TCE @ iCOE GPS · effectiveness within FPS. BPC set out to take a closer look at the prevalent...

TCE @ iCOE GPS

Athul Jayakumar PM, [email protected]

Jayasurya Tadiparthi PM, [email protected]

Ranajoy Dutta PM, [email protected]

Gayathri Shenoy PM, [email protected]

Pradeep Mathew PDM, [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]





2014 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 2

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction to TCE .............................................................................................................. 4

1.1 What is TCE? ................................................................................................................... 4

1.2 Why is TCE important? ..................................................................................................... 4

2.0 TCE: Current Constraints ..................................................................................................... 6

3.0 TCE: Proposed Solution ....................................................................................................... 7

3.1 PM Process ................................................................................................................. 7

3.1.1 Overview .................................................................................................................... 7

3.1.2 Features ..................................................................................................................... 8

3.1.3 Benefits ...................................................................................................................... 9

3.1.4 PM Process – Hands On ............................................................................................ 9

3.2 PM Templates .............................................................................................................10

3.2.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................10

3.2.2 Features ....................................................................................................................12

3.2.3 Benefits .....................................................................................................................13

3.2.4 PM Templates – Hands On .......................................................................................14

3.3 PM Dashboard ............................................................................................................15

3.3.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................15

3.3.2 Features ....................................................................................................................18

3.3.3 Benefits .....................................................................................................................19

3.3.4 PM Dashboard – Hands On ......................................................................................19

3.4 PM Quality Assurance ................................................................................................23

3.4.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................23

3.4.2 Features ....................................................................................................................26

3.4.3 Benefits .....................................................................................................................26

3.4.4 PM Quality Assurance – Hands On ...........................................................................27

3.5 Best Practices Council [BPC] ......................................................................................28


4.0 Outcome of the Five Point System [FPS] ............................................................................29

5.0 Future TCE Roadmap .........................................................................................................33

6.0 Appendix .............................................................................................................................34

Table of Figures

Fig. 1 – TCE Phases

Fig. 2 – Examples of Stakeholders

Fig. 3 – Five Point System [FPS]

Fig. 4 – Partial Snapshot of the OOO

Checklist

Fig. 5 – Delegations

Fig. 6 – EMC PM Methodology

Fig. 7 – Effort Level [Pre & Post

Implementation]

Fig. 8 – Partial Snapshot of the ‘Internal’

kickoff template

Fig. 9 – Partial Snapshot of the ‘External’

kickoff template

Fig. 10 – PM Dashboard Overview

Fig. 11 – Projects & Services Summary

Fig. 12 – >95% Utilization

Fig. 13 – Project Age Summary

Fig. 14 – Project Status

Fig. 15 – ASQ Compliance

Fig. 16 – Top 10 Revenue Generators

Fig. 17 – Audit Methodology

Fig. 18 – Audit Questionnaire

Fig. 19 – Partial Snapshot of the Project

Resource Sheet

Fig. 20 – Partial Snapshot of the Project

Task Checklists

Fig. 21 – BPC Governance Model

Fig. 22 – Benefits of FPS

Fig. 23 – Milestone Achievement

Fig. 24 – 2013 QoQ Revenue

Fig. 25 – 2013 QoQ ASQ Count

Disclaimer: The views, processes, or methodologies published in this article are those of the

authors. They do not necessarily reflect EMC Corporation’s views, processes, or

methodologies.


1.0 Introduction to TCE

Total Customer Experience (TCE) is a term that has been in existence for decades. EMC

defines TCE to be “a companywide commitment to consistently exceed its customers’

expectations for quality, service, innovation and interaction”.1

As EMC personnel based out of the India Center of Excellence [iCOE] – Global Professional

Services [GPS], we strive to achieve TCE at every turn. During this process some succeed

while others falter, but what if there was a surefire path to garner Six Sigma levels of TCE? A

way to ensure that our “Customer[s]” receive exceptional service time and time again! This

article provides a deep dive into the project management lifecycle to examine, diagnose, and

correct issues plaguing quality to bring about unprecedented levels of TCE that echo EMC’s

core values – “Integrity”, “Excellence” and above all “Customers First”!

1.1 What is TCE?

TCE is viewed as the end to end relationship between EMC and its Customer[s]. The

Customers’ experience is measured throughout each phase to ensure that their overall journey

is flawless. The customers’ journey is segmented into four major phases, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure1: TCE Phases

This article focuses on the “Deployment” phase which encompasses the Project Manager’s

interaction with the project stakeholders.

