People and processes in EPM implementation project

If you have been involved in an implementation project of Microsoft's Project Server as an EPM (Enterprise Project Management) solution you can probably imagine what awaits you in this post. It is all about people being parts of processes when working with Project Server.

From experience I can tell you that the installation of Microsoft Project Server - even including configuration and deployment - is only one major step in your implementation project. At least equally important is the training of the future users of all levels, from team members to top level executives. They must become aware of the level of transparency that is achieved when working with Project Server.

On one hand these training sessions will of course cover functionality of Microsoft Project Server in Project Web Access as well as Microsoft Project Professional. You might want to show the project managers how to work with enterprise resources or explain team members how to use timesheets. But on the other hand I would strongly recommend you to equally emphasize the company's strategic vision of future project (portfolio) management and the processes that will lead to that. New processes, processes that have been changed as well as processes that do not exist anymore. For example you will certainly have to come up with a new process for project initiation as you probably do not want permit everybody to create and save new projects to the Microsoft Project Server.

This of course means that working on the processes has to begin early on in the implementation project. Make sure you bring the right people to the table and have them talk about all the upsides and downsides of Enterprise Project Management and the impact the solution will have on the current processes. After all, you want the new processes to be widely acknowledged so these people should represent all the departments affected by the project. This however will likely make the definition of the processes more complex but will also result in a broader user acceptance.

Keep in mind: Even the greatest software will not help supporting your business if people do not work with it!