PIM White Paper v3.0

Primavera Implementation Methodology

Version 3.0


Table of Contents

Introduction..........................................................................................................3

Our Core Methodology..........................................................................................5

Step 1: Readiness Assessment.............................................................................7

Step 2: Design......................................................................................................9

Step 3: Prototype and Test.................................................................................11

Step 4: Production Validation.............................................................................12

Step 5: Rollout....................................................................................................14

Step 6: Assessment............................................................................................14

A Release-based Implementation.......................................................................15

Conclusion..........................................................................................................16

Primavera Systems, Incdocument.docx 4/7/2023, 10:13 PM Page 2 of 16


Introduction

Primavera Professional Services can help clients make the most of their decisions, accelerating their adoption of project management processes and tools through an intelligent, well-designed implementation strategy.

Our experts bring to clients a uniquely powerful combination of project management and technological expertise. They have worked in nearly every industry, on nearly every type of project, and are equally proficient in leading-edge database and project management technology. They have implemented Primavera solutions for customers with a wide variety of environments, providing services from short-term support and integration with ERP to full-scale, global rollout.

We are also committed to complete knowledge transfer both during and after the implementation process, so the client’s organization can smoothly pick up where our Professional Services team leaves off.



Our Implementation Approach

We refer to our implementation approach as a “structured” approach. We carefully evaluate the client’s implementation needs and assemble a customized team of talented professionals, including a project/engagement manager, installation and integration specialists, project management and implementation consultants, data conversion experts, and certified trainers.

We have built and refined a proprietary enterprise project management solution implementation methodology and set of toolkits. Our implementation approach employs a practical process modeled on our own project management software. Below are some key advantages of our implementation approach:

Focuses on business needs

Maximizes client’s return on investment across the enterprise

Defines the “how, who, what, and when”

Fosters client collaboration and ownership

Ensures documentation

Plans for growth

We have identified key critical success factors that are closely tied to our methodology. These are the fundamental indicators that drive the success of the implementation and focus on the managerial or enterprise areas that must be given constant attention. These key critical success factors are listed below:

Obtain top-down commitment

Provide executable rollout strategy

Manage expectations

Manage cultural impact

Develop documentation

Strive for client satisfaction

Our implementation methodology is designed to provide an effective roadmap for implementing our project management systems, while integrating the systems to the client’s organizational and project management processes. Our extensive experience has shown that this approach minimizes risks and maximizes the potential for achieving the desired, repeatable results once the system is in production.



Our Core Methodology

Our core implementation methodology consists of a six-step delivery path. We also refer to these steps as the “phases” of the implementation.

We follow a project management approach in the use of our methodology. The implementation is initiated and planned during the Readiness Assessment step; executed during the Design, Prototype and Test, Production Validation, and Rollout steps; and finally closed out during the Assess Results step.

Prerequisites to the Six-Step Process

During the pre-sales effort, the pre-sales consultant solicits feedback from the client to administer the Readiness Maturity Triage and develop the Functionality Matrix and Professional Services Estimate documents. These documents provide the Primavera sales team with a preliminary understanding of the client’s project management maturity and an initial definition of the system configuration and functionality needs.



The Readiness Maturity Triage consists of 82 questions that strive to gain a preliminary assessment (25,000-foot view) of the client’s capabilities and maturity in the following areas:

o Project management (44 questions)

o Collaboration management (9 questions)

o Cost management (29 questions)

The question sets are subdivided into several sections or “knowledge areas.” These knowledge areas include project management terminology; methodology utilization and composition; estimation; project management procedures; data status/collection; performance measurement; earned value; communications; document management; and workflow. For those clients who will not use the collaboration and/or cost management functionality, those sections may be skipped.

The Functionality Matrix serves as the “menu” of all items contained in the software via the user interface. The Functionality Matrix is used by the pre-sales consultant as an outline of the items of functionality that are addressed during the implementation. It also provides a brief assessment of how those items will be used, and to what depth. Each item is evaluated and categorized for low-, medium- or full-functionality utilization. The Functionality Matrix also provides the base functionality documentation and serves as a primer for further configuration discussions during the Readiness Assessment and Design steps.

Based on the Functionality Matrix, Primavera submits a conceptual estimate for the consulting services relating to the specific needs of the implementation. The estimate includes a summary estimate for duration and effort for each implementation step, high-level objectives, key deliverables, and assumptions made.

If not completed during the pre-sales effort, the implementation consultant in collaboration with the client staff completes these documents as part of the implementation kick-off activities.

Primavera understands that it may not be appropriate to complete a Functionality Matrix as a prerequisite to the implementation if a client is not ready at that time to relate goals and objectives for required functionality. In those cases, Primavera consultants strive to understand the client’s current practices, pain points, goals, maturity, and organizational change factors during Readiness Assessment to develop a release plan that is appropriate for the client’s unique situation.



