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Data rich and decision poor

Avoid data overload--See the info you need WHEN you need it

Is more always better? When you're talking raw business data (much like fat cells, say, or bright blue eye shadow), the answer is an emphatic no. Your company undoubtedly has tons of data. You can probably find a number for any business operation or function under the sun right at your fingertips. Sounds good in theory, but if you've ever tried to actually solve a problem by wading through this flood of data, you know the reality is far different. Often, those numbers are just numbers--meaningless in terms of moving the business forward, and paralyzing by virtue of their sheer volume.

Most organizations are data-rich but decision-poor, says Rudolf Melik. Without the information they need, leaders end up making decisions based on past experiences, gut feelings, and rules of thumb rather than on the facts. The results are rarely positive.

cover"Having tons of numbers in different categories isn't helpful for managers or their employees," says Melik, author of The Rise of the Project Workforce: Managing People and Projects in a Flat World. "In order to make the good decisions that are going to move the business forward, those numbers need to be turned into reliable, timely, and easily accessible problem-related facts and background information. And that's what Project Workforce Management is about."

In his new book, Melik explains that when organizations implement Project Workforce Management disciplines and tools they can more easily compile data on their customers, projects, and talent that is more quickly and seamlessly transformed into useful information. They can do it because of the dashboards and real-time analytics one has access to with such a system and approach. These two vital elements help close the fact gap, lower costs, improve productivity, and increase satisfaction for both employees and customers.

"The number one problem for most organizations today is the 'fact gap,'" says Melik. "Management teams are unable to absorb the flood of data that comes to them in spreadsheets, emails, conversations, and meetings, and are forced to make judgment calls based on instinct, experience, and memory--a tendency that leads to the fact gap. Organizations think these vast and growing quantities of dispersed data are normal. But in today's fast-moving, globalized business world, where organizations (and their competition) are no longer contained to just one or even two locations, most decisions require real-time access to all of their data in a concise actionable format.

"All of that data must be transformed into knowledge in order for it to be useful," he continues. "Usually that never happens, and when it does happen, it's usually too little too late. In the globalizing business world, companies must be able to exchange vital information quickly. If they can't, the data that was meant to be empowering actually imprisons."

Here are the reasons why Project Workforce Management will help you and your employees turn raw data into usable knowledge and make better decisions for your business.

Data in context =3D information. By providing customer, project, and workforce analysis in real-time, Project Workforce Management helps managers and employees put the information in context so that it can be used to monitor project execution, assess workforce performance, and report on project status, cost, revenue, and profitability. Information is analyzed in a variety of report formats, such as project cost and billing, resource utilization, and workflow activity. "As a result, projects and services are delivered on time, on budget, and profitably," says Melik. "If they are not, management gets advanced warnings with alerts, reports, and yellow or red flags appearing on their dashboards making it easier to hold poor performing business units accountable."

Dashboards make life easier for decision makers. Data generated from Project Workforce Management can be added easily to special summary reports called Executive Dashboards. These dashboards are usually displayed on a single page and are built on information assembled from various business systems such as Project Workforce Management, CRM, and accounting applications. "They're important because they allow decision makers to view the status of current projects and engagements visually and concisely, helping them to identify trouble spots and discover new best practices," says Melik. "The information can then be easily shared with the project workforce, customers, partners, and suppliers. Real-time reporting and dashboard technologies significantly enhance decision making, because managers and executives are no longer forced to make decisions based on insufficient results, incomplete information, or purely based on their gut feeling, memory, or experience."

Project Workforce Management keeps costs down. No matter how many tools you have at your disposal or how competent your team members, it's likely that a high number of projects fail or are "challenged" projects--those that are over budget, over schedule, or both--because you aren't able to use the data and tools you have effectively. Often these projects do not meet original objectives, but just keep going until someone gets tired of them and pulls the plug. "By using the real-time data and reports provided by Project Workforce Management, unnecessary costs are identified and eliminated quickly, and the company avoids backlog and project execution delays," says Melik. "All in all the information provided through real-time data and reports allows you to better utilize all of your resources and helps you build a more cost-effective business."

It benefits communities inside and outside the enterprise. Customers, sales staff, project-service delivery teams, managers, HR, IT specialists, finance departments, and administrative staff, as well as C-level executives, have very specific needs and challenges. Each group requires certain types of information and tools to execute their tasks efficiently. Project Workforce Management reduces overhead where individuals have to enter and verify the same data into multiple systems. "Instead they get only the information that will be useful for them," says Melik. "In addition, information and real-time reports empower project professionals and executives to make quicker decisions based on reliable data that is captured and audited one time."

It makes working as a fragmented enterprise easier. Today's work is defined by atomized segments that are delivered by specialized workers both inside and outside the company. The fragmented enterprise of today assigns work to internal or outsourced teams based on costs, available talent, the nature of the work, and customer expectations. "It is much harder to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate with a highly dispersed workforce that operates in multiple geographies and time zones, and yet companies have no choice but to do so to tap into the global talent pool they need," says Melik. "And they are able to do so because real-time tools, analytics, and reports help bring them together by getting everyone on the same page. No matter where an employee is he can see what is going on with his project and what needs to be done in order to make it a success."

"Project Workforce Management reports and dashboards provide users with an invaluable single point of access to reliable, real-time data that enables them to analyze and share information across the enterprise without extra overhead or additional effort," says Melik. "Fast decisions based on reliable information enable the company to increase revenue, avoid or reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction.

"There's no denying how important these fact-based decisions will become," he adds. "Managers and employees are finally able to align projects and available skills with the company's ultimate goals and improve the odds of unlocking tremendous value."

Rudolf Melik

The Rise of the Project Workforce
Managing People and Projects in a Flat World
Wiley, 2007, available at bookstores nationwide, major online booksellers.

Rudolf Melik, currently serving as CEO, is one of the original founders of Tenrox. He has over fifteen years of experience in software engineering and the project workforce management industry. He has extensive knowledge of and speaks regularly about software solutions that support compliance initiatives such as Sarbanes-Oxley, DCAA, GAAP project cost accounting, revenue recognition, and labor laws such as FMLA and FLSA. He was also the principal author of the first book on Professional Services Automation. Melik holds a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from McGill University.

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