1.2 Why is TCE important?

Project Managers must realize that TCE not only affects the end customer and the organization

as a whole, but also different workgroups, entities, and personnel within an organization; the

term “Stakeholder” comprises all the aforementioned groups as each group is essentially a

stakeholder in the project. It is imperative that all groups are dealt with in exactly the same

Buy Deploy Use Maintain


manner to facilitate a coherent approach. Case in point, the following personnel can be

classified as “Stakeholders”:

Figure 2: Examples of Stakeholders

“TCE enables business growth through continued improvements in customer and partner

experience”1.Therefore, enhancing TCE levels will help us:

Attain New Clientele

o New customers are highly impressionable and satisfied existing customers can

vouch for our business acumen.1

Strengthen Customer Bonds

o Satisfied customers cost up to 25% less to serve and can generate up to 30%

more new revenue.1

Stakeholders

Pre-Sales

Partner

End Customer

Resource Management

Delivery

Customer Support

Misc./Third Party


Fortify Customer Loyalty

o 2/3 of consumers would be willing to spend more with a company – 13% more

than average – following an excellent customer service experience.1

Improve Sales

o 82% of customers have stopped doing business with a company as a result of a

negative customer experience.1

Reduce Cost And Improve Margin

o It costs six times more to attract new customers than keep existing ones.1

The above points clearly describe why TCE is exceedingly important to an organization. Let us

review the current constraints with respect to TCE @ iCOE GPS and how they can be

addressed.

2.0 TCE: Current Constraints

In this section, we discuss parameters that affect customer delight and review areas that foster

lower TCE levels @ iCOE GPS. We also assess whether one-off solutions or a sustainable

model is the right choice to address the current constraints.

As different theatres within EMC follow numerous processes to run the business, implementing

a standard process across regions is a big challenge. With this in mind, the Best Practices

Council [BPC] analyzed and identified key focus areas that need improvement and could be

reworked to provide increased TCE levels. BPC analyzed the work pattern of Project Managers

within the New York/New Jersey division to investigate the current limitations that revolved

around the existing process.

During the analysis, BPC observed that there are no Out of Office [OOO] processes or an Audit

methodology in place for Project Managers. Due to this constraint, a proper hand shake was not

occurring between the primary PM and backup PM during OOO handovers and above all, the

lack of a quality wing was placing project delivery at risk. BPC also observed that a lot re-work is

occurring during project execution as Project Managers miss out on capturing germane points

during kickoff calls. In addition to the above points, BPC noted that project tracking methods

were archaic and in need of a revamp. For example,. a PM with a healthy project count

manages around 50-70 professional services per quarter. Therefore, a Program Manager has

limited visibility when it comes to managing the entire gamut of projects within his/her team.

Moreover, a tool does not currently exist that helps the Project/Program Manager track Key


Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that are crucial for the organization’s success. Lastly, unlike the

Americas, India COE has a team of 240 project managers that serve Americas, EMEA, and

APJ. A forum to share and develop best practices that can enhance TCE was also found lacking

within iCOE GPS.

3.0 TCE: Proposed Solution

To overcome the above challenges at iCOE GPS, BPC created the “Five Point System” [FPS] to

improve delivery efficiency that impacts and raises the odds for achieving TCE at Six Sigma

levels within the project management community by simplifying, streamlining, and automating

the prevailing processes. The system is comprised of five distinct areas: PM Process, PM

Templates, PM Dashboard, PM Quality Assurance, and the Best Practices Council [BPC].

Figure 3: Five Point System [FPS]

3.1 PM Process

3.1.1 Overview

EMC is a global organization with business presence in 86 countries. When following a Virtual

Service Delivery model that aims to provide 24/7 support, employees invariably end up working

odd hours. Owing to the fact that a good work/life balance is essential for personal as well as

organizational growth, empowering Project Managers to take time off to recharge is a no-

1.

PM Process

2.

PM Templates

3.

PM Dashboard

4.

PM Quality Assurance

5. BEST PRACTICES COUNCIL


brainer. However, what steps are we taking in order to ensure that TCE remains at an all-time

high even in the absence of the primary Project Manager?

Since this was a pilot program, BPC started to work on a process to demonstrate the method’s

effectiveness within FPS. BPC set out to take a closer look at the prevalent processes at iCOE

GPS to ascertain major factors that hinder TCE. One such factor was the Out Of Office process.

The council’s aim was to set up a framework to ensure flawless project delivery even in the

absence of the primary Project Manager. Typical constraints encountered prior to implementing

the OOO process were:

Resource Timecards awaiting PM approval whilst he/she is OOO.

Escalations pertaining to ‘External’ and ‘Internal’ customers.

Backup concerns.

Internal documentation concerns.

Resource request concerns.

3.1.2 Features

To counter the constraints surrounding OOO, a process document was deemed crucial. The

document in question was split into three major phases:

OOO Best Practices

o This section summed up the best practices for ‘Internal’ and ‘External’ personnel.