Step 1: Readiness Assessment

The primary purpose of the Readiness Assessment step is to form an understanding of the client’s project management environment, processes, and business by assessing the client’s state of readiness. Objectives are as follows:

Confirm top management’s support (Support = Endorsement & Action & Follow-through)

Set client expectations

Focus on business need

Focus on goals and objectives from all stakeholder perspectives (executive, resource manager, project manager, project team member, etc.)

Discovery of organizational and cultural factors

Initiate preparation (infrastructure / staff)

Document risks and assumptions

List the critical success factors

Plan the implementation (scope/schedule/resources)

Develop the release plan (implementation strategy)



Process Discussion

As part of the Readiness Assessment step the Primavera engagement manager kicks-off the implementation, forms the implementation team, and initiates the development of the Implementation Strategy and the Implementation Plan.

The Implementation Strategy defines the implementation organizational structure and the implementation approach. It defines, at a high-level, the components that are deployed. The Implementation Strategy calls for either a single project or multiple projects, depending on the size and complexity of the implementation. Each project may be referred to as a “release.” A release is intended to define, design, test, and package for deployment-specific areas of the PM tool, along with the associated processes, procedures and reporting mechanisms. The Implementation Strategy is the first cut at defining how much of the PM tool functionality is rolled out, to what groups of users, and when.

The implementation organizational structure consists of a core team and an extended team. The core team is the on-site “nucleus” of individuals responsible for directing and performing the implementation, including the project manager and on-site consultant. Core team members are dedicated to the implementation (75% to 100% utilization). Extended team members are individuals from all applicable areas (e.g., DBAs, programmers, project managers, internal customer/sponsor, technical writers, trainers, Primavera engagement manager, etc.) who are generally involved in the implementation on a part-time basis (less than 50% utilization) to provide input/feedback as required.

Once the implementation team is formed, the implementation continues through confirmation of the technical environment and installation of the software in a configuration environment. The Primavera technical consultant works with the client technical staff to complete the technical environment questionnaire and the installation summary document, and to provide the necessary knowledge transfer.

The technical questionnaire ensures that the Primavera technical consultants understand the hardware and software environment prior to on-site installation of the system. The installation summary provides key information concerning both the database server configuration and the Web server configuration. Primavera’s goal is to install the system quickly and accurately, avoiding any roadblocks that might lengthen the install process.

Once the strategy for implementation is defined, the implementation team proceeds with the development of the Implementation Plan. It serves as a project execution plan that outlines the roadmap for implementation. It defines a risk management plan, change management plan, quality management plan, communication management plan, issues management plan, and the implementation project reporting requirements.

The team then proceeds with the implementation by conducting the requirements definition effort, which defines high-level reporting requirements and the complementary project management processes and software-use procedures. The implementation team gathers data to collect all current and relevant reports, as well as project management processes and software procedures. Following the data gathering effort, the implementation team develops an inventory of all required reports and processes/procedures.



Step 2: Design

The purpose of this step is to create a design document or role-based user guide that completely details the software configuration, including portfolio configuration, data structures, reports, and procedures that must exist to support and operate Primavera in a production environment.

Process Discussion

The Design step commences with the implementation consultant training the core team. This activity is intended to walk the core team through an overview of the software from a configuration standpoint. It also provides module-specific training with an overview of system administration topics. The admin topics training consists of a slide show that exposes the core team to key system admin areas and functionality, providing a well-rounded knowledge of the system. The primary objective of the core team training is to expose key client staff to the system in preparation for the design effort.

Also during the Design step, the implementation team focuses on the development of reporting specifications, data structures and coding libraries, and complementary procedures.

The implementation team then proceeds with preparation of the design document. Two key sections in the design document are the Data Structure section and the Procedures section.

In the Data Structures section, tables document all the customization options available when configuring the database. Referencing these tables is particularly useful when introducing new employees to the options selected in developing the existing database structure. The tables are also useful when changes to the database are contemplated. In those situations, the tables provide documentation of the decisions that were made at a previous point in time. Space is provided in each table to record notes on why data items were initially made or why a data item was changed.

The Procedures section provides a representative list of procedures the client organization should follow when using the system. After selecting which procedures apply to the implementation, each procedure is developed and compiled into a separate document that serves as a complement to the design document.

Procedures are developed by the implementation team primarily to define the communication protocols (i.e., who goes to whom, who initiates, who's responsible, who reviews, who approves, etc.), and system/user interfaces (i.e., what layout, what report, what techniques used, etc.). The procedures are limited to tool-specific areas, eliminating duplication of on-line help, training materials, or user reference manuals.




