Project Data Integration Maturity Breeds Success
Project data integration and project performance management have been likely bedfellows for many years. I have been involved in many system implementations as a user, implementor and consultant in the past 20 years and the only one I can clearly remember failing was the one where integration was kept to minimum.
The need for an integrated system to support the management and delivery of complex portfolios, programs and projects is unquestionable. Projects delivered using siloed and disconnected processes and tools are twice as likely to fail than those with fully integrated systems. Lower success rates are also seen by projects being managed using spreadsheet-based tools which are almost impossible to standardize on and come with well-documented inefficiencies and errors.
The degree to which you can take advantage of the productivity gains, data confidence and role satisfaction afforded with integration depends upon the integration maturity of an organization, the value they place on the benefits associated with it and how much they are willing to invest and commit to developing the most efficient solution possible.
A typical enterprise project performance solution requires integration with project scheduling systems to track progress, update forecasts and measure against KPIs. They also include integration with ERP systems for code of accounts, budget, committed and actual costs. More advanced solutions include integrations with other sources of progress information such as 3D modelling software and engineering tools and other integrations with information management systems and BI platforms.
