Introduction  The methodology selected plays a major role in the successful completion of projects, especially those that are complex like ERP and CRM implementations. To ensure that goals are reached, deadlines are met, and resource utilization is done effectively, project management methodologies offer an organized approach to project management and execution. Choosing the appropriate approach and being aware of it can make all the difference for businesses making these kinds of big investments.  Project Management Methodologies Important for Success in Delivering Projects  Choosing the right project management methodology is crucial when starting a new project. Every company has a unique operating model that is influenced by its industry standards, procedures, and culture. Established organizations often have set ways to plan and execute their day-to-day activities, and new projects added throughout the year must align with these existing practices.  Implementing a new ERP or CRM system is particularly challenging as it imposes additional demands on the existing resources. Companies must recognize that such projects will add new tasks to their employees’ daily responsibilities. Hence, before initiating such implementation projects, it is essential for organizations to internally align with the respective teams involved. This ensures everyone is prepared for the additional workload, which includes collaborating with the implementation partner, gathering necessary data, and extensively testing the new system—all while ensuring regular tasks are not neglected.  Key Steps to Ensure Project Success  Ensuring that you and your partner are aligned and understand exactly what to expect during the project delivery phase.  – Companies should review their partner’s way of working and set a mindset that the success of the project does not solely depend on their partner but is a joint effort from both parties.  – This would be getting an understanding of all the phases that are involved in delivering a successfully project. i.e. from the Requirement gathering, Development, Testing, Go-Live.   – The CloudFronts methodology, which we will elaborate below, requires involvement from both parties. CloudFronts Methodology  At CloudFronts we follow a Hybrid methodology, where some part of the project is done in an iterative way and some in a linear method:  Kick-off  The kick-off meeting is one of the most crucial parts of the project. During this call, both parties align their way of working, establish key stakeholders from each side, and set up an escalation matrix. The teams are briefed on important milestones and the policies involved in project delivery.  Requirement Gathering  During the requirement gathering phase, conducting small demo sessions helps users understand what to expect from the system right from the start. This clarity is vital for setting the right expectations and ensuring user engagement.  Development  The development phase at CloudFronts is done iteratively. Modules are developed and shared with clients early for testing. This approach allows for constant validation from end users, increasing the chances of project success. Client feedback is incorporated in short cycles, ensuring users feel engaged and confident that their inputs are valued.  User Acceptance Testing (UAT)  User acceptance testing is conducted with a copy of the client’s production data, allowing users to test the system with familiar numbers and values. This familiarity helps users understand what to expect from the system during real tasks, making the transition smoother.  Go-Live and Post Go-Live Support  Once all UAT signoffs are received, changes are moved to production servers, and the system goes live. Post go-live, a week of support is provided, with regular calls to monitor system usage, ensuring the deployed system is being utilized to its full potential.  Ensuring Project Success  For a project to be successful, several key points must be communicated to clients:  – Raising Concerns in a Timely Manner: Promptly addressing issues helps prevent small problems from escalating.  – Being Clear on Expectations: Clear communication about what is expected from the system ensures alignment between the client and the implementation team.  – Covering Edge Case Scenarios: Ensuring that edge case scenarios are considered and tested prevents unexpected issues post go-live.  Conclusion  The project management methodology selected and the level of cooperation between the client and the implementation partner are critical factors in the success of an ERP or CRM implementation project. Through dedication to a methodical approach, clear communication, and active involvement of all relevant parties, organizations can considerably enhance their likelihood of achieving project success. Our hybrid methodology at CloudFronts, which combines linear and iterative approaches, guarantees that we meet the specific needs of our clients and deliver projects that propel business success.  We hope you found this article useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfronts.com  

