Sustainability of Enterprise Project Management

Sustainability is a critical element in the implementation of an Enterprise Project Management (EPM) system. It needs to be considered up front and significantly affects Total Cost of Ownership and User Adoption.

Sustainability has a number of facets:

• Select an Enterprise Project Management product that fits your technical infrastructure and IT support resources. Enterprise Project Management Client/server architectures have a higher cost of ownership than web based.  ASP or SAAS Enterprise Project Management solutions may be more acceptable to organizations looking to reduce the impact on IT resources.
• Select an Enterprise Project Management product with capabilities and usability that are appropriate for your maturity. Buying the product with the most “bells and whistles” often results in higher training costs. Complex Enterprise Project Management products often inhibit user adoption. Be realistic about your ability to use sophisticated techniques and look for a product that is tailorable to different user/role needs and with room for growth.
• Look for ways to reduce the maintenance of the Enterprise Project Management system data that is needed to maintain your project management solution.  When people first try to adopt project management they often go overboard on detail, consider building a broader and simpler picture of your enterprise. 
• Many organizations build project schedules that are too complex and then incur a high cost in sustaining them or do not have the resources to sustain them. Start with less detail and add more detail later in areas where it is justified. If you start with lots of detail it is harder to simplify it later.
• “Layer in” the deployment of the Enterprise Project Management system software’s capabilities. Identify capabilities that are simpler, but still have value, and deploy those initially. Once those are deployed move onto more complex capabilities.
• Integrate the Enterprise Project Management system software with other Enterprise systems (Finance and Accounting, Human Resources etc. as appropriate). Users should only have to enter data into a single system. Alternative technologies for integration have a significant impact on Total Cost of Ownership. Software products with an “integration layer”, APIs or that support SOA are probably going to be cheaper to maintain in the long term than those with less sophisticated technologies.
• Look to build value for a broader base of users and roles. Enterprise Project Management information supports decision making for many roles within the organization. Ensure they have access.
• Eliminate systems that are made redundant by your Enterprise Project Management system or incorporate and integrate them into the solution if necessary.

Sustainability is a little like product quality in that it can’t be added afterwards. You need to plan for it from the start.