customer spotlight: uncovering the value of vision for ...€¦ · customer spotlight: uncovering...

Customer Spotlight: Uncovering the Value of

Vision for Project Management –

One Firm’s Story

Session Code VI-29

Diane Wilkie, Commonwealth Associates, Inc.

Michael Kessler, Full Sail Partners

©2016 Deltek, Inc. All Rights Reserved 2

Founded - 1885

Evolution to Gilbert/Commonwealth - 1973

Jackson office closure - 1988

Commonwealth Associates, Inc. – 1988

Today

– EC&M Magazine Top 10 US Electrical Design Firm

– 275 professionals

– Offices coast-to-coast

– Expected to add 100+ new staff in the next year


Represent: Deltek Vision, Deltek Kona, Deltek Talent, Client Feedback Tool,

Concur, Constant Contact & Planifi

Deliver “project-focused” solutions:

• Business consulting

• System implementation

• Software training

• Application hosting

• Data migration

• Blackbox Connector

1000+ clients nationwide

Deltek Project Excellence Winner

30 employees

The Beginning

Recognizing the need for change



2013 – What We Had

Accounts Receivable – MS Access database

Accounts Payable – MS Access and outdated

accounting program

Project Management – Internally developed

and managed databases, spreadsheets, and

online systems

Reporting – Internally developed and supported


2013 – What We Wanted

Unlocked business intelligence insights

Ability to make better, faster decisions

Single enterprise-wide, industry-proven software

platform

Broader access with fewer bottlenecks

Streamlined operations

Reduced overhead time/costs

Elimination of duplicative effort and manual

operations

Simple to use for higher adoption!

Time to Move On

Organizing the Change



2013 – What We Did

CFO-led search for “right fit” tool

Options

– Deltek Vision

– A Deltek competitor

– Developing a new in-house system


Comparison Shopping

Commonwealth Pain Point Deltek Vision Solution

General Ledger and Project Accounting not

within the same accounting system, which could lead to reconciliation issues

General Ledger and Project Controls

contained in one system, providing better internal controls

PMs do not have good capability to measure earned value or profitability

Earned value is a core piece of the

functionality and can be viewed by

department, geographic location, section, project, or individual

Executives do not have good visibility into

projects. File storage is siloed and access restricted

Quick, easy, exception-based dashboards for all users at all levels


2013 – Decision Time

Attended Insight 2013 to

hear from existing users


Creating an Implementation Project

Submit revised business plan to Board with team assignments:

– Project Champion

– Executive Sponsor

– Program Manager

– Project Manager

– Key Accounting Contact

– Key Project Management Contact

– Key IT Contact

– Corporate Communication Lead

Proposed 6-9 months for system implementation

Recommended 3 months for rollout and training


Identifying Risks

Identified possible “high-risk” situations

during implementation, including:

– Incorrect invoicing

– Delayed payments to vendors

– Improper use of Time Management

could impact client billing and payroll

– Training failure – not viewed as critical

– “Garbage In – Garbage Out” by project

managers

– Import from Timesheets error

January thru May, 2014

Core System



January thru May, 2014

Developing the Core System

Schedule

Design

Configuration

Training

Testing


June 2014

Resource Planning

Design focusing on the project life cycle

– When a plan is born

– How a project is created

How a project will be managed (i.e., plan updates)

Billing process

Key metrics and reports


July 2014

Intense training with Core Team

Proposal creation

Hand-off work (no proposal)

Creating a project from a plan

PM review processes for active projects

Training plans


July/August 2014

Testing, testing, testing!

Accounting processes

Plans and projects

Standard operating procedures

End-to-end project lifecycle


August 2014 – One Week Before Go-Live

Provided step-by-step training to all 250+

employees

– President DeCosta introduced each

session

– Executive Sponsor Barnes delivered PM

training

– CFO Tapley delivered time and expense

training

Created detailed agenda and timeline for Go-

Live weekend

Tested, tested, and tested some more


Labor Day Weekend 2014 – Go-Live!

Mike Kessler and full

implementation team on site to

test

IT-driven

Started at noon Friday –

finished before noon Monday


September 2014 – Live, Week One

Mike and Julie on site

Core team in a conference room

available for drop-in questions

User support hotline


November 2014 –Exemplary Performance Award

“In recognition of advancing Commonwealth Associates, Inc.’s

Mission, Vision, and Values through service excellence.

We extend our thanks and appreciation for the dedication to excellence and to the firm.”

Two Years Later

Managing Change



Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

Earlier upper management buy-in

Security roles

Compliance expectations

Report design

Leveraging expert insight and advice


2017 – What’s Next for Commonwealth?

Consistent use of resource planning

for staff management

Teaching PMs how to use Earned

Value

Adding Purchasing Module

Adding CRM Module


Recap

Comparison shop – don’t fall for the

first pretty face

Create a strong team and allow

them the time to perform to your

expectations

Budget for consulting services

If it doesn’t work the first time, try

again

Have fun!

Please submit a survey for this session via the

mobile app.

27

Learn More

Get plugged in

• Join a user group (regional, virtual)

• Interact in Kona – Client Advisory Council

(CAC) and more! ([email protected])

• Join the MVP program

Visit the Vision kiosks in the Expo Hall

Follow the Vision Blog @ http://bit.ly/Vision_Blog

Attend a live VPM, CRM, Resource Planning,

demo or sign up for an upcoming webinar at

Deltek.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://bit.ly/Vision_Blog


Contact Information

Diane [email protected] Office: 517-788-3917

Michael Kessler [email protected] Office: 888-552-5535 x128

customer spotlight: uncovering the value of vision for ...€¦ · customer spotlight: uncovering...

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