1 Quality and Project Management, A Strong SolutionType notes here Quality and Project Management, A Strong Solution ASQ 9/8/2008 Andy Willums Mike Luther

2 Overview Introduction to Sage Software and Employer Solutions What is Project Management? State of the Software Industry With and Without Process Components of How We Use Project Management Benefits Realized Next Steps in the Journey Summary

3 Introduction to Sage Software and Employer Solutions

4 Who Is Sage? Leading global supplier of business management software The parent company is The Sage Group, plc Currently Sage supports more than 2.8 million customers in the U.S. and Canada. The sole focus is to provide business management software and services to small and medium-sized businesses.

5 Sage Solutions Financial Management Customer ManagementPeachtree by Sage Sage BusinessWorks Sage Accpac ERP Sage MAS ERP Sage FAS Fixed Assets Customer Management ACT! by Sage Sage CRM Sage CRM SalesLogix SageCRM.com Payment Solutions Sage Payment Services is focused on credit card and debit care acceptance and check conversion. Payment Solutions also offers gift and loyalty card programs, as well as cash advance services to merchants. Industry Specific Solutions Sage also delivers a variety of specialized solutions for mid-sized businesses and organizations in the following industries: Accountants Construction and Real Estate Nonprofit Organizations Manufacturing and Distribution Healthcare

6 Employer Solutions Abra HRMS Compliance Services Direct DepositSage Abra HRMS is the award-winning system comprising HR, payroll, benefits, ESS, training, recruiting, compliance and more. Abra features an integrated database and powerful reporting capabilities. Compliance Services Sage Compliance Services automates payroll tax payments and filings, wage garnishments, and W-2/1099 processes for employers in every industry, including more than 20 percent of the Fortune 500. Direct Deposit Direct deposit service for Peachtree Accounting customers TimeSheet Sage TimeSheet is a time and expense tracking solution for project-oriented organizations. It allows customers to capture detailed line-item task information for resources assigned and utilizes this data for allocation, costing, and project management systems. CarpeDiem Sage Carpe Diem is a time and expense recording system for billing professionals. Primarily known in the enterprise Legal industry, Carpe Diem is also utilized by Financial and Banking centers. It integrates with a variety of billing systems in the Legal vertical.

7 What is Project Management?

8 Balancing Objectives Cost Schedule Scope Quality

9 Project Management Knowledge AreasPMI’s view of Project Management. 9 knowledge areas. Numbers are chapters.

10 CMMI View of Project ManagementLevel Focus Process Areas 5 Optimizing Continuous Process Improvement Organizational Innovation and Deployment Causal Analysis and Resolution 4 Quantitatively Managed Quantitative Management Organizational Process Performance Quantitative Project Management 3 Defined Process Standardization Requirements Development Technical Solution Production Integration Verification Validation Organizational Process Focus Organizational Process Definition Organizational Training Integrated Project Management Decision Analysis and Resolution Organizational Environment for Integration 2 Managed Basic Project Requirements Management Project Planning Project Monitoring and Control Supplier Agreement Management Measurement and Analysis Process and Product Quality Assurance Configuration Management 1 Initial Risk Rework Quality Productivity Risk Management Integrated Teaming

11 The Frameworks Quagmire

12 Growth of PM As of March 2002, membership in the Project Management Institute was over 90,000, with 40,343 Project Management Professionals certified.

13 Growth of PM (continued)As of November 2007: membership in the Project Management Institute was over 249,860 256,184 Total Active Project Management Professionals (PMP) certified 180,640 chapter members 60,562 members of Special Interest Groups (SIG) New CAPM and PgMP certifications

14 Growth of PM (continued)The application of project management principles enables senior executives to: Establish measures of success Enable customer focus and alignment Quantify value commensurate with cost Optimize the use of organizational resources Incorporate quality principles Put strategic plans into practice Ensure fast time-to-market

15 Growth of PM (continued)Project management also has gained popularity over the last several decades because of significant changes in the workplace. Some of these changes include: Downsizing (i.e. fewer people to do more tasks) Projects and services have grown larger and more complex Fierce global competition Easier access to information through vast communications networks More sophisticated customers demanding higher quality goods and services Exponential technological growth Multinational organizations seeking to establish uniform practices for managing projects

16 State of the Software Industry

17 Meeting (“unrealistic”) deadlines Unclear goals/direction PM Problems Resources inadequate Meeting (“unrealistic”) deadlines Unclear goals/direction Team members uncommitted Insufficient planning Breakdowns in communication Changes in goals and resources Conflicts between departments or functions Survey of 287 (189 men, 98 women) from nationwide PM seminars Have we ever faced any of these difficulties here? Source: Leadership Skills for Project Managers, Jeffrey K. Pinto and Jeffrey W. Trailer, 1998

18 State of the Industry – CHAOS2004 Standish Group CHAOS Report on 9,236 projects 29% on time, on budget, with required features 53% challenged 18% failed These numbers are better than what was reported in the mid and late 90’s. How does our track record compare?

