Internal project management system tracking commercial performance
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Sitec, a telecommunications-focused project management company, wanted to solve a problem; how to accurately track commercial performance of their long-term projects, to provide valuable foresight into whether estimated budgets would be exceeded?
We designed and built a mobile responsive web system to help track commercial spend all on ongoing and future projects; providing real time visibility & accountability over the estimated & actual costs of each client, project and site - highlighting any spending issues before they become a problem.
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During this project I was the sole designer, leading initial discovery and feature specification through to wireframes, prototyping and testing, high fidelity UI design and final developer handover.
Getting Started
The Client
Sitec Infrastructure Services is a dynamic, delivery-focused project management company who specialise in surveying, engineering, design and construction services across the telecommunication sector - providing end to end solutions for the UK’s mobile and fixed line network operators.
The Problem
Sitec undertake big projects spanning multiple years, because of this extended time frame and the complexity of their projects it can be difficult to keep track of expenditure - increasing the likelihood of going over budget. The external project management systems they had been using didn’t offer enough customisation for their specific needs, and so they needed a solution that could accommodate the multiple levels of information required to track the commercial performance of their projects accurately.
The Brief
They asked us to create a web platform to allow them to track the ongoing cost of projects - giving an overview and detailed breakdown of information at the client, project and job level, with key calculations of costs and variations. The system also needed to allow users to set up new projects quickly and with ease, along with the flexibility to edit them and add unexpected costs as they occurred. The focus was put on transparency and clarity of expected costs compared to the actual cost of the project in real time.
The Process
Identifying Existing Shortfalls
After exploring existing solutions the client had tried we saw that they lacked enough customisation to meet the clients needs - they wanted a tailored solution to fit them specifically, with a consideration for additional features and company wide use to fully automate their work processes.
Structuring the System
The initial focus of the wireframe process was to build in multiple levels, from the client all the way down into a specific job and the costs associated with it. This was essential in giving clarity of progress and a clear overview at each level to whoever was viewing the system, allowing them to quickly assess the status of each project without having to go into specific details.
With regular feedback from the client the designs were then iterated to incorporate the required information at each level. The complexity here was ensuring data on all pages fed into the section above, so that the overview of the entire business was reflective of each projects individual performance and every level in between - getting this wrong would have a detrimental effect on the business as the system would not be tracking commercial performance accurately.
Keeping it Simple
The data driven nature of the system meant that the UI needed to be clean and uncomplicated to present information to users as clearly as possible, allowing them to quickly identify the information they need. While no branding was supplied by the client we created a simple style guide in keeping with their existing brand colour scheme.
The Result
Sitec Project Management System
The Sitec Project Management System is a mobile responsive web system to help keep track of the commercial spend on Sitec's ongoing telecommunication projects. The system is intuitive and easy to use; providing real time visibility and accountability over estimated and actual costs of each site and project - to highlight issues before they become a problem.
How it Works
New clients are set up in the system with a company name, logo and contact details. Users can then add new projects to that client; with a project name and number, description, status, personnel involved from both companies and schedule information.
The project is comprised of a series of jobs; representing sites around the UK where work is being undertaken. After setting up a new job by adding a site ID and further scheduling information, a job template is selected - pulling through a list of set costs needed to complete the specific job type.
In the final level users can load client purchase orders, additional job costs that were not included in the job template, and unexpected additional costs - which are then reviewed by their manager and approved. Here they can also see an overview of the contract sum total and purchase order total with an estimated margin and actual margin - helping them track whether the job is coming in over or under budget throughout the process, rather than just at the end
Key Features
Live Project Cost Margins
The system gives an overall actual margin at the client, project and job and cost level - giving a clear indication of how each of these areas are impacting the company commercially and whether they have made or lost money from them.
This is displayed along with an estimated margin that was calculated at the start of the project - allowing Sitec to recognise not only where they are over or under performing, but by how much.
Transparent Overview of all Projects
Users are able to see an overview summary at all levels of the system - from total clients, projects & jobs and clients account totals in their dashboard, down to total sales and costs at both the project and job levels; giving them full visibility of each client they work with.
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These overviews also mean users are able to quickly access the information they need without having to delve down into complex lists of data.
Preset Job Templates
The system allows users to set up custom job templates with a set list of standardised costs associated with it - meaning new projects can be set up quickly and efficiently.
These templates can be managed and updated freely as new clients are won and the company undertakes a bigger variety of projects - and offers the flexibility that their original solution couldn't offer them.
Additional Cost Approval
When viewing a specific job the user can see a detailed breakdown of both standard costs and contract variations (unexpected costs) - this gives context to the actual margins shown in each overview and allows Sitec to understand the reasons why a project might have gone over budget.
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Within this functionality operatives are able to add a contract variation as they happen before their supervisor then accesses the system to approve them - streamlining an existing process that was time-consuming for both parties.
