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Client Situation

Dennis Callahan, CIO of Guardian, was facing significant challenges regarding their IT spending. He wanted answers to the following critical questions:

• Where is time being spent across the IT organization?
• Are resource investments aligned with corporate priorities and strategies?
• What is the status of the product development schedules? Which projects are at special risk?
• Are critical resources overloaded? Which ones? When? On what projects?
• What is the overall work capacity of the organization? Can we take on new projects?
• Which projects should we do in order to support corporate priorities?
• What is the best way to allocate resources to maintain schedules and maximize overall portfolio performance?

Guardian engaged Pinnacle to implement an Enterprise Project Management (EPM) solution to gain visibility into all their software development projects, including new product development, maintenance of existing systems and ongoing support efforts.

With Pinnacle help they were able to realize a $4M saving in their first year of implementation and forecast substantial ongoing savings and improved project delivery.

Pinnacle Approach

Pinnacle conducted a "fast-track" assessment project, interviewing key staff and managers across the organization. We examined the systems and procedures supporting the program and project management functions, comparing them against best practices for Enterprise Project Management and Project Portfolio Management. We reported our findings and recommendations, including a number of "quick hits" along with a longer-term strategy for improvement.

Among other things, we recommended that the company strengthen the central Program Management Organization (PMO) and implement a standard information system architecture and toolset based on Primavera P6. We developed a phased implementation plan aligned with the organization's maturity and the pace of change it could absorb.

It was important to establish a solid foundation so we focused on the following activities:

• Introduced best practices to consistently plan, document, and control project work
• Deliver comprehensive training on
  • Project management skills
  • Role based Primavera P6 contextual training
  • Soft Project Management skills training including; leadership, negotiation, conflict resolution, etc. 
• Implement Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Management software as a corporate standard and integrate it with corporate reporting and financial systems 
• Improve management and audit reporting

Results Achieved

Guardian reports that they are very pleased with our ability to identify the key organizational and systems issues so quickly. Working with Pinnacle, they have a well structured plan for improvement and a partner to provide the necessary skills and experience. They have successfully implemented Primavera P6 providing valuable insight into real-time status of all projects, availability of resources, spending over-runs, non project work and the establishment of best practices. This enabled them to address the critical issues mentioned above and realize considerable savings.

According to Rick Omartian, Chief of Staff and CFO of the IT group, Guardian has achieved dramatic results:

• Reduced IT maintenance spending by 15% and redirected those funds to other strategic development initiatives.
• Seen a reduction in the overall IT expense by $4M in the first year.
• In the second year, they realized savings in their IT budget of $9M.
• Before the implementation, 50% of their projects missed major milestones now 90% are on time!

About Guardian

Founded in 1860, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY (Guardian) is the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States. As of December 31, 2006, Guardian had $40.7 billion in assets. With more than 5,000 employees and 2,900 financial representatives, as well as over 80 agencies nationwide, Guardian and its subsidiaries protect individuals, businesses and their employees with life, disability, health and dental insurance products, and offer 401(k), financial products and trust services.