Project Handover Checklist

o The checklist was created to elaborate the OOO Best Practices at a granular

level.

How to section

o This area provided visual instructions on how the PM can set up the required

tools without any ambiguity.


3.1.3 Benefits

The OOO process was rolled out during Q2 2013 and the results have been nothing short of

phenomenal during Q3 and Q4 of 2013.

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Medium Level of

stakeholder

escalations.

Low level of

stakeholder

escalations.

Minimal stakeholder

escalations

Zero stakeholder

escalations

3.1.4 PM Process – Hands On

Figure 4: Partial Snapshot of the OOO Checklist

The OOO process document also incorporated screenshots on how to “Delegate Access” to

secondary PM’s during OOO windows.


Figure 5: Delegations

3.2 PM Templates

3.2.1 Overview

On one side, it has been debated that Project Managers must be allowed the freedom to work

as they please. On the other, they are encouraged to have a standardized approach. When

dealing with multiple projects, a wide range of customers, and volatile temperaments we must

ensure consistency at every step. In this section, we delve deeper into this topic and provide

suggestions to enhance TCE.

Based on PMI standards, EMC Project Management Methodology at iCOE is composed of five

phases; Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing. Each phase

encompasses various stages as depicted in Figure 6.


Figure 6: EMC PM Methodology

It is crucial that iCOE GPS Project Managers religiously follow the above process without

substantial deviation to deliver a project successfully. Although a process that is logically sound

and structured is set in place, we are still unable to achieve six sigma levels of Total Customer

Experience [TCE].

The Best Practices Council [BPC] investigated causes for low TCE levels. An internal audit

revealed that key focus areas were being overlooked due to various constraints. The aim was to

develop a method by which every Project Manager can provide a unified front to the end

customer, whilst simultaneously elevating TCE levels.

A Project Manager might miss discussing/capturing the required points during project calls

despite numerous calls they spearheaded. Reasons include busy schedules, time constraints to

customize a presentation for upcoming calls, and so forth. The points below summarize typical

issues that could potentially arise during the project lifecycle that hinder TCE.

1.0 INITATING

•1.1 Data Collection

•1.2 Identify Stakeholders

•1.3 Scope Definition

•1.4 Internal Kick Off Call

2.0 PLANNING

•2.1 Create Project Plan

•2.2 External Kickoff Call

•2.3 Resource Allocation

•2.4 Risk Planning

3.0 EXECUTING

•3.1 Project Execution

•3.2 Risk Management

4.0 MONITORING & CONTROLLING

•4.1 Stakeholder Communication

•4.2 Status Reporting

•4.3 Issue Tracker and Resolution

5.0 CLOSING

•5.1 Obtain Final Customer Acceptance

•5.2 EMC2 End of Project review

•5.3 Project/Phase Closure


1. Initiation Phase

a. Inaccurate understanding of the project scope definition.

b. Misunderstanding between sales, delivery and customer.

2. Planning Phase

a. The time taken to customize a PowerPoint presentation for a kickoff meeting.

b. PM’s making assumptions and failing to explain EMC process and procedures, e.g.

resource scheduling lead time.

c. PM’s overlooking to communicate and emphasize the importance of Assurance of

Solution Quality [ASQ].

d. Assumptions that less intricate projects may not require similar effort as complex

projects.

3. Executing & Controlling Phase

a. PM’s overlooking the customer’s schedule [Resource availability and lead time].

b. PM’s not sending meeting minutes after the kickoff call.

c. Project delays as PM’s fail to follow-up on obtaining appropriate prerequisite

documents required for a physical install.

4. Closing Phase

a. PM’s failing to send project closure e-mails and obtain customer confirmation mails.

As a result, TCE can be marred at every phase of a project lifecycle. Customers are affected by

longer project duration, project re-work, and surplus e-mails/phone calls. EMC incurs additional

cost for project rework and simultaneously may lose new business opportunities.

At the very core, success of a project depends heavily on the ‘Internal’ and ‘External’ calls. Such

calls fortify PM fortifies relationships with stakeholders and establishes the project plan.

Therefore, it is imperative that these calls are handled with the utmost rigor. Recognizing this

gap as an avenue to improve the set process, BPC members created ‘Internal’ and ‘External’

project kickoff templates that help a PM overcome the above challenges with ease.

3.2.2 Features

The template depicted in the ‘Hands On’ section details the step-by-step procedure that a PM

needs to follow during the ‘Internal’ and ‘External’ project kickoff calls. These sections will

remind the PM to converse about relevant points during kickoff calls and also allows the PM to

make project notes. These checklists will in turn help the PM populate MOM’s effectively after

the meeting.


