The pci group offers multiple program management solutions designed to meet
your organization’s needs. These solutions have been carefully designed by seasoned professionals and tested in the field to prove their reliability and demonstrate their success. We feel these solutions and services represent the full complement required to meet all of your program management needs. The pci group prides itself on understanding your environment and tailoring solutions that will work for you.

1.   Planning & Scheduling

Project teams that plan and manage projects well finish on time and under budget more often. The discipline of planning and scheduling focuses on two dimensions of a project: scope and time.

The scope of a project includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. The major scope management processes include the following:

• Initiation
• Planning
• Definition
• Verification
• Change Control

These processes interact with each other and with the time management processes. Time management includes the processes required to ensure timely completion of the project. The major time management processes include the following:

• Activity Definition
• Activity Sequencing
• Activity Duration Estimating
• Schedule Development
• Schedule Control

The combined functions and processes associated with planning and scheduling contribute the greatest value to a project from the perspective of staying within scope and meeting schedule objectives. Without the discipline and application of solid planning and scheduling principles, projects can easily get out of control and drift off course.

Pci group project planners and schedulers are experienced and trained in the fundamentals and discipline of planning and controlling projects, and possess the experience of having planned a wide range of projects across multiple industries.

The pci group will help you remain competitive by providing skilled project planning and scheduling professionals to enhance the management and control of your projects. Your organization will benefit from the expertise of experienced professionals without the overhead of hiring a permanent employee.

2.   System Development

In today’s competitive environment, organizations understand the need to effectively manage their projects. Numerous companies have attempted to implement various elements of program management, such as scheduling software tools or establishing the position of project manager, only to realize minimal improvement in project performance. Most have reached a plateau in program management effectiveness. To reach the desired capability requires a focused effort to develop and implement a common, rigorous and effective program management system. Building, or selecting an effective system requires the thorough understanding of skilled program management practitioners. Most companies do not have the time or knowledge required to accomplish this internally. The pci group’s capability in Program Management Systems Development provides a means for your organization to greatly improve your program management capability in a very short time.

Implementation of a Program Management System benefits your organization’s ability to manage and control projects by providing the following:

• Common methodology for program management throughout your 
   organization

• Process based on industry "Best Practices" and the Project
   Management Institute Body of Knowledge ensuring proper
   application of program management principles

• Documented processes provide a basis for new employee training

• Ensure consistent, correct application of program management
   throughout your organization

• Provides consistency in format for documents, reports and data

• Easy to use tools and templates based on existing software applications

• Focal point for continuous improvement

The pci group can help you in selecting or developing the optimal program management system to meet your organization’s needs. Pci group consultants have broad experience in program management system design and are highly experienced in the latest techniques and software.

3.   Program Office

A Program Office is a company’s source of program management expertise and serves as the guardian of program management methods and standards, a central repository of program management tools, best practices and a process library. Through the Program Office, these components can be leveraged across your organization to gain significant increases in program management capability. Successful implementation of a Program Office is an important step in becoming a more efficient organization. The Program Office is comprised of three key elements:

1. Program Management Methodology & Processes

2. Program Management Tools & Templates

3. Program Management Organizational Structure

These elements, when effectively integrated and implemented can dramatically improve your organization’s capability and efficiency in managing projects at a divisional and corporate level. The implementation of Program Offices is one of pci’s many core competencies. With experienced professionals skilled in the development and implementation of Program Offices, pci has deployed several offices in multiple industries in record time and significantly increased the program management capability of those organizations.

4.   Project Execution

The success of a project depends largely on the skills and attributes of the project manager responsible for its execution. Organizations continue to become more project-focused, causing the demand for experienced project managers and coordinators to far outpace the available supply. Faced with the dilemma of finding qualified resources, organizations are looking outside of their own employee base for experienced project managers who can help them meet their project objectives. Pci Project Managers and Project Coordinators are highly skilled and trained in the fundamentals and discipline of project execution, and possess the experience of having managed a wide range of projects across multiple industries.

Professional project managers and coordinators offer the following benefits to your organization:

• Expertise in the discipline of program management

• Objectivity in terms of doing what’s right for the project  (no political
   agendas)

• Industry knowledge

• Fewer staffing peaks

• Reduced long-term overhead

The pci group will provide your organization with the right professionals to execute your project. Whether it is a systems implementation, a product launch or a network rollout, the deliverable will always be the same: enhanced project performance. Your organization benefits from the expertise of a professional, unbiased project manager, without the overhead of hiring a permanent employee.

5.   Program Management Support

Program management skills are needed in almost all of today’s business environments. Since organizations tend to have limited resources, many are looking outside of their own walls to supplement their staff in this critical area. The pci group will provide you with qualified resources to provide a full range of management support services. We can supplement your staff with project managers, project consultants, planners and schedulers, cost engineers and other program support personnel. By utilizing pci’s experienced professionals, your organization can concentrate on its own core competencies and still feel confident that your projects will be properly planned, managed and controlled.

The pci group will help you remain competitive by providing experienced management support resources to enhance your business operations and the management of your projects. Your organization benefits from the expertise of professionals without the overhead of hiring a permanent employee.

6.   Program Management Assessment

A Program Management Assessment (PMA) is a methodology used to determine an organization’s program management capability as measured against best practices in the industry. The pci group’s program management assessment is conducted by using a series of tools, consisting of surveys, interviews and document reviews which enable us to effectively and objectively determine your organization’s program management capability. The assessment results in findings in the areas of program management strategy, methods and procedures and program management professionalism.

The greatest value derived from a PMA effort is the establishment of a benchmark of program management capability for your organization and a corresponding action plan for enhancement to the desired level of maturity. With ever increasing pressure to maintain competitiveness in the marketplace, organizations are looking for ways to enhance their program management capabilities.  The pci group will help you take the first step towards reaching your strategic goals.

7.   Project Portfolio Management

Project Portfolio Management is a discipline and process used by executives and managers to ensure that the "right" things are being done and being done well. In order to achieve this vision, project portfolio management is organized around two major processes:

1. Choosing
 
2. Executing 

The "choosing" process consists largely of establishing the criteria and rules by which projects will be selected. The "executing" process focuses on the required steps to ensure that once projects are initiated, they are staying healthy and meeting expectations throughout their life cycle.  Project Portfolio Management helps accomplish 6 major objectives for organizations:

• Increases an organization's achievement of its objectives 

• Increases the return on investment on its projects and assets 

• Balances the distribution of projects 

• Provides the ability to prioritize projects 

• Balances project risk with project value 

• Provides the means for monitoring project portfolio health

Our solution is designed to provide organizations with the latest technology that enables them to make the "right" decisions about the projects they work on. Independent research organizations like the META Group, estimate that an organization can increase its return on investment by as much as 5 to 10 times and reduce existing IT cost by 25 to 30 percent in the first year, through the use of this solution.

Executives across industries, consistently report that an overriding concern is whether the projects in their portfolio are aligned with the objectives of the business. All too often, they are not. To make matters worse, in many cases, these executives have no way of knowing if these projects are bringing real value to the business.

Many organizations assume that if a project is on time and under budget, it is successful. But equating the notion of project success with its value to the organization is dangerous. One of the most difficult decisions to make is to "pull the plug" on a project that's progressing well, when you realize it is not an effective investment for the business. As difficult as this may be, it must be done if the interests of the business take priority. 

Project Portfolio Management is the key to "working on the right projects and doing projects right". The right combination of processes and information technology are the necessary ingredients for an effective solution.