“Getting started is half the battle.” This well-known bit of wisdom accurately describes one of the biggest project planning challenges faced by government contractors (GovCons). If your team is stuck at the starting line, read on for tips to jumpstart your project planning and avoid common hurdles with best practices for project management (PM) using Unanet’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.
Common Challenges Can Block a Smooth Start
It can look like a long way to the finish line when your team members begin planning for a significant project. They may struggle with how to begin tackling a daunting number of tasks. For example:
- Preliminary planning by company leadership may not delineate who “owns” the project planning function in Unanet. Establishing this ownership avoids the confusion that results when responsibilities are unclear.
- PM responsibilities in a small or medium-sized GovCon can fall on an individual who is already juggling other duties. The person may lack the bandwidth to efficiently oversee the input of plans into Unanet for a sizeable project requiring many resources.
- Planning strategy may not clearly delineate whether a given activity is a PM function or a finance function. If the responsibility falls under finance, the PM must provide the appropriate inputs/data to the finance team.
Best Project Planning Practices Build a Foundation for Success
Unanet’s ERP software manages your company’s project financials in one system, including project planning activities that set your team up for accurate, efficient reporting. With Unanet, you can:
- Implement holistic planning. This bottom-up approach encompasses all areas of your company roster to ensure labor costs are fully planned, and utilization reports in Unanet accurately reflect reality. Resources should be planned out in their entirety to include indirect time and staff planning.
- Always plan non-billable time. Plan for holiday and paid time off (PTO), other indirect time, then focus in on billable hours.
- Monitor staff levels in real-time. Condition your planning grid with utilization level color coding to monitor over- or under-planned staffing as you work through the process.
- Ensure the whole team is in sync with PM on the execution/planned execution of project work vs. proposed hours per project. It is common for proposed hours to shift slightly once a contract is awarded and you need to execute. Ensure you are coordinating with your PM to update project plans in Unanet that reflect how you will truly execute with resources or planned resources for the future that reflect the most realistic expectations.
- Implement the Group Planning Concept. Unanet allows your team to plan many resources across a single code. Plan an entire team on one project or multiple people at once across a single project code in the planning grid to save time.
- Deal efficiently with T&M contractors or cost-plus subcontractors. If you have a large volume of time and materials (T&M) subcontractors or cost-plus subcontractors, set them up as subcontractor timesheet users in Unanet and plan them as a resource. This allows you to actively monitor their burn and hours on your project and refine as you go.
Populate People Forecasting in Less Time
Take planning to the next level with CAVU’s new ClickVue® Project Planning and Forecasting Accelerator tool, developed specifically to interact with Excel and Unanet’s Project Portfolio GovCon ERP. The tool allows easy entry of complete people forecasts in a matter of hours compared to days, weeks, and months. The accelerator takes an average of recent actuals in Unanet, including the accrual setup for PTO and holiday, to create an import file for project plans and indirect charging.
Populate forecast data in three steps:
- Set up preferences on the Configuration Page.
- Review output and make changes on the Preview Page before importing to Unanet.
- When the preview is satisfactory, save data on the Import Sheet and upload it into Unanet.
This process supports coordinated decision-making by your team and frees up time to focus on the critical thinking of project planning.
Find out how Unanet and ClickVue® can jumpstart your project planning and allocate the right amount of resources to lower costs and maximize results. Contact the GovCon experts at CAVU to schedule a free demonstration.