Moreover, it helps PM’s plan for their meetings effectively by pre-populating information onto

these templates and later verifying it with the stakeholders. These templates are illustrated in

Figure 8 and Figure 9 under section 3.2.4.

3.2.3 Benefits

The use of these templates was piloted with four PM’s on all their projects. The result, which

showed higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, were measured via:

ASQ responses

Internal & External Stakeholder feedback

By incorporating these templates into the ‘Internal’ and ‘External’ calls, PM’s were able to

achieve TCE at near Six Sigma levels. Overall, project manager effort on Project Management

knowledge areas gradually came down by ~50%. The diagrams below represent the noteworthy

changes to the efforts a project manager puts in prior to and post implementation of PM

templates.

Figure 7: Effort Level [Pre & Post Implementation]

Use of these templates garnered accolades from EMC Sales personnel as Kickoff calls closed

40% earlier than prior ‘Internal’ and ‘External’ calls, thereby enabling the Sales team to continue

their focus on selling EMC products. These templates are now approved by the delivery

managers for use within iCOE GPS as a best practice. These checklists are made available to

0

2

4

6

8

1010

8

3

9

1

9 10

5

8 9

3 3 3 3

1 2 2

5

3 2

Pre-Implementation Post-Implementation


all the Project Managers within iCOE GPS via EMC ONE as part of BPC’s initiative to drive

TCE.

3.2.4 PM Templates – Hands On

Figure 8: Partial Snapshot of the ‘Internal’ kickoff template

Figure 9: Partial Snapshot of the ‘External’ kickoff template


3.3 PM Dashboard

3.3.1 Overview

Manual and tedious methods to track data are time consuming and error prone. This section will

showcase how tracking project assignment, workload, utilization, revenue forecasts, and so

forth can be automated. Moreover, we will look at how a customized tool can be used as a one-

stop shop for project information.

“Success is determined by the performance with which the results are being produced”. 2

The Project Management team within iCOE GPS was formed back in 2009. During the initial

stages project count was low and maintaining project data was not cumbersome. However, as

the team started to grow and workload reached new heights, the number of projects also

increased exponentially. This growth stemmed the need for trackers/dashboards and various

theaters within the Program/Project Management organization started using several

mechanisms to monitor project performance. Because of varied workload across

divisions/theaters, the use of a single dashboard across all business units was not a feasible

option as theaters had their own unique way of running the business.

As a part of the Best Practices Council’s umbrella, multiple initiatives started to emerge. The

Reporting tool—aka, PM Dashboard—is a standout example. PM Dashboard was designed to

provide detailed and consolidated project information for iCOE GPS Project Manager’s and

Management personnel.

The challenge in creating a reporting tool was capturing different project KPI’s along with

management data. Typically, multiple reports need to be maintained and data points generated

on a weekly/monthly basis for various business practices. It is cumbersome to review multiple

reports, track different KPI’s including revenue, analyzing project count, status, utilization,

compliance, and so on from multiple sources.

The objective of preparing the iCOE GPS PM Dashboard for the NY/NJ division was to get the

most relevant data across to all the users. This not only helps Project Managers keep track of

their project KPI’s, but also other KPI’s related to Compliance, Utilization, etc. This in turn will

help Project Managers meet their internal and external goals with respect to organizational

activities.


To create a single dashboard that can consolidate and capture relevant information, a number

of sources were analyzed to identify the right data set. At the same time, the intention was to

have a mechanism where in the person/team generating the dashboard does not have to

perform tedious manual tasks to get the dashboard ready on a weekly basis.

The intent of developing the PM Dashboard was to:

Enhance business intelligence and knowledge management.

Increase competitiveness.

Ease decision making for vital business resolutions.

Monitor and control project status, financials, and schedule.

Gain a Summary view of Projects.

Manually consolidating data from different sources to produce the data set shown below would

incur a substantial amount of time to prepare the report for a team. Moreover, creating reports

on a daily basis would become a major chore. It would only be possible by the use of a macro-

enabled Excel spreadsheet; this led to the development of the PM Dashboard.

Total PM Count: 15

Avg. # of Projects/PM: 45

Total # of Projects: 677

Total PAS Funding: $7,175,907

Overall Utilization[%]: 35.87%

Individual PM records

[Products/Projects]

Project Types:

• L1: 590 [1268 Services]

• Custom: 8 [14 Services]

• Residency: 1 [5 Services]

AIP > 95% Completed[Unbilled]

Total Backlog: $ 3,975,851

% Achieved: 23%

At the beginning of Q1 2013, BPC personnel set out to identify how a consolidated reporting tool

can be formulated, designed, and implemented within the iCOE GPS environment. In essence,

this was the springboard to define, design, and develop the “iCOE GPS PM Dashboard”

Planning to design and develop the PM Dashboard was challenging since multiple data sources

had to be authenticated and team/management needs had to be identified and recorded. Since

the dashboard was intended to reduce a considerable amount of redundant data, the following

questions were analyzed and answered over brainstorming sessions:


What is needed?

