A revolutionary suite of software that seamlessly merges project governance with project management has just been launched in South Africa. This unique attribute is complimented by the software's international standards-based design, which provides users with a holistic view of all current projects and initiatives, ensuring strategic and operational alignment.
The Cardinis Suite, which is distributed, implemented and supported locally by Bateleur Software, is described by Bateleur's Project Portfolio Management Business Unit Manager, Grant Fourie, as “visionary”.
He explains: “Project governance concerns itself with corporate vision and strategy, setting programme and project policies and procedures, in addition to aligning the project portfolio with high level strategies, while project management addresses the planning and proper execution of approved projects.
“Executives charged with ensuring project governance, usually at the levels of project portfolio or programme management, need to monitor the overall budget and schedule, set quality standards, prioritise and approve projects, initiatives and programmes. The project managers are left to do what project managers do best - manage assigned projects, that is, the scope and quality of the projects, within the approved budget and schedule.
“However, historically, all the day-to-day operational knowledge about ongoing projects has resided with the project managers, which means that any executives concerned with project governance can only do their jobs when they are debriefed by the project managers.
“If the debrief occurs infrequently or does not provide sufficient detail, this can lead to situations where projects do not meet with corporate goals and objectives, or result in a loss of benefits - an undesirable outcome to say the least.
“The Cardinis Suite brings these two very necessary disciplines - project governance and project management - together in a manner that allows executives charged with governance to define, build and manipulate multiple scenarios, and then initiate projects based on those deemed favourable by flowing the scenarios and initiatives down into project plans, complete with work breakdown structures (WBS), which drive all subsequent planning activities.
“This seamless integration, together with built in workflow and policy process mapping capabilities and the ability to track programme benefits, means that senior managers can assign projects, set high level budgets and timelines, and see what is happening on a 'roll-up' basis without waiting for an update or debrief from project managers. With Cardinis Suite, all planning can be conducted either top-down, from a project portfolio management and programme management perspective, or bottom-up from a project management perspective, using the work breakdown structure as the base tool for planning.
“I am certain that with South Africa's strong focus on ITC and business governance, Cardinis will prove to be a valuable and worthy addition to any company's software toolbox,” he said.
In summary, the Cardinis Suite strengths include:
* Business scenario and goal management
* Project management integrated with business scenarios
* Project initiation processes to support project start-up
* Project and initiative portfolio management
* Multi-project and programme environment
* Project management processes modelled and executed on the Project Management
Body of Knowledge and International Organisation for Standardisation standards, as well as the Prince II methodology
* Workflow for creating programme and project processes and enforcing policies and procedures
* Project scope management (WBS drives all planning)
* PSO (project support office)
* Reference models (templates) for standardisation and reuse
* Macro scheduling and two micro scheduling levels: project manager and team members
* Baseline and change management including version control
* Integrated project document management
* Earned value management
* Enterprise portal and port-let library
* Enterprise reporting
* Product is enhanced based on close collaboration with market researchers from Gartner Group and Forrester Research
Cardinis Suite is represented on the Gartner Magic Quadrant.
For more information on the Cardinis Suite, please contact Grant Fourie from Bateleur Software on +27 83 413 2326 or +27 (11) 691-1600.
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