Multi-user central respository

Waypoint^®operates in a File / Server environment with all project information contained in a central repository. Waypoint^® application resides on the client workstation and interfaces with the database engine on the Server to maximise efficiency at both the client and server ends. Having one central repository means that all information is available in real-time to all members of the project team, and can be reviewed by Project managers and senior management as needed.

> 100 reports with comprehensive selection and filter facilities

Waypoint^®provides the ability to report on any aspect of a project or any group of projects.  Extensive selection and filter capabilities are provided to enable Project Managers and others to review related projects or only projects of specific interest, for example all projects for a specific customer, or all projects managed by a specific project manager etc. All reports are firstly displayed on the screen and can be displayed in full screen mode for maximum efficiency. The reports can be printed in their entirety or only specified pages printed.  Reports can also be saved to file or emailed to external recipients.

Project Information is table driven

Wherever possible Waypoint^® uses tables to enter, store and report on project and project-related information. Tables are setup by the Waypoint^® administrator and can be reviewed by users. The tables allow the organisation to define and build its “organisation language”, similar to a language dictionary. Each word or term can be defined and its specific meaning within the organisation described as fully as needed.  This not only facilitates the entry of information for a project but ensures consistency in the use of standard terms and terminology within the organisation.   In this way, Waypoint^® can be implemented to manage any variety of projects for different organisations.

SmartSearch™ Selection

In almost every case, when information is required from Waypoint^® it is presented in table form. Waypoint^® uses a unique SmartSearch™ Selection facility to intelligently identify only that information specifically needed for the user and related to that specific table requirement. In this way only a few entries are displayed instead of dozens. This significantly speeds up searching and selecting the required entry. In some cases the selection criteria can be specified by the user dynamically, further speeding up searching and selection.

Microsoft Project Interface

Waypoint^® interfaces seamlessly to Microsoft Project. Project Managers can output the information for one project or a range of projects, with or without project stage information. Once the project information is in Microsoft Project a variety of charts such as timelines, Gantt charts etc. can be produced for additional documentation and review requirements.

Project structure

Waypoint^® allows project managers to group projects into a program facilitating reviewing and reporting at a Program level as well as at an individual project level.  The structure of Waypoint is therefore a three-tier structure of Program, Project and Project Stage. Waypoint^® does not cater for task level analyses, however, the interface to MS Project allows a Waypoint^® project to be exported to MS Project for task level management. Waypoint^® is designed as a projects management system providing management information (both horizontally and vertically) across multiple projects

Program plans

At the commencement of any major undertaking high level analyses is normally carried out to determine overall scope. Waypoint^® allows project managers to plan Programs at high level for scoping purposes – usually to work out overall time scales and work involved.  Once the program of work is approved, Waypoint^® can automatically generate the base projects from the program plan utilising user-defined defaults.

Workgroup responsibility for Projects

Waypoint^® allows for two levels of responsibility to be allocated for Projects. At the Project level Workgroups can be allocated responsibility for one or more Projects, and thus all the Project Stages within those Projects. At the Project Stage level a Workgroup can be allocated responsibility for a stage within a Project, even though overall responsibility for that Project may be with another Workgroup.

Workgroup Relationship and Hierarchy Reporting facilities

Waypoint^® allows the organisation to record the relationships between Workgroups including the Workgroup hierarchy, and then select and / or report on the Workgroup including its dependencies. For example the Workgroup IS Infrastructure may have three other Workgroups, “Servers”, “Networks” and “Desktops” as part of its organisation structure. If a user selects “IS Infrastructure” as a reporting / query level Waypoint^® will automatically include “Servers”, “Networks”, and “Desktops” in the selection. The hierarchy can be multi-level e.g. “Desktops” could have “Hardware Support” and Software Support” reporting to it.

Pseudo- workgroup hierarchies can also be setup to facilitate selection and review. For example a manager could setup a Workgroup called “LAN/WAN” consisting of just “Servers” and “Networks”, then carry out a range of reporting on the Workgroup “LAN/WAN”.

Project Information and automatic project scope documentation

Waypoint^® provides the ability to display and print all Project Scope documentation in conformance with ISO 14000 standards. The documentation can be reviewed either on screen or in hard copy format for approval by all relevant management before the project gets underway.  The following information can be captured and reported upon for any project:

All registers are database resident not attached as word documents.

Notes

Waypoint^® allows any number of general notes to be collected for any project. Notes may be entered against the project in general or tied to specific project stages.  Notes for any specific project stage may be reviewed separately in the Project Stage function.