How can it be achieved?

How will it benefit the Team/PDM/Theater/iCOE?

Initially, a master data source [named “World Wide Chase”] that would help the

Team/Management at iCOE and at the theater level was identified and customized. Once the

report was in place, a skeleton Dashboard was designed.

At the end of Q1 2013, a preliminary Dashboard was rolled out after multiple changes were

made to accommodate the needs of the business. Prior to releasing the Dashboard the source

data was obtained and verified, individual PM data sets were checked for discrepancies, and

the tool automation was tested and validated internally.

The final test run was successfully completed in early Q2 2013. The automated PM Dashboard

was finally launched within the NY/NJ division in May 2013. The first report generated post-

implementation was validated against multiple reports which were earlier being used for

strategic business decisions. The first report was shared with management through BPC.

In the weeks following the unveiling of the PM Dashboard, Version 2 of the consolidated

reporting tool was released that provided weekly and monthly data. This not only helped the

Project Managers track and monitor their projects’ performance, but also gave management a

summary of the weekly and monthly statistics. Over time, the results started to show a

progressive trend. The project managers were able to monitor their projects with respect to

revenue recognition, achieving goal sets and maintaining compliance KPI’s.

Post-launch of the PM Dashboard has shown significant changes in the quarterly results,

mainly:

ASQ performance

Utilization

Compliance

Target Achieved Percentage

Management tracking

Revenue tracking


3.3.2 Features

Automated Performance Dashboard for iCOE GPS PM: Macro-enabled reporting to

help consolidate important data into a single reporting tool.

Overall project dashboard [Total PAS Funding; Revenue to Date; QTD Revenue;

Total backlog]: Displays a detailed report of each Project Managers’ data points. It

shows the total project funding, total revenue amount, revenue amount for the quarter,

and pending revenue amount.

Utilization [Effective & Billable]: Shows the number of hours each PM has clocked on

their projects. Provides a summary of how each Project Manager is trending toward

achieving his/her utilization goals.

Revenue [Projected; Committed and % Achieved Vs. Committed]: This shows a

summary of the total projected revenue for the quarter along with achieved vs.

committed figures.

Project Types [including project/services count]: Summary of the different types of

projects each Project Manager is delivering out of iCOE GPS.

>95% Complete [unbilled]: This provides a snapshot of the number of services which

are more than 95% complete and the total amount of revenue associated with these

services. This helps PM’s manage and close tasks, adding to the total Quarter to Date

revenue.

Project Age [in months]: This is a summary of the Projects’ age to help track and

monitor them so that schedule variance can be controlled in the best possible way.

Project Status: This is a snapshot of the Projects’ status. This helps PM’s monitor and

control the project deliverables.

Top 10 Generators [Products/Services]: This summarizes the type of

projects/products and the associated Funding Amount which is being delivered by the

team. This helps track Professional Services being delivered out of iCOE GPS and how

the team is contributing to the overall business from a global perspective.

Timecard Compliance: This gives a summary of the Timecard compliance for each

Project Manager. Considering the fact that submission/approval of Timecards is a critical

KPI, this helps the team/management monitor and manage non-compliance.

Assurance of Solution Quality [ASQ] Compliance: ASQ is another KPI which is

closely monitored and tracked by management. This incorporation helps the

team/management monitor non-compliance.


Milestone Check: Summary of Projects/Services that have passed the milestone dates

and the total revenue associated with these projects/services.

3.3.3 Benefits

All-in-One Project Reporting

Better project Monitoring/Tracking

Compliance Check: Timecard, ASQ, Milestone

Revenue realization

Utilization

3.3.4 PM Dashboard – Hands On

Figure 10: PM Dashboard Overview

Summary Dashboard

PAS Funding

Revenue-to-Date

QTD Revenue

Total Backlog revenue

Total # of Projects; Services

Revenue: Projection; Commit; %

Achieved Vs. Committed

Utilization

Compliance Check: ASQ; Timecard;

Milestone

Amit Anish Ankit Basant Edgar Elina Felina Kishan Mahith Poojeetha Prajakta Raghavan Raman Solomon Total

653,743 272,899 385,046 321,411 1,023,604 455,241 785,490 974,626 136,796 436,028 665,240 182,495 603,677 398,641 7,294,937

361,252 99,942 123,745 57,162 619,545 240,225 249,367 744,972 48,326 156,874 230,025 112,264 180,817 285,264 3,509,779

