Johannesburg, 12 Dec 2017
Short-term insurance advisor, PSG Insure, has successfully deployed Project Portfolio Office's PPO, a locally developed online project portfolio management (PPM) and collaboration software suite, meeting its fast-maturing business needs.
PSG Insure is one of the three divisions of PSG Konsult, a leading independent financial services group, with an extensive South African footprint and representation in both Namibia and Mauritius. In operation for almost 20 years, the business' insurance division has grown substantially due to its tailored and niche solution offering.
"Our personalised service, catering to the commercial needs of a wide scope of industries as well as individual requirements, has given rise to more than 110 projects taking place at the same time," notes Zach Fuchs, chief project officer at PSG Insure. "Some may still be in concept phase whilst others are at execution level. It remains important to us to have a consolidated view of all projects as well as an accurate understanding of our resources."
He highlights that it was, in particular, the realistic view of projects that PPO makes possible that swayed the project office to implement the online project management tool. "To have a standardised view of our entire project portfolio empowers our resources to have greater control over their responsibilities and reporting, as well as any risks. Everything is managed from one central platform, benefitting not only the project manager, but the organisation as a whole," continues Fuchs.
"Further, it will, once maturity has been reached, allow for real time insight into how the business manages its resources. Our plan for the future is to utilise PPO's capability to illustrate an accurate calculation of time spent on project management, an understanding if adequate resources are available, and what risks business may face - all valuable management tools for not only the project office, but also exco, supporting them in meeting overall business objectives."
PPO's flexibility around subscriptions, as well as its scalability around number of users, is also of benefit to PSG Insure. "As a cloud-based project management tool, PPO subscriptions can be scaled up or down, depending on our needs at that time. The ability to configure the software to meet our requirements and methodology is also incredibly valuable," adds Fuchs.
He elaborates that PPO's project management tool has enhanced the internal approach to projects by establishing a standardised portfolio representation, which has a direct influence on successful project delivery, improving project maturity.
"Top management buy in-has been beneficial, as well as an excellent adoption of the project management tool by the entire project team. It also helps that PPO is simple and easy to use, with continuous feedback and support received, as well as professionalism experienced from the entire PPO team," says Fuchs.
"It continues to be a fruitful journey for both PSG Insure and PPO, as we adapt to meet the client's changing needs in order to influence the greater business as a whole," concludes Guy Jelley, CEO and co-founder of Project Portfolio Office. "PPO's assistance is providing greater visibility around PSG Insure's projects, and the related clarity in decision making, is something that we will see reaching new heights as the maturity within this environment grows."
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