ConfirmHigh-Level

FunctionalityRequirements

ConfirmHigh-Level

FunctionalityRequirements

DevelopData

Structures

DevelopData

Structures

Plan for ProductionValidation

Plan for ProductionValidation

Develop Processes and

Procedures

Develop Processes and

Procedures

ProvideCore TeamTraining

ProvideCore TeamTraining

Design ReportSpecifications

Design ReportSpecifications

FinalizeDesign

FinalizeDesign

Design Approval

(Milestone)

Design Approval

(Milestone)Perform Formal

Assessment

Perform FormalAssessment


Step 3: Prototype and Test

The Prototype and Test step is used to demonstrate the configured system and the processes developed and recommended in the design document. The prototype is built with the client’s sample project information. With familiar project information, the client is better able to concentrate on the features and functions of the system.

Process Discussion

The Prototype and Test step focuses on building a prototype system to test the configuration (data structures and libraries), admin settings, reports output, and procedures. The implementation team initiates this step by reviewing the design documentation (design document and procedures document). This research is required in preparation for the development of the prototype. The implementation team then proceeds to develop the prototype test plan, which describes the testing objectives, areas to be tested (e.g., reports, data structures and procedures), assumptions, risks, and provides a detailed inventory of the planned test scripts. The prototype test plan may prompt a revision to the overall implementation schedule. The implementation resource-loaded schedule should be reviewed and adjusted to reflect the latest thinking for prototype testing and subsequent steps.

Once the prototype test plan is completed, the implementation team develops test scenarios and initiates testing. A customized tracking sheet and issues log is utilized during the testing activities. The prototype testing tracking sheet is designed to track the script development and the execution of tests. An issues log is designed to track any issues that may arise throughout the prototype testing step. As feedback is obtained from the testing effort, the implementation team documents the results and makes decisions regarding the required changes/adjustments to the design documentation and procedures.


BuildPrototype

BuildPrototype

Develop Load TestScripts


Develop Prototype Test Plan


Prototype Test Plan Approval

(Milestone)


(Milestone)

Review Design

Documentation

Review Design

Documentation

Make Modifications to Documentation


Prototype Testing

Completed(Milestone)

Prototype Testing


Develop Functional

TestScripts

Develop Functional

TestScripts

PerformLoad TestScripts


Perform Functional

TestScripts

Perform Functional

TestScripts

BuildPrototype

BuildPrototype






(Milestone)


(Milestone)

Review Design

Documentation

Review Design

Documentation



Prototype Testing


Prototype Testing


Develop Functional

TestScripts

Develop Functional

TestScripts



Perform Functional

TestScripts

Perform Functional

TestScripts


Step 4: Production Validation

During the Production Validation step, a small sample of users begins to use the system. The system is configured with familiar data and terminology. Changes to the processes or data structures are implemented and documented before completing the Production Validation step.

Process Discussion

The Production Validation step provides the opportunity to see the product working live on a small scale. It allows the client to work out any remaining issues prior to full-scale rollout. All prior steps, especially testing, must be completed successfully. To ensure a successful production validation, the implementation team prepares a Production Validation Plan, which defines objectives, specific communication requirements, training requirements, roles, group members, projects, assumptions, risks, installation and environment set-up, and coaching/mentoring considerations. The finalized Production Validation Plan may prompt a revision to the overall implementation schedule. The implementation resource-loaded schedule should be reviewed and adjusted to reflect the latest thinking for production validation and subsequent steps.

Once the Production Validation Plan is finalized, the implementation team initiates the production validation. Key activities include database set-up with the production validation project data, completed data structures and libraries, and training of the production validation group. The training guides the production validation group through an overview of the software, provides specific training (e.g., Project Management, Portfolio Analysis, Methodology Management, etc.), and provides a half- to full-day overview of the client’s custom system configuration and procedures.

After training is complete, the implementation team monitors system use, noting system performance, system requirements, user response time, and hardware requirements. This allows the implementation team to note all necessary changes to the training material, system set-up, data structures, and processes before the system is rolled out to the organization.




Develop Configuration and Procedures

Overview

Develop Configuration and Procedures

Overview

Provide Production

Validation Team Training

Provide Production

Validation Team Training

Form ProductionValidation

Group/Kick-Off

Form ProductionValidation

Group/Kick-Off

ProductionValidation

Plan Approval

(Milestone)


Plan Approval

(Milestone)

Develop Draft


Plan

Develop Draft


Plan

Perform Production

Installations and Database

Setup

Perform Production

Installations and Database

Setup

ProductionValidationComplete

(Milestone)

ProductionValidationComplete

(Milestone)

Run ProductionValidation

Run ProductionValidation




Step 5: Rollout

Rolling out a complex project management solution impacts a large number, and maybe all, of the employees in the organization. The impact may be minor for some, but for many it will involve a whole new way of doing their job. Planning the rollout by identifying the who, what, when, where, and how of the process, and producing a detailed plan to manage it, contributes to success. Rollout involves a series of steps that begin long before the day marking the start of the software use. The production validation experience, combined with previous lessons learned, greatly improves the chance of accomplishing a smooth transition. Rollout must follow the plan as created by the implementation team. Rollout includes the production server installation and configuration, user workstation configuration, project data input and/or migration, marketing of the new system, and training/mentoring of users.