185,091 12,627 28,318 57,162 62,642 24,804 37,469 42,079 48,326 67,350 31,537 39,644 37,492 26,956 701,497

292,491 172,957 261,301 264,249 404,059 215,016 536,123 229,654 88,470 279,154 435,215 70,231 422,860 113,377 3,785,157

Projection (C+D) 477,582 185,584 289,619 321,411 466,701 239,820 573,592 271,733 136,796 346,504 466,752 109,875 460,352 140,333 4,486,654

Commit (40% of Projection) 191,033 74,234 115,848 128,564 186,680 95,928 229,437 108,693 54,718 138,602 186,701 43,950 184,141 56,133 1,794,662

96.9% 17.0% 24.4% 44.5% 33.6% 25.9% 16.3% 38.7% 88.3% 48.6% 16.9% 90.2% 20.4% 48.0% 39.1%

112 20 39 35 51 43 76 45 14 114 41 34 52 39 715

222 59 76 79 141 67 153 91 35 227 111 65 116 79 1,521

Effective(Hours) 338 274 276 331 280 218 286 287 222 506 219 167 324 242 3,970

Billable(Hours) 326 266 260 331 265 179 286 285 222 329 219 158 324 242 3,692

% Utilized (Effective) 64.90% 52.69% 53.08% 63.65% 53.85% 41.92% 55.00% 55.24% 42.69% 97.26% 42.12% 32.12% 62.31% 46.54% 54.53%

AIP 1 - 2 - 9 - 1 - 2 3 14 3 1 - 36

Completed/P.Close - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1

Working - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Short - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Submitted - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Not Entered - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

# Past Due Date - 6 6 3 6 - 1 - 11 6 - 6 - 4 49

$ Past Due Date - 35,896 44,606 10,226 39,199 - 1,000 - 40,159 6,464 - 11,953 - 40,863 230,366

Total Backlog (D)

Count of All Projects

# of Services

Summary Dashboard

ASQ Non -

Compliance

Revenue Metrics

Total PAS Funding (A)

Rev to Date (B)

QTD Revenue ( C )

% Achieved against Commit

Revenue

Utilization

Timecard Non-

ComplianceCompliant

Milestone


Figure 11: Projects & Services Summary

Active in Progress, Adjustments; Customer Delay, Pending Close, Completed

Number of Projects

Number of Services

Figure 12: > 95% Utilization

Overview of the number of projects/services > 95% completed.

Monitoring/Tracking will help realize revenues from some of these projects/services.


Figure 13: Project Age Summary

Summary of Project’s Age [in months].

Helps track projects >6M or >1Y.

Lead/PDTL can monitor projects and provide assistance to the PM [if needed].

Avoid un-necessary delays in project delivery.

Figure 14: Project Status

Project count by PM. Project Status summary.


Figure 15: ASQ Compliance

ASQ Status Summary.

ASQ Non-Compliance for Completed and Pending Close project.

Summary of AIP projects with no ASQ information.

Help ensure compliance.

Figure 16: Top 10 Revenue Generators

Top 10 Generators.

Summary of Product/Project types.

Track projects type by products that are being assigned to iCOE.

Total revenue generated from iCOE.


3.4 PM Quality Assurance

3.4.1 Overview

Self-realization is the first step toward attaining high quality deliverables; therefore we must ask

ourselves the following questions to ensure that only deliverables of the highest quality reach

our “Customer[s]. This section will analyze the questions below in order to elevate TCE.

Is the correct process being followed and are all Project Managers cognizant of the

project management best practices within EMC?

Does the existing project management methodology have any significant gaps and are

we working as a cohesive unit within the iCOE GPS community?

In today’s complex business scenarios, the process of “How you carry out the project” is more

important than “What is the project intended for”. The purpose of a project audit is to identify

“Lessons Learned” that can help improve the performance of a project or to improve the

performance of future projects. In other words, identification of the “Lessons Learned” that can

be applied to future projects within the organization is paramount.

A Project Audit or Gap Analysis can determine the degree to which an organization adheres to

the set compliance path once the focus areas are clearly established. Every organization

initiates project management improvement programs by recognizing the organization’s core

needs. At iCOE GPS, BPC members foresaw the need for Quality Assurance and deployed a

project audit that consisted of the following four phases. The audit methodology shown below

was designed to perform in-depth analysis of the projects and report the findings.

Figure 18: Audit Methodology

Identifying gaps in the process via in-depth research

Identifying Success Parameters & Questionnaire Development by analyzing the process

Streamlining the process by pluggings gaps based on the audit report

Promote TCE @ GPS iCOE


The first step is to perform an empirical study of the projects being delivered out of iCOE. An

extensive study was also done on the existing processes to identify success criteria. This is a

crucial step as it enables one to identify key factors affecting quality. The second step in the

process explored the best practices surrounding the execution of a project. When the results of

the two steps are combined, we can decisively conclude on which areas need attention. Post

the results, a questionnaire was developed to assess successful project delivery. The primary

objectives of the Quality Assurance phase are:

Formal means to identify and correct gaps between desired levels and actual levels of

performance.

