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We regularly present webinars on the challenges inherent in delivering today’s complex projects and introducing the concept of Enterprise Project Controls.  We discuss how this approach supports improved planning and execution of projects across the entire enterprise.  During and following the webinars there is a large amount of participation from the attendees. We thought it would be useful to share some of the feedback we have received, as well as some of the most frequently asked questions.

Biggest Challenges in Project Controls
We often ask about the largest challenges that attendees are facing in their organizations.  We see a number of recurring themes including:

• Lack of Visibility: It’s difficult to get the essential information needed to effectively manage projects and programs such as being able to compare “the current project schedule or budget against the actual progress or expenditures.” People are looking for a “high level view of what’s going on across multiple entities, with filter views for different stakeholders.”

• Project Data Integration: Whether talking about Primavera P6, SAP or a laundry list of other key systems, the data is siloed, feeding into the visibility issue discussed above.  In many cases, the solution is ol’ reliable Microsoft Excel.  But the all of exporting and importing, consolidation, and collation of data is “exhausting” resulting in “TOO MANY SPREADSHEETS.”

• Gaining Management Support: Clearly the folks in the project trenches are feeling the pain. It can be difficult, however, to gain executive support to enact change to existing systems and tools. Specific concerns mentioned include how to “build the business case” to justify the costs of a non-Excel solution as well as appropriately funding the training necessary to fully realize the potential of a project controls investment.

With projects failing at an unacceptable rate, organizations need tools that improve visibility, establish accountability, and boost efficiency; that’s where EcoSys EPC can help.

Most Compelling

Given the above results, it’s not surprising that when asked about the the most compelling aspects of our webinar, the consensus involves the integration ability and flexibility of our EcoSys project controls software.

Integration capabilities within EcoSys allow you to leverage all of your existing sources of data, bringing together schedule, cost, and other project data. Using EcoSys as a single source of truth gives you greater accuracy and efficiency in reporting allowing you to make better decisions. Find more information on integration here.

In addition to being loaded with out of the box best practices for project controls, EcoSys also provides the flexibility for you to tailor the solution to fit your organization’s specific industry and internal requirements and best practices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the EcoSys mobile app available to iOS and Android?

A: Yes, our mobile app is both iOS and Android friendly! Learn more about the EcoSys Mobile App Platform here.

Q: Is EcoSys EPC a web based/installable software platform?

A: EcoSys is a modern, 100% web-based software platform, completely run on popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Firefox. Read more about the EcoSys technology & architecture here.

Q: Is it possible to use different currencies within the same project, and if so will the costs adjust to reflect the differences?

A: Multi-currency support is strength of EcoSys. The software supports multiple rate tables and can account for exchange rate fluctuations.  Transactions are captured in their native currency, but can be reported in a different project currency, and ultimately rolled up to yet another currency required for internal Financial reporting.

Q: Can you calculate progress achieved in different ways, e.g. Installed Quantity, man-hours?

A:  Yes, EcoSys has robust support for progress measurement.  Often times, progress may be captured in a different system like Scheduling or Engineering software.  In cases like these, this data can be integrated and used for for reporting and forecasting.  In other cases, progress is captured within EcoSys like the methods asked above, as well as many other built-in approaches.

If you have any suggestions for future webinar topics, or are interested in discussing the challenges faced by your organization, please feel free to reach out and let us know!