In this post, I will talk about the importance of the Cash Position Report for any Professional Services Organization.  The Cash Position is your current and forecasted ‘Cash in Hand’. The importance of having Cash in your bank account cannot be emphasized enough. It is important to understand the difference between Cash Flow and Cash in Hand as they are not the same. An organization can have a solid cash flow (which is revenue tied up in Receivables), but without money in the bank, it cannot operate. Let me go into this further as it’s the foundation of our conversation here.  For any Professional Services organization, anywhere from 60 to 80% of the Monthly expenses are tied to Employee salaries. Paying salaries on time, every month is key to the organization’s credibility. Salaries need to happen on time, month after month, irrespective of your cash flow. They require cash on hand. In addition, any business planning, from HR Activities (a team lunch, an offsite meet) to Investing in the organization’s growth (new areas of business, developing expertise) also requires cash on hand.  One more topic that I need to mention is the current pandemic. Many Projects are delayed, cancelled or on hold. From a business standpoint, this kind of unforeseen event can put a tremendous strain on its ability to continue operations. But while the current pandemic is an extreme scenario, businesses constantly face challenges as we operate on a global level (2004 Tsunami, 2008 Financial Meltdown are some recently examples). Cash on Hand can mean the difference between survival and going out of business.  So we see that Cash on Hand is a Key Metric and hence should be reviewed regularly, ideally during a scheduled Management meeting on a recurring basis. At CloudFronts, we do this review every Monday morning. Our two and a half hour Monday morning Management meetings are literally run by numbers. Some of the Key Reports we review are Project Overview Report, Team Billable & Non-Billable Allocation Report, Support Metrics, Sales Pipeline, Outstanding Accounts Receivable Report, Forecasted AR Report, Cash Position Report. Each one of these is a PowerBI Report embedded into our Microsoft Teams Leadership Team Group.  So what is the Cash Position Report? I will start with a simple equation and then delve into the details –   Cash Position = Cash + AR – AP + Projected AR Now let’s walk through each of the Items in there and how we get that data – Cash on Hand – This is what is in your Bank Account when you run this Report (our report is updated every Monday morning before our weekly Management Meeting). We manually enter this data into the Report.  AR – AR is your Accounts Receivable which includes all Customer Invoices that are due this month and have not yet been paid. This includes overdue invoices carried forward from the previous month as well. If an Invoice is Paid, then it goes into Cash on Hand. Our AR data comes from Dynamics 365 PSA Contract Invoicing Schedule for both Fixed Bid and Time & Materials Projects. Our Contract Invoicing Schedule is the Single source of truth for all our Project Services Invoicing.  AP – AP is all Payables this month, including Salaries. It comes from our Accounting System which is currently QuickBooks Online.  Projected AR – Projected Accounts Receivable are any Invoices that we will generate this month and that will be due this month. This data also becomes from our Contract Invoicing Schedule. For Fixed Bid, this is based on the Contract Billing Milestones and for Time & Materials, this data comes from the Team Member Allocations.  At the top of the Report, you will see that the report is month wise. Hence as you move into the future months, you have less visibility into AR data, but rely on your Projected AR data. As you move into a month, the Projected AR starts becoming AR, which then becomes cash on hand and typically by the end of the month, Projected AR should be zero.  This Report gives the Management Team a clear visibility of the company’s Cash Position over a period of time. For us, we are looking at six months into the future, but organizations can easily set this up for longer periods. By reviewing it regularly, in a scheduled meeting, you ensure there are no surprises and you have time to react well in advance.  The benefits of such a report are further amplified when you consider its impact on our behaviour. During the pandemic, our No.1 priority has been to ensure we are a stable organization with the ability to operate through this pandemic. This report can give you that stability and allow you to stay productive and impact your team with a positive state of mind.  If you are keen on understanding more about our Internal Systems that keep us running and growing, our Internal Systems page is a wonderful resource – https://www.cloudfronts.in/our-internal-systems/ CloudFronts is one of the leading Microsoft Partners globally on implementing Professional Services Automation on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Platform. You can reach me on LinkedIn for any questions/queries or email me at ashah@cloudfronts.com

Problem Definition: I have observed a fact in PSA that when the task in PSA Schedule (WBS) is deleted, the corresponding Resource Requirement doesn’t get deleted. Hence, it keeps on appearing in the Schedule Board to allocate. Resource Managers face difficulties in order to understand whether to allocate them or not. Hence, it is a job of Project Manager to ensure they are not appearing on the Schedule Board to allocate. Solution: Following are the steps with which the Resource Managers can ensure they do their job end-to-end post the task is deleted from the Schedule (WBS). Step 1: Check in the Schedule Board in the Project Tab whether the task appears to schedule. If not, then the job is done. Else, do an advanced find on the Resource Requirement with the below-mentioned criteria shown in the screen shot. See the results of the Advanced Find shown below. Open the task from Advanced Find by Double Clicking on it and check the status of the task. Change the Status of the Task to Canceled and Save the form. The task will now not appear in the Resource Requirement. You are done with the solution. This blog reflects my personal findings and based solely on my experience of using PSA for last 3+ years. For those who are looking for a platform that can track and manage the entire procedures of sales and project managements, I would highly recommend them to try Microsoft dynamics 365 for project service automation.