VIVA has in place a Project Management Information System (PMIS), which is a part of its quality management system (QMS) framework, and which has been developed in accordance with the guidelines of Project Management Institute's (PMI) PMBOK version 4, ISO 9001:2015 and CMU — SEI's CMMI V1.2 ML 3 (Staged Representation) for software development guidelines.
VIVA has in place a Project Management Information System (PMIS), which is a part of its quality management system (QMS) framework, and which has been developed in accordance with the guidelines of Project Management Institute's (PMI) PMBOK version 4, ISO 9001:2015 and CMU — SEI's CMMI V1.2 ML 3 (Staged Representation) for software development guidelines.
The PMIS contains comprehensive work-flow processes, associated tools, and artifacts to facilitate the pertinent organizational personnel to perform various project management activities in the pre-initiation, initiation, plan, execution, monitor, control, and operations and maintenance phases.
The PMIS includes a Project Portfolio Management (PPM), an in-house project program and portfolio management tool that has been developed using Microsoft (MS) .NET framework and MS SQL Server, and a financial management System (FMS). PMIS helps the users to manage project, program, and portfolio activities such as requirements, traceability, change, risk, quality, metrics, resources, timesheet, schedule, work-flow/reporting standards compliance, financial and procurement management. This system has been designed to work in conformity with the prevailing universally practiced project, program, portfolio, procurement and financial management domain guidelines, and is constantly evolving to be in line with the changes that are happening in these domains.
The PMIS has detailed guidelines pertaining to the earned value management (EVM). In the planning process, Portfolio/Program/Project/Finance/Technical/Process Managers develop Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), Organizational Breakdown Structures (OBS), Budgets, Schedules, Control Account (CA) Plans, and other artifacts necessary to establish Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) based upon contract requirements. Work packages (WP) and unique identification numbers are assigned to various organizational units involved in the assignment. Necessary information is captured and stored so that pertinent organizational personnel can analyze the data as the project progresses.
Cost-capture work-flow processes described in the PMIS ensure that all cost data are entered into the FMS and PPM and made available for the pertinent organizational personnel. Typically, the project personnel use hours as the “budget currency” and derive schedule and budget variances based on the progress towards schedule completion and total hours used. Schedule progress is captured and maintained in the PPM.
Reports are generated on a monthly basis to review project progress. Variances are examined. When variances exceed established tolerances (±5%), formal analysis is conducted. When warranted, corrective action plans are created to ensure a return to established norms.
Estimates to Complete (ETC) are updated on a monthly basis based on project progress, current performance, and an understanding of the current risk scenarios in the project.
The PMIS contains comprehensive change control procedures. All baselined elements (scope, schedule, budget, and PMB) are kept under configuration control and supervised by the project Change Control Board (CCB), which includes members of VIVA and the client agency. Project progress and expenditure data are also monitored, and any changes made are elaborately documented in change logs. The CCB reviews these logs on a regular basis to ensure the integrity of the process by verifying that the procedures are fully complied with.
A schematic representation of the PMIS is depicted below.
VIVA has conducted a mapping of its project management guidelines in the QMS according to the 10 core ANSI/EIA 748A guidelines using the format found in the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Program Management Systems Committee (PMSC) ANSI/EIA-748-A Standard for Earned Value Management Systems Intent Guide (Intent Guide), dated November 2006. The following sections provide a description of how these project management guidelines comply with each of the 10 core guidelines.
ANSI Guideline 1
Define the authorized work elements for the program. A WBS tailored for effective management control is commonly used.
ANSI Guideline 2
Identify the program organizational structure, including the major subcontractors, and define the organizational elements in which work will be planned and controlled.
ANSI Guideline 3
Provide for the integration of the company’s planning, scheduling, budgeting, work authorization, and cost accumulation processes with each other and as appropriate, with the program WBS and the program organizational structure.
ANSI Guideline 6
Schedule the authorized work in a manner that describes the sequence of work and identifies task interdependencies necessary to meet the requirements of the program.
ANSI Guideline 7
Identify physical products, milestones, performance goals, or other indicators that will be used to measure progress.
ANSI Guideline 8
Establish and maintain a time-phased budget baseline at the control account level, against which program performance can be measured. On government contracts, if an over-target baseline is used for performance measurement reporting purposes, prior notification must be provided to the client.
ANSI Guideline 16
Record direct costs in a manner consistent with the budgets in a formal system controlled by the general books of account.
ANSI Guideline 22
On a monthly basis, generate the following information at the control account level for management control using actual cost data from the accounting system:
- Comparison of the amount of planned budget and the amount of budget earned for work accomplished. This provides the schedule variance.
- Comparison of the amount of the budget earned with the actual direct costs for the same work. This provides the cost variance.
ANSI Guideline 27
Develop revised estimates of cost at completion based on performance to date, commitment values for material, and estimates for future conditions. Compare this information with the performance measurement baseline to identify variances at completion.
ANSI Guideline 28
Incorporate authorized changes in a timely manner, recording the effects of such changes in budgets and schedules. In the directed effort prior to negotiation of a change, base such revisions on the amount estimated and budgeted to the program organizations.