The implementation consultant fills the role of coach for the rollout, eventually transferring that role to the client’s staff. The coach maintains a constant presence with users, solving problems and addressing concerns immediately to complete a successful implementation. The client may establish a project management office or help desk to absorb a large percentage of the help requests.

Step 6: Assessment

At the end of the rollout or at a predetermined point during the rollout, an evaluation is conducted to verify and characterize the success of the implementation. The implementation team reviews the critical success factors and scope of the implementation to ensure that all the required work has been accomplished.

The implementation team, in coordination with the engagement manager, prepares an Implementation Final Assessment report that includes the following:

Comparison of the original implementation scope and engagement objectives to the final implementation schedule and successes

Problems -- those solved, those existing, and those anticipated -- should be identified and communicated to the implementation team, including technical problems or needs that have been identified

A copy of the original baseline schedule and the completed implementation schedule Improvements that can be made to the current system as configured Discussion of new directions and capabilities of the system, which may include

enhancements or new products Subsequent steps that can be identified Lessons learned

The Primavera engagement manager then initiates the transition to Primavera Support. Depending upon the support agreement, it is recommended that the client develop a support plan to include internal escalation protocols and contact list. Ideally, the client has a project office or internal team that supports the company. If internal support cannot solve the problem, internal support would contact Primavera’s Support team. The internal escalation protocol should outline where each user should turn for technical help.



A Release-Based Implementation

There are two primary implementation approaches:

The “Big Bang” approach, where software is purchased, installed, configured, and all modules deployed as part of one project.

The release-based approach, which consists of deployment of specific project management software areas, or items of functionality, through multiple, phased projects or “releases.” The technical infrastructure set-up, initial software installation, basic configuration, and system administration infrastructure are included in the first release.

Our experience has shown that a release-based approach is much more effective than the Big Bang. We have found that the Big Bang approach fails for two major reasons. First, it forces too much change on the organization, creating pain, confusion, and disruption. Second, the organization’s project management maturity needs to be taken into account. Sophisticated project management tools require a good understanding of the project management life cycle processes (e.g., Initiate, Plan, and Execute.) Even those organizations that are current in the practice of project management tend to underestimate the complexity of the implementation and deployment.

Below is an example of a typical release-based approach for an enterprise project management (EPM) implementation.

Our methodology steps, as described in the previous sections, form the backbone of each release during a phased implementation. Each release will include a variation of

the six implementation steps. Below is a sample representation.


A typical “Release-based”approach…Each release a building block towards the EPM goal…

Time Accounting

Project Management

ResourceManagement

PortfolioManagement

Staff recording time to summary (bucket) projects, basic performance measurement

Resource capacity versus demand tracked and measure locally, reporting and analysis more specific

Drill down project detail, project knowledge management, estimating, baselines and earned value

Opportunity management, Project portfolio metrics accumulated and analyzed, resource capacity versus demand at enterprise level

1st Release

2nd

3rd

4th

EPM

A typical “Release-based”approach…Each release a building block towards the EPM goal…

Time Accounting

Project Management

ResourceManagement

PortfolioManagement

Staff recording time to summary (bucket) projects, basic performance measurement

Resource capacity versus demand tracked and measure locally, reporting and analysis more specific

Drill down project detail, project knowledge management, estimating, baselines and earned value

Opportunity management, Project portfolio metrics accumulated and analyzed, resource capacity versus demand at enterprise level

1st Release

2nd

3rd

4th

EPM


Conclusion

The primary goal of Primavera Professional Services is to help the client’s organization become productive and self-sufficient as quickly as possible. No one is better qualified to help establish a project management environment that is tuned for project success. Our consultants, many of whom are certified Project Management Professionals, have years of project management experience gained at Primavera, client firms or other project management environments. Moreover, every consultant completes rigorous product and industry training that continues throughout his or her association with Primavera.

Whether the client’s staff is at a basic or advanced level, Primavera offers standard classroom and Web-based training courses. We can customize training workshops to match the organization’s and user’s needs, tailoring our standard workshops to the client’s own project data and terminology.

We have a variety of customer support options to choose from, including an online product knowledgebase, instant Web-chat, e-mail support, and telephone hot-line support – all designed to resolve technical issues quickly, so clients can focus on the success of their projects.

Primavera Professional Services also acts as the client’s voice to our development teams. Based on client’s suggestions and requirements, our consultants are able to influence the future direction and evolution of our software and software updates.


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