Adopting an advanced project and portfolio management tool such as BrightWork 365 is only the first step to project management success.
Video demo: What you can do with BrightWork 365 to manage projects and portfolios
What you need next is to fully understand and leverage your PPM solution. A few good questions to ask after moving to a new PPM software are:
- Where do you start?
- Do you know your PPM solution well enough and can you train your team with the same?
- Can you customize this tool as per your work environment and requirements?
- What features of this tool can be your biggest strength?
- How would you like to evolve your PPM processes with this tool?
BrightWork 365 services can help you answer these questions and get maximum benefit from the BrightWork 365 PPM solution. The services are provided to you in three stages: Start, Support, and Evolve.
Start Service
The moment you start with BrightWork 365 as your project and portfolio management solution, you can choose the ‘Start’ deployment service. At BrightWork, we believe that a good start is more than half the work done. This is why, our customer success team ensures that you start clear and strong with the BrightWork 365 solution.
Our Approach – 3 D Deployment Process
Our Start service uses a 3D Deployment Process (Design, Deliver, Deploy), which is a clear, transparent, and practical change management process focused on your needs.
Design
This begins with our designated BrightWork 365 Customer Success Partner working with your senior project management sponsors to capture your organization’s project management vision, both short and long-term. The idea is to identify your organization’s project and portfolio management needs and where do you want to go with it.
Together we prioritize your requirements to determine which ones to include in Start (Iteration 1) and what should go in the Backlog (for later implementation), or what we like to call your Evolve Plan.
The BrightWork 365 Start Service provides for the design of templates to manage Projects, Programs and Portfolios (to deliver on senior management level visibility).
Deliver
This step of deployment consists of ‘configuring’ and ‘customization’. Your BrightWork 365 Customer Success Partner will work with you to configure the templates and build out the real projects for your team. This configuration can be done by your team or our solution development team.
At this stage, we encourage the key stakeholders to pause, review and provide feedback. We take the feedback and verify the template design before continuing.
This ensures the amount of project management process to be implemented is right for your current needs.
Your BrightWork 365 Customer Success Partner will prioritize this stakeholder feedback with you to determine which items are to be adjusted immediately or added to the Backlog for the Evolve Plan.
Certain customer requests will necessitate work beyond configuration and therefore deeper customization of the solution will be required. In these cases, BrightWork will work with you to deliver any customizations via an additional managed solution (i.e., the ‘customer solution’). The customer solution is installed on top of the BrightWork 365 managed solution.
Deploy
Deploying and leveraging a PPM solution successfully depends on how well you understand the tool. This is why we encourage you to invest your energies in training.
Your BrightWork 365 Customer Success Partner will work with you to design a role-based training plan that suits your project management processes so your group can start using the solution as soon as possible.
Click to learn more about BrightWork 365 Product Training Course here
Once you go live and start using BrightWork 365, your BrightWork 365 CSP will conduct feedback sessions with you and your teams after some initial usage to determine if some items need to be adjusted immediately and to agree with you on what should go on the Backlog (for the Evolve plan).
You and your BrightWork 365 CSP will check and formally declare all in-scope ‘Start’ deliverables achieved and will update the project management strategy that guides project management success.
Now, the step to create or update your project management strategy is extremely crucial. This isn’t about the technical requirements or resource allocation. This strategic thinking involves the assessment of:
- Value expected- business justification – what’s the value being delivered
- Value already delivered – initial capabilities and simplified request process in place and supported by the solution
- Next steps to expected value – review with the key stakeholders, design, and deliver in role-based training sessions
Your BrightWork 365 CSP will do a post-deployment check after a few months and will be available to you as needed in the interim. This will also help you mitigate any risks involved in the process.
Assistance provided during the Start service:
- Typically, 36 hours of assistance delivered over three to nine weeks. Of course, more hours maybe needed for certain customizations/extra templates, etc.
- Sparing use of time, giving you the opportunity to work in-between
Support Service
You’re not on your own after the ‘Start’ phase of deployment is over. The BrightWork Support Team is there to answer your questions, resolve issues, and ensure that your BrightWork 365 solution is running smoothly.
The team has in-depth knowledge of both BrightWork 365 and the Microsoft 365 platform and how the two can integrate to maximize your project management capabilities.
Our Approach – Project Management Health check
This is one of the critical components of your BrightWork 365 solution deployment. Your assigned CSP will analyze and evaluate your progress with the solution at this stage and make room for the requirements. The approach is divided into checking: Immediate Needs, Current State, and Desired State.
- Immediate Needs – This is the time to begin at the beginning, and ask the most basic how-to questions. You can bring any kind of doubts or issues you have about getting used to your brand-new project management tool.
- Current State – What’s the current state of your projects and portfolios and how are you looking to manage them with the help of BrightWork 365 in integration with Microsoft 365? Your CSP will help you increase your efficiencies so you can achieve greater project management success with the same resources.
- Desired State – Lastly, your CSP will discuss where do you want to go next in terms of project management success? What business goals do you wish to accomplish with an efficient portfolio, program, and project management? This gives us a roadmap of your ‘Evolve’ plan.
Assistance provided during the Support service:
You can log tickets via our online support portal.
The assigned team member will collaborate with you to define, scope, analyze, and assist in the delivery of a solution. This can include a direct call, email, chat, or an online resource.
Customers can also access product information, training resources, and more from the BrightWork 365 Knowledge Base at any time.
Evolve Service
Evolve is the more advanced stage of assistance. This is where the BrightWork customer success partner, or even a team assists you in continuously improving your implementation of the BrightWork 365 solution.
The common objectives that the Evolve service wants to meet for you are:
- Implementing the backlog from the Evolve Plan developed during your initial deployment, and integrating the additions and changes.
- Maturing the project and portfolio management processes in your organization.
Our Approach – Reassess and continue the 3-D (Design, Deliver, Deploy) process
Your dedicated CSP will continue to work with your project teams and leaders to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Brightwork 365 solution. We suggest you connect us with a project champion from your organization who will be our point of contact for this deployment and assessment journey. Your CSP, along with your project champion will continue to evaluate the performance of the solution and allow for alterations if the projects need so.
Assistance provided during the Evolve service
As part of your Evolve Service, you can pick from a number of services, as needed, including:
- Bi-weekly check-ins and on the job project management coaching – meet with your Customer Success Partner on a schedule to get your questions answered and project management guidance.
- Product Training – we’ll help onboard new team members using BrightWork 365 or provide more advanced training for those more involved in the deployment.
- Continue work on your Project Management Strategy
- Help with 3D Deployment (Design, Deliver, Deploy) to deliver the next phases of your Evolve Plan.
- BrightWork 365 Solution Upgrade – ensure your team continues to leverage new features in every new release of BrightWork 365.
- More reporting enhancements with Power BI – we’ll customize and develop Power BI solutions to integrate with your enterprise data and reporting needs.
- Extra Process Automation with Power Apps and Power Automate – we’ll help you automate your business processes in Microsoft 365 and the Power Platform.
- Project Management Process Coaching and Mentoring for your team.
- Personal and Collaborative Leadership Training – Develop the leadership skills and insights needed for project and team management. This course is based on the Collaborative Project Management Handbook written by BrightWork CEO Éamonn McGuinness
Any further backlog ideas that arise during the progress of your projects will be added to your custom Evolve plan. They will also be included in your Project Management Success Strategy document for use in subsequent iterations.
Be rest assured, BrightWork 365 customer success team is with you every step of the way in your project and portfolio management success journey.