19 Top Success Factors for Software ProjectsTop 10 Success Factors for Software Projects, Standish Group Executive Support 18 User Involvement 16 Experienced Project Manager 14 Clear Business Objectives 12 Minimized Scope 10 Standard Software Infrastructure 8 Firm Basic Requirements 6 Formal Methodology Reliable Estimates 5 Other TOTAL 100

20 Top Causes for Project FailureThere’s clearly a top 4 Who would say that communication is a main problem for most organizations and teams? Source: Computing Technology Industry Association, Jan 2007 web poll of 1,007 respondents

21 With and Without Process

22 What Happens Without a Well-Defined Process?Organization is highly reactionary Everything is an immediate crisis Projects exceed schedules & budgets No objective basis for judging quality

23 What Happens Without a Well-Defined Process? (cont)Practices are improvised or learned by “tribal legend” Crisis management becomes the cultural norm Heroes succeed, or success is on heroic effort Reliance is on key employees (who are always threatening to leave) Lack of documented processes and procedures Processes that have been defined aren’t followed, resulting in “shelfware” Lack of confidence in completing successful projects on time and within budget Loss of Customer confidence

24 What Happens With A Well Defined Process?Higher quality products More predictable and timely schedules Lower costs and greater efficiencies Better documentation and ease of product maintenance Happier customers Higher internal team morale Start Work Finish Project Schedule Reqs Coding Testing Release

25 Components of How We Use Project Management

26 Responsibility Assignment MatrixThe DACI terminology is used to describe the responsibilities for each deliverable produced in each phase. It indicates who is to perform the job, who contributes, who approves and who is informed of the results. Driver Person responsible for facilitating Approver Person with yes/no authority Contributor Person providing input Informed Person that needs to know of the decision and rationale for decision

27 Responsibility Assignment - DACI Chart

28 SDLC Process Roadmap for Employer SolutionsProject Mgt, QA, SCM, Project Tracking, Communication, Issues, Risks, Lessons Learned, Training Ideation Detailed Requirements Design Development Verification & Validation Product Launch Project Close Out Opportunity Assessment UCD On-Site Visits BRD MRD MRD Review/Approve SWAG Greenlight Decision Team Planning for Release Readiness Checklist Requirements Specification Revise Project Plan Revise BRD Draft Test Approach Market Launch Plan Big Picture Design Framework Document Software Architecture Design Doc Functional Design Specifications UCD Interviews & Prototypes Product Pricing Draft Test Plans Docs & Demos Knowledge Transfer Code & Unit Test Design Audit Feature Complete Revise/develop documentation Revise Test Plans Develop Training Material Update Sample & Demo Data Execute Test Plan QA Automation External Testing Final Pass Master CD Marketing Material Support Prep Review & Pilot Training Material UCD Usability Testing Demos Prepare for orders BOM & CD Art Readiness Assessment Deployment of Software or Service Conduct Training Monitor Early Adopters Lessons Learned Session Customer Feedback BP Feedback Analyze Metrics Update Project folder Archive Project Artifacts (M1) Kick Off (M2) Specifications Complete (M3) Design Complete Set Deployment Date (baseline) (M4) Feature Complete Code Complete (M5) Certification, Code Freeze, Golden Build (M6) Implementation Complete (M7) Close Project and Archive Docs (M) = Milestone

29 Issue/Action Item ManagementIssue: formally defined problem that is impeding the progress of a project or a program Action Item: “to do” type item not large enough to add to a schedule Both of these items are typical outputs from meetings and can be tracked through resolution and reported

30 Risk Management Risk: an event that may or may not occur in the future and is managed by a “mitigation” (preventive) and a “contingency” (curative). Its occurrence is recognized to have a potentially adverse effect on the program/project objectives or the quality of its deliverables. Risk Management: “An organized, analytic process to identify what might cause harm or loss (identify risks), assess and quantify the identified risks, and to develop and, if needed, implement an appropriate approach to prevent or handle risk causes that could result in significant harm or loss.” [CMU/SEI-2002-TR-002] Mitigation – prevent dog from biting – cage - or hurting too bad – wear padding Contingency – dog bites, then what, first aid kit

31 Lessons Learned Lessons Learned provide all projects with the opportunity to share relevant data, information and experiences with their organization. Consequently, centralized Lessons Learned can help others preview, evaluate, apply or adapt: Successful “how to” engineering hints, work-arounds and methods. Critical project management, engineering and support skills. Training performance and services. Group communication performance. Process/product review skills. Procedural clarifications, additions or simplifications of tailored project level processes. New opportunities to leverage existing technology. New technology products and/or solutions. Candidate input items for process improvement initiatives, working group projects or pilot efforts.