To enhance quality levels by:

o Superior process adherence and compliance.

o Streamlining the existing process.

To achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Understanding the process, identifying and rectifying gaps via continuous feedback and

implementing process improvements with appropriate measures.

Promote Virtual Service Delivery [VSD] via superior service.

The audit questionnaire shown below was divided into five parts; Project Initiation, Resource

Requests, Customer Contact Details, Project Planning & Execution, and Project Closure.


Figure 18: Audit Questionnaire

Audited by

PM Name

PAS #

SO #

Project Name

Cust/Partner

Service Sold

Product

Project Initiation Comments

1 Project initiation email to Sales/PreSales

2 Project Initiation/Intro email to Customer

3 Internal Kickoff - Scope Review

4 External Kickoff - Scope Validation

5 Internal Kickoff - MOM

6 External Kickoff - MOM

Resource Requests

1 Resource Request Via Clarity

2 Project Details in Clarity

3 Planned Scheduled available in clarity

4 Email communication to Resource + Reminders (Place Holder)

Contact Details

1 Customer / Partner Contact

2 TC/Sales Contact

3 Accounts Team Contact

4 ASR contact

5 PDM contact

6 IDE/SA/IS/CE Contact details

Project Planning and Execution

1 Tentative Project Plan/ Project Schedule

2 Site Readiness confirmation

3 IDE checklist

4 CCA/CCRF/ PEQ

5 Installation completion report by IDE + SP Collects

6 Remote Waiver Form - Remote support

7 Design Review Call

8 Approval from Customer - Design Doc

9 Pre Implementation Call

10 Task Complete Status updates from IS

12 KT confirmation email + Documentations confirmation

Project Closure

1 Move 'Shipped to' to Install - Email evidences

2 ESRS completion notification email from ASR

3 Followup calls/Closure call with Customer + MOM/email evidences

4 Project Closure confirmation email from Customer

5 Time Claims

6 Email to BRS support team - DD projects

7 Handoff to ASR - Email

8 PCF Submission

9 Project closure confirmation from PAS

Project Documentation

1 Project related documents in shared folder

2 Technical Docs from Presales

4 Test and acceptance plan

5 SP collects/ Project documents

6 Design Work book/ config guide

7 Naming conventions of the projects in shared folder

Compliance

1 PSCT Dashboard updates

2 Forecast the Milestones in Synergy

3 Project Status report update

4 ASQ updation in synergy

Project Audit


Self-audit and Managerial audits were randomly conducted to evaluate projects. The thought

process behind the self-audit was to assess the PM’s knowledge base and understanding. Once

this data was congregated, the reporting manager of the respective PM would conduct the

Managerial audit to verify data accuracy via documentation evidence, e.g. emails, Design

Documents, Configuration Guides, Meeting Invites, and so on.

3.4.2 Features

The project audit questionnaire provides the following outcomes:

Help improve TCE and deliver projects that are within the realms of the triple

constraints of Time, Cost, and Scope.

Effectively closing a project is important to customer satisfaction and the continued

learning of the organization. Audits help ensure that Lessons Learned are

documented.

Scope control can be handled effectively via audits.

Stakeholder communication and Status reporting in a timely manner enhances the

quality of the project. Audits can help steer the project in the right direction.

Audits can be carried out regardless of the size of the project or revenue.

3.4.3 Benefits

Audit questionnaires identified gaps that were turned into action statements. These

action statements formulated remedial action that could fill the gaps and aid delivery.

Prevent inaccurate identification of the customer requirement or scope that could cause

project delays.

Key areas such as task prioritization, scheduling, planning, documentation, minutes of

meeting, quality of service delivery, and compliance during Project Execution are

reviewed to ensure faultless project delivery.

Each time a gap was identified in the process, an internal team set up best practices

onto a central repository to close the gap immediately as well as on future projects being

handled by the team.

Project Resource Sheet and Project Task Checklists were designed to close the gaps

identified during project delivery.


Strategies and recommendations identified from project audits are shown below.

Kickoff calls and MOM was found to be the first and foremost gap hindering immaculate

project delivery. Accurate communication channels such as the Minutes of Meeting and

‘Internal’ and ‘External’ Kick Off calls on a timely basis helped address the gap post

implementation of the audit result.

Schedule Tracking, Task Prioritization, Milestones completion, project scope review was

assessed properly under the project planning and execution.

