Microsoft has published another article of mine on its TechNet site. “How To Cancel a Project Without Cancelling your Career” talks about the challenges we’ve seen with organizations who try to deploy Project Portfolio Management or Stage Gating.  If you can’t slow down, pause or cancel a project then the value of Stage Gating becomes quite questionable.  The article will be of interest to project and portfolio managers of course and those who are managing a Project Management Office but will also be of interest to timesheet managers and TimeControl Administrators as the data from how a project is actually progressing often comes from a project oriented timesheet system.

For many in the project management industry, the idea of cancelling a project is extremely difficult in part because the nature of Project Managers attracts personalities that don’t give up easily.  So finding out that there can be a positive impact on the organization by cancelling a project can be welcome news.

You can find the article on the Project Server 2010 0r Project Server 2013 pages of TechNet in the “From the Trenches” column or go to it directly at www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36430. I hope you enjoy it.

Microsoft has published another article of mine on its TechNet site.  This article will be of interest not only to project managers but also those deploying and configuring timesheet systems as it looks at how to determine how many charge codes to have and to what level of detail charge codes should be defined.

There is a temptation for many who are new to project or timesheet management to create as many possible definitions for work as they can think of but this is rarely productive.  For those deploying an enterprise project systems like Project Server there is an added complexity of having different perspectives of different project managers bringing projects at many different levels of resolution all at the same time.

This article will take a look at some of the criteria we use at HMS to decide how detailed to make our plans and how detailed to make tracking of hours in TimeControl.

You can find the article on the Project Server 2010 0r Project Server 2013 pages of TechNet in the “From the Trenches” column or go to it directly at www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36430.  I hope you enjoy it.

HMS Software has just released TimeControl 6.5 and it represents a major evolution of TimeControl since 6.4.  Aside from HMS Software’s ongoing work to migrate administrative functionality away from ActiveX controls and our improving TimeControl’s ability to allow Administrators to use multiple devices and browsers to access and administer the system, HMS has added a major new reporting-writing engine, a completely new link option for linking to our new alliance partner Hard Dollar’s HD project cost and estimating system and significant improvements in both performance and other functionality.

You can read all about the new features on the TimeControl Blog at: blog.timecontrol.com or in the What’s New in TimeControl 6.5 document.

If you are a TimeControl client with a current support and maintenance contract, you can download TimeControl 6.5 today at www.timecontrol.com/support/updates.  If you would like a demonstration of TimeControl 6.5 or to discuss the status of your support and maintenance contract, please contact info@hms.ca.

I’ll be speaking tonight at the Montreal chapter of the Microsoft Project Users Group. “The topic is Setting your Enterprise Project Management Requirements”

To download the presentation slides go to the Resources/Presentations page.

I haven’t written that headline in some time but it’s true.  After quite a good year in the business, HMS is expanding and we’re currently looking for a C# .Net programmer to join our TimeControl team.  It’s a great opportunity for someone to joing our dynamic technical team helping to advance one of the most popular timesheet systems in the world.  If you or someone you know could be the right candidate, then take a look at the job posting at: www.hmssoftware.ca/about/careers or contact Dorothy Dixon at dorothy.dixon@hms.ca.

I’ve been doing some work over the last couple of weeks assembling collateral, questions and answers and other materials for a solutions portal on what the best practices of using a timesheet are.

The HMS Software are asked often about what the best practices for timesheet use are and many of these questions are not TimeControl-specific. We’ve created a solutions portal with materials that will help people get the most out of timesheeting.

We realized as soon as we started looking at this project that we’d need to divide up our efforts. Some best practices are appropriate to the organization. Others are more focused on the individual so, wherever possible, the Timesheet Best Practices Solution Portal has tips, techniques and materials that are identified as being more useful from the organizational or individual perspective.

One of the key new sections referenced by the best practices portal is the Timesheet Best Practices Q & A page. Ever wondered just how much time is too much to spend on entering your timesheet? Do you question just how much detail is productive in a timesheet? Or, perhaps you’re wondering if it makes sense to track the start and stop times of the day along with the durations for each task. We turned the timesheet questions we most often receive over to our technical staff and asked them to give us some answers which we’re sharing with you.

There are many links, materials and collateral referenced by the Best Practices Solution Portal including white papers on how to increase resource capacity through better timesheet practices, guidance for executives on how a timesheet system can benefit the organization, videos of how to be effective with your timesheet system and even a blank timesheet process template for creating your own timesheet process.

To access the Timesheet Best Practices website, visit timecontrol.com/solutions/bestpractices.

I’ve been very busy with a number of projects that are now prompting big announcements at HMS. 

We have completed the migration of TimeControl Industrial into the TimeControl 6 family. This is a major new version of the TimeControl Industrial edition. TimeControl Industrial 6.4 has been designed specifically for field data collection of labor and non-labor usage on industrial and construction field sites. This builds on the already popular functionality of the classic TimeControl and delivers a timesheet system that can be used simultaneously for back office and field personnel as well as a field data entry system for material consumption, equipment usage and even production values accomplished.

We’re extremely excited about TimeControl Industrial coming into the TimeControl 6 architecture.  Bringing TimeControl Industrial’s field data collection functionality together with the highly flexible functionality of the classic TimeControl is a winning combination for many of our clients.”

