RolloutExpert.com

A few more hidden costs to those spreadsheets…

Location
Invariably the master spreadsheet spawns many other versions of spreadsheets. Those may become the master spreadsheet for a certain subset of project data. Now information required for decision making is spread across two spreadsheets on two different computers, possibly in separate offices or even separate companies.

Additionally documentation such as images, signoff sheets, checklists, etc., must be stored somewhere separate from the spreadsheet(s). Where does the documentation get stored? Is it all in the same office? On the same computer? Is it available for anyone to view? Information not included in a spreadsheet is still critical to the communication process and is necessary for other team members to find/get to quickly and securely.

Lack of information
History for each site is too difficult to capture in a spreadsheet format. It is therefore in the project manager’s head, in project coordinator’s heads, in emails or even lost forever. Weekly or daily meetings are a must to keep everyone on the same page. And that equates to lots of wasted time and money.

These are just some of the hidden costs that can quickly decrease the efficiency of a project. Fortunately, there is a solution: abandon the spreadsheets and call BigWave.

BigWave’s multi-site project management portal solves the inefficiencies of traditional project management with spreadsheets by giving you one easy portal to manage all aspects of your multi-site project. Streamlining your day-to-day operations and communication both on- and off-site, BigWave allows you to collaborate and communicate quickly and effectively so that you can focus on what you do best—managing projects.

Are you ready to ensure that your next project is going to be a success? Contact BigWave today online or by phone at (888) 252-WAVE and control the chaos in your multi-site projects.

As any project manager knows, the success of a project depends on whether it comes in at or under budget and whether it was completed on time. What most project managers do not know is that by using spreadsheets to manage multi-site projects, they significantly decrease their opportunities for success.

In today’s fast-paced, technologically advanced society, spreadsheets are quickly becoming obsolete because of their inefficiencies. Listed below are a few of the hidden costs associated with spreadsheets that make them a poor choice for today’s project manager.

Personnel
Considering it typically takes a large number of people to complete a project—especially multi-site projects—your overhead is already going to be high. Now, factor in each person updating, merging, sending, saving, finding, emailing, fixing and even losing the information. A significant amount of personnel time is wasted here.

Out-of-date information
Spreadsheets contain critical information needed to make decisions throughout the project. If the spreadsheet has not been updated, or an older version of the spreadsheet is making the rounds, inaccurate information is being used to make decisions, which in turn can cost a company hundreds, thousands, even millions of dollars if decisions are being made using incorrect information.

Errors
In multi-site projects, data can often arrive daily or weekly via spreadsheets from other sources (shipping information, billing information, etc). The project manager or project coordinator must merge that data with the master spreadsheet. Even assuming every party is using the exact same software on the exact same operating machine, this process is very error prone.

More hidden costs in my next post… In the meantime, click here to see how BigWave can help eliminate the hidden costs of spreadsheets with multi-site project management.

What is the best way to roll out this technology? Fact is most organizations are very immature in how these IT investments get deployed. People can be very naïve when considering how difficult the deployment can be – especially for multi-site organizations. And if the deployment fails, well, it’s just another IT investment wasted.

If you consider IT deployments are really multi-site projects then you will realize IT deployments have the special needs all multi-site projects require. These are effective and efficient communication, collaboration, and data collection/organization/dissemination.

I challenge any project manager to resort to only their formal PM training and traditional PM tools to deploy completed IT projects to the field.

My belief is that you won’t be very successful.

The requirements of the project will undoubtedly require you to open Excel to track various pieces of information for each site, cobble together a network file share to store documentation and pictures, and organize your emails as best you can. Undoubtedly a lot of information will be stored in handwritten notes or your head. You will have lots and lots of meetings and phone calls to constantly ensure everyone is on the same page.

There is actually a better way. A neat little company called BigWave is solving the problems associated with multi-site rollouts and deployments of IT. At its core, BigWave software inherently recognizes the needs of multi-site projects and provides any company with a proven methodology for getting these rollouts done.

Check them out at http://www.bigwavesoftware.com.

Today I write about deploying finished products to the field. This is critical to the success of any project, is very difficult to do correctly, but most IT managers naïvely think is straightforward to accomplish. Allow me to build up my case with a little background.

Business people realize that IT infrastructure, applicable to the business and properly implemented, has a tremendous impact to the bottom line profitability of a company. Technology enables additional revenue streams and realizes cost savings. The promise of IT is fantastic! However, IT can be costly in and of itself, so if it fails, then it is simply money wasted.

