Enterprise Project Management

Enterprise project management (EPM) fundamentally involves selecting the projects that will deliver the greatest business value while successfully executing projects across the organization. Common questions that are addressed by an EPM solution include:

	What are all the potential and active projects?
	Have we selected the right projects?
	How do the projects align with strategic objectives?
	Are there sufficient funds and resources for the selected projects?
	Who’s available to staff our new projects?
	Who's working on what projects?
	Are projects on time and on budget?
	What are the key issues and risks affecting our projects?
	Are we being consistent in delivering our projects?

EPM leverages people, technology and processes to generate the change needed to keep you organization current and competitive. While the Microsoft EPM solution provides the backbone for this, it must be combined with appropriate processes to be successful.

Western Principles Approach

We ensure that our clients' business processes and project management methodology are reflected within the EPM implementation. Where appropriate, we assist clients to define and refine processes and methodologies based on industry best practice coupled with our experience gained through previous EPM implementations. Western Principles is a Microsoft Certified Partner, specializing in EPM implementation and is a member of Microsoft's Partner Advisory Council for EPM.

We use a structured approach coupled with our proven organizational culture and change management expertise. Western Principles’ implementation methodology includes the following broad phases that lead to a fully functioning solution:

	Requirements - gather and confirm the business, functional and technical requirements for the solution.
	Plan - detailed planning of the implementation schedule (timeline and resources), including technical aspects as well as process impacts.
	Build - installation/configuration the software (and potentially hardware) in a development environment.
	Test - migration to a production environment and testing to ensure the solution has met the identified requirements.
	Deploy - roll out the solution to the organization, including end-user training.

This methodology is typically repeated in multiple iterations, with each iteration increasing in functionality. This will also increase the likelihood of success in bringing the solution to a broader audience. For example, the first iteration may include a single department, with a small number of users. The second iteration may include a division or multiple departments, as well as increasing functionality and integrating additional processes.

The number of iterations and scope of each iteration is tailored to each client's requirements. A single iteration may vary in duration from one month to one year, depending on the scope, complexity, etc.

Technology

The core EPM solution comprises of Microsoft's Project Professional 2007, Project Server 2007 and Project Portfolio Server 2007. The solution is installed on Windows 2003 servers, making use of SQL 2005 databases, as well as either Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or SharePoint Server 2007.

If desired, additional functionality is possible though the use of other Microsoft products and technologies, including: InfoPath 2007 and/or SharePoint Server 2007. The solution can also be integrated with accounting and document management systems.

Support and Maintenance

Western Principles provides a wide range of maintenance and support options. We offer monthly support packages, tightly integrated into client technical support and escalation processes, through to full outsourcing and hosting of EPM environments.

Please contact us for additional information on our support plans and how they can be tailored to meet your requirements.