TimeControl Industrial adds several elements of functionality that are ideally suited to collecting data in heavy construction, offshore, industrial or plant shutdown environments where the employees doing the work don’t have access to computers to enter the data themselves. These functions include:

Crew Timesheet Entry
TimeControl Industrial adds an additional timesheet interface to the weekly timesheet that is included for back office workers. TimeControl Industrial’s Crew Timesheet Entry allows crews to be assembled and then time entered for the entire crew at once. Crew Timesheet supports weekly, daily or even multiple timesheets per day to accommodate multiple shifts. Blank timesheets can be carried by the foreman or supervisor and then the timesheet for the entire crew is entered at one time. The Crew Timesheet Entry interface is included as both a web-browser and Windows Application Interface.

Material / Equipment / Production Entry
TimeControlIndustrial extends Field Data Collection beyond timesheets with the Material / Equipment / Production Entry interface. Non-labor cost entries can be allocated by project, by task, by resource and with a limitless number of possible rates to track material used, equipment expended and even production values of what was accomplished. This module is also delivered as both a web-browser and Windows Application interface for high-volume entry. When combined with either the Non-labor rates tables or the Extended Materials Rate system, multiple values can be tracked at once such as the actual internal cost, estimated cost, average project cost and invoiceable billing price. Once entered, Material / Equipment and Production can have unique approval paths or can be approved along the same lines as the Crew Timesheets.

Extended Rates
TimeControl Industrial includes functionality to vastly extend Rate tracking to accommodate complex burdened or premium rates or rates that vary for particular conditions. Imagine a field situation where unionized workers are paid different hourly premiums if they work the evening or overnight shifts and additional premiums if they work in inclement weather or in a remote location. Or imagine equipment costs that are different if the equipment is used at night or when the temperatures are very warm or very cold. Managing this with a traditional timesheet could be a challenge, but not with TimeControl Industrial, The extended Rates system handles these types of situations easily by matching user-defined and existing columns of data in the Crew Timesheet Entry and Material / Equipment / Production Entry interfaces with identical columns in the Extended Rates table.

TimeControl Industrial delivers a highly flexible timesheet and material / equipment / production data collection system to the field. It has been developed with requirements straight out of field use with our clients and we have found from experience on client sites that it delivers increased productivity. But, we also know that organizations and requirements change and TimeControl Industrial’s flexibility means the system can adapt whenever that is required.

TimeControl Industrial includes all the functionality that has made TimeControl one of the world’s most respected timesheet systems including links to project management systems such as Oracle-Primavera, Microsoft Project and Deltek’s Open Plan. It also includes links that can be defined for Payroll, HR and Finance systems as well as ERP systems such as PeopleSoft, Oracle Financials and SAP.

TimeControl Industrial is available both for installation on premise or as a subscription in the cloud online.

TimeControl Industrial is available immediately. Clients with current support contracts have access to the upgrade at no cost. For more information on TimeControl Industrial, visit http://industrial.timecontro.com.

“How long will it take us to get completely trained?” I was asked recently.

“That would depend completely on your definition of ‘completely’,” I replied.

The challenge with enterprise products like TimeControl is that they can be configured to be so many different things for so many different people.  The strength of TimeControl is its flexibility.  This allows TimeControl to be a multi-purpose timesheet serving the needs of many different perspectives within the organization.  It can be used for time and attendance, time and billing, project management tracking, earned value, government compliance for R&D tax credits or the DCAA.  And all this from the same interface at the same time.

Yet not every organization is created the same.  Not every organization requires the same types of functions or tracking.  Even when two clients have a similar product to like to like SAP or MS Project, those products are not configured identically either.  So each implementation of TimeControl is often unique. Oh there are common elements but there are many elements that are different and not everyone even uses the same functionality.

What we’ve discovered here at HMS when we apply this challenge to training is that training is best done in layers.  The first layer or phase occurs during the original implementation.  If our technical staff assist with the implementation, we train the administration staff as we make decisions together on how to configure the system.  This has a high degree of success but does it mean that these administrators are “completely” trained?

If your definition is, “The administrators should be able to operate TimeControl in accordance with the configuration and existing processes we have defined at the time of implementation.” then the answer is Yes. 

But, let the company advance for 6 months or a year even and we find that the level of maturity in the use of TimeControl in the organization is now such that the types of questions the client would ask have evolved.  Now there are questions on functionality that would have never been asked during the original implementation because the questions are now able to be understood or because the organization itself has evolved to have new timesheet requirements.

This isn’t unique to TimeControl.  We’ve seen similar phenomena when we look at project scheduling tools like Primavera, Open Plan or Microsoft Project Server.

Our view is that training should be an ongoing investment.  Do a little less on the first day than you’d expected.  Let that training soak in; be absorbed; be implemented in practice.  Then having a trainer come back or do another remote session for a few hours.  Use that to advance your own knowledge but also to advance the capabilities used of the software.  As new administrators come on board over time, they’ll naturally just take up training that is regularly scheduled. 

Doing training in phases or layers ultimately gives the best return on investment.

I’ll be speaking about Microsoft Project Server Timesheet options at the Microsoft Project Users Group in Toronto scheduled to coincide with the end of ProjectWorld Toronto on May 15th at 6:00pm at the Toronto Convention Center.  For more information, go to www.mpug.org.

My next speaking engagement is at ProjectWorld Toronto on Monday, May 14th.  The subject is “getting more resource capacity without spending more money” and focuses on how timesheet practices can help find resource capacity you didn’t even know you had.  ProjectWorld runs on May 14th and 15th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (South Building) and my talk will be at 3:45 on May 14th.

For more information, visit ProjectWorld’s website at www.projectworldcanada.com.

Hope to see you there!