Software development has been around for quite some time now. We have learned a tremendous amount from all the mistakes that have been made. Through the years we have evolved methodologies, consultancies, and tools to the point where, today, most any organization, given executive sponsorship, can create relevant technology to deliver on the promise of increased profitability for their individual businesses. Given any IT project to create tools for the business, if we set out on a path to build the software using generally accepted best practices of project management, then we greatly increase our chances for success.

Many tools exist on the market today that internalize these best practices to help us “build” something new. Generally these fall into the project management category. Mostly they have a resemblance to Microsoft Project and for good reason. Microsoft Project, despite many shortcomings, enables traditional projects (where something is being “built”) to be organized in a logical way so they can be tracked to completion.

So consider we successfully completed and have in our hot little hands a project created by the IT staff or a consultancy. Now it’s time to roll out this wonderful technology to the field. Uh-oh.

Our next installment covers what to do!

Most regular readers of this blog know that I have a fundamental belief that there are nuances to multi-site project management that make it difficult to use standard PM tools for their execution. They also know that I am the President of a software company called BigWave whose aim is to embrace these nuances and deliver a tool to the world that is effective for multi-site rollouts.

So why did we choose BigWave?

Well, at the end of the day, being the owner of the company, I chose the name :).

Personally I love the ocean and the mountains, and when I vacation with my family, generally we choose one of those spots. But I REALLY love the ocean! In particular ocean waves are something I find very cool and I am fascinated by their periodicity, power, and grace.

So one day I would like to have property in Hawaii and run the BigWave empire from one of the most beautiful and inspiring places in the world with a direct view to large waves crashing on the shore.

So naming the company BigWave keeps my eye on the ultimate prize of being able to really enjoy the good life in paradise!

For now however, we are based in the flatlands of North Texas!

I am currently the president of BigWave Software, a company providing an innovative, web-based portal that has been eliminating the headaches of multi-site project management since 2002. I am passionate about solving the problems associated with multi-site rollouts and bringing to the marketplace a tool that, unlike traditional project management tools, fits these unique projects. Many industries have already benefited from this exceptional project portal, including the retail industry in point-of-sale rollouts and upgrades.

With a multitude of technology and business development experience, I have previously held roles as CTO, senior consultant, project manager, software engineer and business analyst in a variety of industries. My more than 12 years of experience as an independent technology consultant included a variety of industries, including mortgage, healthcare, airline and telecommunications. I have an extensive background in technology development, project management and business analysis.

I received my B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Oklahoma. I was raised in Oklahoma and am an avid Sooner fan I enjoy playing golf, the beach and the mountains. My family and I reside in the flatlands of Frisco, Texas, and we are thoroughly enjoying watching our three kids grow up.

Welcome to the world’s first blog dedicated to the trials and tribulations of Multi-site Project Management. My name is John Livermore, and my career has had me focused on these projects for over 5 years now. In fact I created a software company called BigWave that is entirely focused on this issue and creates project portals ideal for multi-site projects.

As I arrived at the realization that multi-site projects are a different breed and have special requirements, I thought it would be helpful to start a forum where all of those involved in this discipline may have a resource/sounding board for tackling the issues associated with multi-site rollouts.

Multi-site PM? You may say “so what’s the big deal?”.

If you are on a project team involved with rolling out equipment to hundreds or thousands of physical locations (“sites”) within a finite and/or compressed period of time, then you and your colleagues are working a multi-site project. And because you work these projects, you probably know they are a different animal than a traditional project (where something gets built).

To get a site live generally requires some form of the following steps:

• Stage equipment
• Ship equipment / verify it arrives
• Schedule a technician
• Install the equipment
• Dispose the old equipment
• Obtain signoff and collect documentation for the site
• Invoice for the work done

Typically dozens of sites will become live each day. With all the variables and people involved, how to manage these? Ouch! These projects aren’t for the faint of heart!

Multi-site projects are fraught with chaos, and managing the process is extremely difficult for even the most organized project teams. Undoubtedly the project team is smartly using standard PM best practices and methodologies, however, these fall short of addressing the major issues that cause rollouts to experience difficulty or fail.

• Efficient communication
• Efficient collaboration
• Effective data collection/organization/dissemination

So welcome to RolloutExpert.com — the resource for multi-site project management. In the coming months I will be writing about all that surrounds these projects, stories from the field, and how we can all achieve greater efficiencies and success with these very complex projects.

Thanks for listening!