32 Project Management Components

33 Tools Used MS Project Kidasa Milestones MindManager DevTrackUsed for developing and tracking schedules Kidasa Milestones Generates management-friendly PowerPoint stoplight chart and forward looking portfolio view from MS Project files MindManager Mind maps for brainstorming, lessons learned, decision making DevTrack Track defects and items for release

34 Tools Used SharePoint Borland Silk Central Test Manager (SCTM) HP Quick Test Professional (QTP) HP LoadRunner VSS SCRUM Works

35 Benefits Realized 35

36 Poor Communication = Poor Results36 36

37 Gaining Clarity Who is Doing What? When? 37 37

38 Clarity in Communication38 38

39 Clarity in Communication39 39

40 Benefits Aligned to Sage PrinciplesAgility Standardized project team structure and data allows for faster and more thorough planning as well as more efficient project start ups and tracking Agile development methodology provides more frequent working product releases and flexibility for content prioritization changes Innovation Lessons Learned sessions help point out best practices and process improvement opportunities Business Process Improvement projects focus on solving particular pain points Expanded definition and use of Beta programs produces a better understanding of how our products perform upon implementation The use of Project Management has proliferated to non-software projects resulting in better plans, communications, and controls The use of customer surveys, user groups, and Usability Studies helps us to better understand the needs of our customers 40 40

41 Benefits Aligned to Sage Principles (cont)Trust/Integrity Senior management regularly meets in Program Reviews to discuss status of all projects from the Master Schedule, solve prioritization and resource contentions, and review trends in issues and risks across projects Readiness Reviews and Certifications provide a forum to review quality data and for all project team members to explain to senior management how they are ready to support both the product and the customer base Disciplined use of the SDLC for all software project has yielded an average variance of less than 3% for both hours of effort and schedule days once a project is baselined at Design Complete (typically 4+ months between baseline and project complete) Simplicity DACI Chart and Process Roadmap communicate our project process and clarifies roles and responsibilities on project teams Keeping current and historical project documents such as a standard set of schedule reports, issues, and risks in a single repository in a standard structure allows managers and project team members to review status at any time Providing Project Management training gives team members clear expectations 41 41

42 Defect Improvements Product A Product B Product C 42**DRE – Defect Removal Efficiency (Critical and High Priority only) = Defects Found During Test / Defect Found During Test + Defects Found in Field 6 months post release 42

43 Improvement Case StudyStarting situation Year End Processing of payroll data for customers is an intense and important time of year Growth in this area caused concern for performance levels What we did Formed one integrated project team from primary affected stakeholders and identified sister departments and 3rd party vendors for input and review Formalized project plan to ensure deliverables on track Published a set of policies, deadlines, training, and roles and responsibilities to our customers to help with expectation setting Became more proactive much earlier in the process in cleaning data Established call campaigns based on data validations to help customers avoid last minute problems Cross-trained associates from other areas to take calls Support held daily management meetings to review prior day’s results

44 Improvement Case Study (Results)Between the 2006 and 2007 Year End Processing seasons More work 129% increase in number of clients 243% increase in number of forms processed 27% increase in number of calls Same or less staff Available staff decreased by 1 Same or better performance 35% decrease in Abandon Rate 6.7% decrease in Service Level Overall With 27% increase of calls, we decreased abandon calls by 35% and only a 6.7% decrease in service level

45 Next Steps in the Journey

46 Coming Soon Next evolution of test automation Integration of test tools and data SDLC to include more Agile methodology Business Process Improvement projects using Six Sigma’s DMAIC lifecycle

47 Summary Introduction to Sage Software and Employer Solutions What is Project Management? State of the Software Industry With and Without Process Components of How We Use Project Management Benefits Realized Next Steps in the Journey

48 Resources and Next Steps Next Steps: Define your way of performing project management, be consistent in its use, show others, feed improvement information back into the process Consider joining PMI and/or local chapter Consider continued development via courses, books, webinars, forums, etc.

49 Questions and Answers