Quality can be improved by increasing the ASQ response rate and implementing

customer feedback.

Effective project closures were carried out, thereby enhancing customer acceptance,

project evaluation, and staff recognition.

3.4.4 PM Quality Assurance – Hands On

Figure 19: Partial Snapshot of the Project Resource Sheet


Figure 20: Partial Snapshot of the Project Task Checklist

3.5 Best Practices Council

The Best Practices Council (BPC) was formulated within iCOE GPS [an initiative led by Pradeep

Mathew], to “consolidate process and procedures and drive best practices within iCOE GPS.

BPC’s vision is to Build, Communicate, Drive, Measure and Reward such practices. BPC prides

itself on implementing ideas that are pertinent to the iCOE GPS community and aims to provide

value add to customers via a three pronged approach:

1. Standardize delivery through consistent process adoption.

2. Improve operational efficiency / delivery excellence.

3. Reduce variations – Process, Documentations, and Skills.

The diagram below depicts how best practices are selected and driven at iCOE GPS.


Figure 21: BPC Governance Model

BPC is an integral part of the Five Point System [FPS] as it enables process and procedures to

be showcased and published to the iCOE GPS community at large. The FPS gained momentum

via BPC initiatives. BPC constantly monitors PM Process, PM Templates, PM Dashboard, and

PM Quality Assurance methods to ensure that only the latest and most relevant process and

procedures are being published and followed by the PM community.

4.0 Outcome of the Five Point System

By implementing FPS, we were able to achieve the following outcomes over four key areas. The

diagram below describes some of the major achievements brought about by the Five Point

System.

1. Build/Identify Best Practices; i.e. EXISTING + PROPOSED.

2. Communicate Best Practices to GPS resources via

IDEA CENTRAL/TEAM

MEETINGS.

3. Drive Best Practices by

publishing and publicizing BPC

material.

4. Measure Best Practices via PDTL

audits.

5. Implement Reward System to sustain

momentum.


Figure 22: Benefits of FPS

The charts below illustrate the progress that was made post implementation of the Five Point

System with respect to milestone achievement, revenue, and ASQ.

•Simplified reporting

•High visibility on all projects for team/management

•Improved project delivery

•Minimize risk via knowledge sharing

•Unified Professional Services process

•Minimize PM efforts

•Minimize escalations during OOO windows

•Standardized OOO procedure for GPS iCOE

PM Process PM

Templates

PM Dashboard

PM Quality Assurance


Figure 23: Milestone Achievement

Figure 23 depicts a graph that tracks the number of projects/services that have passed their

milestone completion dates and are yet to be completed/closed. It also reflects the associated

dollar value which could have been realized during a particular quarter.

Tracking began in early Q3 post-FPS implementation and as evident from the chart, the backlog

quota has reduced substantially. Moreover, the revenue figures have also witnessed a huge

jump from Q2 to Q3 and the ASQ results validate the success story.

1

10

100

1000

10000

100000

1000000

Q3 2013 Q4 2013

Q3 2013 Q4 2013

PAST Due Date[Projects/Services] 60 6

PAST Due Date[$] $249,489 $131,803

Milestone Achievement

Pre-implementation of PM Dashboard Post-Implmentation of PM Dashboard


Figure 24: 2013 QoQ Revenue

Figure 25: 2013 QoQ ASQ Count

$-

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Revenue $1,388,247 $1,671,802 $2,293,626 $2,247,014

Revenue

Pre-implementation of PM Dashboard

Post-implementation of PM Dashboard

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Positive ASQ Count 1 3 14 16

ASQ Count

Pre-implementation of PM Dashboard

Post-Implementation of PM Dashboard


5.0 Future TCE Roadmap

The pilot team [NY/NJ] saw fantastic results post-FPS implementation. The next step is to

expand the program to other divisions within iCOE GPS. The FPS is now a proven approach

that is ready to be implemented across all theatres within the Professional Services unit. As part

of the expansion plan, the FPS was shared with a group of new Project Managers who were a

part of the iCOE GPS PM Shared Pool. The intention was to start sensitizing new PMs on

EMC’s commitment to achieve TCE and the feedback/results have been phenomenal.

In conclusion, implementation of the Five Point System creates a unified approach to project

management and project delivery that enhances TCE to Six Sigma levels.


6.0 Appendix

1. EMC GPS Q1’ 14 Update - Demystifying TCE: Building a Foundation Around Total

Customer Experience

2. http://getpmpcertified.blogspot.in/2011/07/chapter-81-performance-reporting.html

EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The

information is subject to change without notice.

THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” EMC CORPORATION

MAKES NO RESPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO

THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED

WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an

applicable software license.

http://getpmpcertified.blogspot.in/2011/07/chapter-81-performance-reporting.html

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