Automatic Notification of Project Issues / Actions Responsibility

Whenever any Project Issues and Actions are specified and a resource given responsibility for carrying out the Action and resolving the Issue, Waypoint^® can automatically notify the assigned person via e-mail, ensuring he or she is aware of their responsibility. If the responsibility changes Waypoint^® will notify both the person unassigned as well as the new person responsible.

Role & Resource allocation at Project & stage level

Waypoint^® provides the ability to identify and record all the required roles & resources for a project at both the project level (e.g. Project Manager, Project Sponsor) and for each project stage. Estimates of the hours required can be specified against roles and then the available resources able to fill those roles can be allocated at Project and stage level, also with individual time estimates. This allows unallocated time to be easily identified.

Extensive Budget & Actual Costing

Waypoint^® provides a wide range of budget estimating facilities. Cost estimates can be recorded for all and any range of costs for a project with specific expense tables setup for the organisation and / or project. Labour costs are automatically calculated based on hourly rates which can be specified for each resource – employee or contractor. As actual costs are incurred they can be recorded in Waypoint^® and variances shown automatically. The actual costs of labour are automatically calculated based on timesheet entries and the variances shown against estimated times for the project.

Unallocated time is costed according to a system default for each implementation of Waypoint^®.

Waypoint^® also allows organisations to enter charge-out rates against each resource. Calculations of resource cost versus charge-out or billable costs can be performed automatically on a project basis and reported at any level across the enterprise.  Labour cost and charge-out rates can be changed and a historic record preserved to ensure accurate historic recording.

Link Projects to Business Objectives

With hundreds of projects current at any one time in a typical organisation, justifying projects can be a daunting task. Waypoint^® provides the ability to link projects to the business objectives of the organisation enabling management to see what projects are required to support / achieve their business objectives. This facility, together with the extensive budgeting facilities enables management to see and justify projects based on the cost justification against the return on investment from the achievement of the business objectives.

Project Approval / Baseline

At project approval Waypoint^® locks certain information so that it can be used as a baseline during the project lifecycle. Areas where pre-approval information is locked include project budgets, assumptions, risks, notes, business impact, inclusions and exclusions. In this way any changes to the parameters of the project can be reviewed against the baseline to gauge the extent of the changes and likely implications of those changes.

Timesheet Facility

Waypoint^® provides a simple yet powerful timesheet facility for all resources allocated to projects to record the actual time spent on any project. As the person records his / her time only those projects and / or stages to which he/she is allocated are displayed and checked. A notepad facility is also provided so that people can record notes against each timesheet entry. Supervisors and Managers can review their team’s timesheets for accuracy and completeness. The timesheet can be printed for hard copy documentation, with facilities for approving contractors’ timesheets before payment is authorised.

Resources Skill Inventory

Waypoint^® provides a complete skills inventory for all employees and contractors, identifying the various roles that each of them can fulfil for a project. In addition a list of resources with a particular skill can be identified and then their availability checked before allocating them to a project. Additional information about each resource and their particular skill can be recorded such as the type of qualification or experience to substantiate the specified role for that person. 

Vendor Capabilities Directory

Waypoint^® provides the ability to record complete capabilities for all vendors or suppliers to an organisation. Such capabilities can include: specialist contracting staff, suppliers of specific products or services, training organisations, accreditation, and the like. In addition all vendors who can supply a particular capability can be displayed along with information regarding their specific abilities to provide such a capability.

Project Relationship & Dependency Facilities

Projects can be linked to show the relationship of one project to another e.g. one project is dependent on the outcome of another. Using this information Waypoint^® can then build and report on the entire chain of dependencies so that project managers can see all the projects that are dependent on another project.

Resource Workload Analysis

Finding available (and scarce) resources for a project is a frustrating and time-consuming task for Project Managers. Waypoint^® facilitates this by providing the ability to carry out analysis of resource workloads, identifying those resources that already heavily allocated to projects and thus being able to allocate those who aren’t.

Extensive Project Review Facilities

A key factor in the success of any project is the ability to carry out regular project reviews, monthly, weekly or even daily if necessary. The logistics or doing this are enormous as are the requirements to document the outcomes of each review and then disseminate that information to everyone – project team members, senior management, etc. Waypoint^® facilitates this by providing a range of Project Review facilities. Projects can displayed and reviewed based on any number of selection criteria including:

Within this selection each project can be selected, the current information regarding the project recorded and any additional information added. Once the review is complete information about all the related projects is instantly available to everyone or it can be printed and distributed as needed.