Main Challenges
Typically, RCGI handles hundreds of small projects ranging from $1,500 to $150,000. With so many ongoing projects, management commonly juggles with schedules, costs and project scope. In addition, field visits to project sites in the same geographical area must be coordinated to minimize mobilization costs.
- Required better control of ongoing projects including resource allocation
- Lacked a mechanism to forecast according to actual project information
- Needed sufficient real-time data to make informed decisions
"We had been using software for time, materials tracking and invoicing," says RCGI Chief Financial Officer. "As the company grew, however, this vertical solution no longer met our needs. Our two biggest problems were keeping control of ongoing projects and finding a mechanism to forecast according to actual project information." RCGI also faced four other problems: They lacked clarity about who was available and ultimately responsible for projects underway. They used a manual scheduling system that limited the company's ability to project and adjust completion dates. They were unable to forecast additional staffing requirements in a tight resource market. There was only a limited amount of data to input into financial forecasting. "It became obvious we needed a project management software solution," the CFO continues. "We needed to free principals from project management tasks so they could concentrate on project oversight. We also required a better way to share resources across multiple projects and client teams as well as a better projection of resource requirements to improve utilization and profitability."