We had a customer who needed to track some IT projects to see what their spending was going to be over the next few fiscal years. Their company-supplied tool was more complicated than they needed. They asked us for ideas, and we put together a Proof of Concept. Note: this customer also uses BMC Client Management, so for items such as “Upgrade all boxes running version XYZ of Software ABC,” we recommended pulling a report from BMC Client Management and attaching it to the project.
Why do it in Footprints?
Benefits of doing it in Footprints include:
- They already own the software and are familiar with it
- They can take advantage of Footprints features such as Approvals and Assignments
- They can use Footprints reporting
- It’s a very flexible tool that can meet a variety of needs
What did we do?
We created a Simple Project Management Workspace; here is how it looks with some data populated.
We kept the form pretty simple, but of course, more fields can be added if desired.
A key feature we added were dropdowns to add Tasks – which are basically the project costs. Select the type of Cost from the drop-down, put in a description and a cost (if applicable – we also had “Other” for needed activities, such as downloading documentation), and Save.
And, of course, we built a report to show what is upcoming – we did the report by Fiscal Year:
Possible future enhancements?
After talking to the customer, we would add a “Phase” field as well, so the deliverables could be done at different phases (maybe initiation, planning, development, deployment, close-down – something like that). Also talked about adding a link control for documentation, so all the relevant signoffs and release plans and business justifications, etc., could be attached or entered into the sub-item. We thought those items would be great additions!
Results?
We have an easy-to-use, flexible simple Project Management system in Footprints, which can help track what budgets are needed over the next few years. While no replacement for full project management tools, it may be useful for others as well. Contact RightStar if you want to have us help you build it!