Category: Articles

PPM tool helps Harmony’s TPMO deliver all technology and business projects, aiding transformation to a centralised enterprise-wide shared services project office for the organisation

Harmony, a gold mining and exploration company with activities in both South Africa and Papua New Guinea, has successfully rolled out Project Portfolio Office’s PPO secure, cloud-based project portfolio management (PPM) tool, helping the organisation to manage a complex portfolio, which included the merging of AngloGold Ashanti’s remaining local assets into the Harmony business.

Uploading Documents are a Drag… Or are they?

Over the years in training sessions with users, one question has been consistently asked when we get to the ins and outs of uploading and maintaining documents in PPO, “Can’t I just drag and drop my documents into PPO?”

Why forecasts in PPO are important for project cost management

A recent discovery was to realise that many project managers – some of which work for me – underestimate the importance of an “estimate to complete” which is key to project cost management . Having worked with senior project executives across various industries, they all have one thing in common, and that is the concern … Continue reading

Say Hello to Multiple Document Downloads in PPO

PPO’s document entity provides users with the ability to upload documents of any format. This in turn makes collaboration on documents possible and provides the means to track compliance to governance which are both important features for all project environments. It also becomes a safe storage space where you and your project team can access a centralised project document repository from any device.

Deleting Tasks on Import Now Possible!

One of the most valued features of PPO is the ability to import tasks from Microsoft Project (MSP) or Excel into PPO’s task entity with a couple of clicks. This ensures that Project Managers are not expected to give up their favorite planning tools when using PPO, the integration works smoothly, however there has been one drawback – PPO did not delete tasks that have been deleted in Microsoft Project (MSP) or Excel.

Stop project sign off delays with automated approvals

Unexpected project delays have always been a source of concern for project environments. There are lots of reasons for these delays, ineffective project planning and scheduling, late procurement of materials, poor design, design changes and the list goes on. But the one cause that is understated and within the project management office’s (PMO) mandate to address, is the delay in approving project and product deliverables. I’m sure you can recall more than one occasion where a key deliverable wasn’t approved on time.

FNB Botswana named as winning local PMO of the Year, reaches African category of Global PMO Awards

The project management office (PMO) of FNB Botswana has been recognised as the top PMO of the Year in Botswana by the South Africa PMO Awards, progressing to the next level to compete for the title of African PMO of the Year against project offices from the rest of the continent. This includes South African title winner, the City of Cape Town. The winner of the overall African title then participates in the Global PMO of the Year award.

Missing Interaction, Us Too … But We Are Ready To Help!

Visitors to the Project Portfolio Office web site may already be familiar with our purple Live Chat bubble, lower right hand corner of their screens, but for those of you that haven’t, don’t fret, we are introducing our Live Chat directly in PPO!

PG Group partners with PPO, retires Excel spreadsheets to automate project and portfolio status reporting

PG Group produces, distributes and installs automotive glass, building glass, aluminium frames and window film solutions. For more than 120 years, they have been the name for glass in Southern Africa and has since grown to become a significant worldwide player. Their mission is driven by its commitment to excellence and want to make a difference in their customer’s lives by solving glass problems with real care.

Project Team Member Leaving? Traditionally a Pain!

Traditionally when a team member leaves a project before it is completed it’s a pain! Over and above a change to the project team dynamics and relationships, just trying to get a handle on what the team member is involved with, the background and history of each item, the next steps and accessing any documentation is often a time-consuming activity.