1. COLLABORATE 12 Copyright ©2012 by Steve Kelly Page 1
Follow the Money of your Project and See Into the Future
Steve Kelly
Pro Management Systems, Inc.
Introduction — We are not “non-profit” organizations and therefore understanding where a projects stands monetarily at any point in time is very important.
Pro Management has been consulting and implementing Primavera products for over 20 years and has a vast knowledge of business as well as the tools. We
have seen many organizations around the world frustrated that they can not accurately see project costs and potential cost overruns. The tools are available and in
many cases they have been installed – but without proper business understanding and tool knowledge these tools many times either just sit on the shelf or are
very underutilized.
“Show me the money.” Is a famous phrase by Tom Cruise from the movie Jerry Maguire. That phrase is applicable in the world of projects as well. There is a
huge difference between your Accounting or ERP systems and your project management or project cost system. It is easy for a system to show historical
information on a project but we need a system that can look intelligently into the future to allow us to make timely correct decisions. Oracle Primavera Contract
Management allows us to look into the crystal ball and see where we need to spend our time and resources.
The Cost Worksheet is the center of understanding and monitoring project costs from all directions. This is power of Oracle Primavera Contract Management and
it is not a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are the most used and most unaccountable tool in the business. Spreadsheets should be eliminated from project cost
management at the very least.
Conclusion — Understanding your monetary position at any point in time can help management make correct and timely decisions.