The Multi-Project Environment
Typically an organisation involved in a series of projects - with
new projects coming along and being added to the list all the time
and completed projects being taken off.
The number of projects being considered at a time usually
varies from a few to hundreds - the size of an individual project
often being inversely proportional to the overall number.
The nature of the projects can be very wide - e.g.:
- manufacture of customised engineering equipment
- contracts to supply and fit mechanical and electrical
services
- research and development projects,
- software projects,
- a rolling programme of site refurbishment.
In most cases one or all of the following factors apply:
- each project has its own defined start and completion targets
- projects are similar in nature but differ in detail of
construction (often significantly so)
- all projects compete for the same resource pool
- each project is managed by a nominated individual with often
several projects allocated to each person
- resources are expected to service all projects without
introducing delays.
Key Management Parameters
Although each project has its own targets, the overall
corporate schedule is a rolling programme with new projects being
taken on all the time. Often the key question is one of assessing
whether a new projects can be tackled without fatally injuring
existing projects.
The sharing of resources across projects means that a single
co-ordinated project model is essential to illustrate and optimise
conflicts of interest. Against this however there is a key
requirement to offer each manager the ability to develop and
monitor his own project plans within the overall project strategy.
To achieve resource planning across all current projects
requires that a single project database is maintained that will
allow resource allocations between projects to be assessed in a
meaningful way. Whether conflicts are resolved automatically
(better suited to projects made up of discrete work packages) or
manually (where the interaction between tasks on a project is a
crucial factor) does not change the fundamental need to assess
projects on a global basis. Pulling all the project information
together in a single database also allows summary reports to be
compiled that show the status of all projects and project future
resource and cost requirements on a global basis.
Feedback on the true progress of tasks within a project is vital
in giving an early indication of projects falling behind.
Measuring progress in terms of man-hours is often the preferred
method.
Providing quick and accurate feedback on the status of a project
to the responsible managers is vital - giving managers direct
access to project data and progress information provides early
warning of conflicts with other projects and draws attention to
areas that are falling behind - all part of an effective
management approach.
Required Feedback and Reporting
The ability to produce reports on a project-by-project basis
together with a series of global project summaries is essential in a
multi-project environment and are readily produced from the
co-ordinated project data e.g.:
- distribute project reports to their respective managers -
showing progress and highlighting sections running late
- provide regular summaries to senior managers - bringing all
projects together and showing planned schedules and a breakdown
of resource requirements by project
Progress on tasks is often monitored through time-sheets and
this information can be automatically fed into the project
management system to update progress, check the rate of progress and
identify where projects are slipping or running behind schedule. Use
of coding structures on project tasks allows reports to be produced
on the basis of:
- project
- manager
- work type
- or just tasks causing concern.
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