structure, but it’s very intuitive and you don’t need a PhD in IT. However, we want you to get the best out of what is a brilliantly powerful tool, so don’t hesitate to ask for our support. We have a team of product experts who are ready to help you with the configuration process, so get in touch today by filling out the form below:
