DoS: Global Financial Services, Program & Project Management System

Reforming Cost & Schedule Reporting

Download our GFS, Program & Project Management System Case Study

Challenge

The MIL Corporation (MIL) is responsible for overseeing the cost and scheduling of software release projects for multiple financial applications at the U.S. Department of State’s Comptroller and Global Financial Services, Global Financial Management Systems office (CGFS/GFMS). Accurately measuring and analyzing the real cost and schedule of projects and programs for multiple financial applications is challenging. In addition, the Global Financial Architecture Administration (GFAA) requires that CGFS/GFMS projects follow a standardized process to ensure CMMI Level 2 compliance.

GFAA manages and maintains over two dozen financial management systems with multiple projects in various lifecycle stages. These projects involve work from multiple vendors with cost and schedule data maintained in various systems. GFAA analysts must gather project data from several sources in multiple formats, making it difficult to ensure data accuracy, maintain GFAA compliance, and simplify PMO reporting across the organization. Currently, effectively measuring and analyzing project progress is taxing and the process to make data-based decisions and take corrective action is burdensome.

Solution

Tasked with developing a single enterprise system that supports our federal clients’ software development needs, MIL developed the Program and Project Management system (PPM).  PPM is a multi-phased initiative to create a centralized system to support senior management, GFAA, and Project Management Office (PMO) requirements. This initiative streamlines the GFAA requirements, which enhances insight, control, collaboration, and strategic alignment of project work throughout the organization.

The first formal initiative to enhance GFAA project management and PMO reporting across the Bureau, the implementation of PPM, yielded the ability to track GFMS and Global Financial Systems Support (GFSS) time and task work, and analyze and disseminate organizational data at various administrative levels. This solution created an environment of reliable, predictable, and consistent data, enabling unified project and portfolio management, streamlined GFAA documentation, and improved resource management. The complexity of the program required multiple phases designed to move forward with minimal adverse impact to current productivity.

Benefit

The implementation of PPM has provided the capability to track time and task work through a user-friendly web portal that enables each contractor to enter their daily activity while maintaining GFAA compliance. All billable time is tracked to an activity, which rolls up to a CGFS Initiative. Implementing CGFS PPM produced improved reporting accuracy and consistency because the data is stored in and reported from the same database. Management is empowered with real-time project data that can be used to make informed decisions immediately and for future project considerations. GFAA requirements are streamlined and simplified. Future benefits of this initiative include approval workflows that will help facilitate collaboration between team members and enterprise resources that can be effectively managed and optimized. Resource allocation is visible across all programs and projects. And lastly, gaps are identified through resource forecasting and resources reallocated as needed to keep projects on track while maximizing resource utilization overall.