An enterprise Solution that grows with Coop

Coop was previously run on Project Online, but they started looking for a new solution.

Project Online had been cumbersome to use, with a complex project structure that demanded high skill from its users. It was difficult to ensure user adoption, and the performance wasn’t always smooth. So, a new solution had to solve this: it should be useable with a high-performance level.

Furthermore, Coop wanted a solution that could scale with the organization, starting out with the essentials and then developing according to new requirements or user demands.

Context& delivered

• A PPM solution that is tailored to Coop’s processes

• An intuitive user experience

• A sophisticated time registration system that simplifies time registration and reporting

• A flexible data platform

• New development and features, updated quarterly as part of the solution

”Because Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM) is a well-maintained solution, it means less support which makes Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM) a cheaper solution for us.”

But what really swayed the opinion was a Context& Hackathon where the organization spent a day challenging Projectum. This proved that it was possible to configure the solution quite easily; anything the project managers could think of the solution could do.

”At the end of the day, it was actually the project managers that pointed to Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM). They could see the value of using it – and it was a lot easier than Project Online.”

In the end, Coop invested in Time Tracking (formerly Time for Teams), Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM) along with the Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub).

A fully scalable PPM solution for input and output

Given the complex nature of Coop’s products and processes, it was vital to find a system that could handle these complexities and make it as simple as possible by presenting the right information to the right people at the right time.

So, during the implementation, the constant question was: what’s the minimal viable solution?

For Coop, it was internal finance that was the number one critical factor. Being able to register hours and stay on top of accounting was the basis for all other operations.

With that in place, the Gantt chart was essential for timelines, along with a need to administrate resources.

This simple setup was all that was included in the initial implementation. All subsequent features were user-driven. With the system being used, it was possible to identify where in the process a tool could support the necessary activities and provide insights.

Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM) supports the users

For Coop, the great thing about Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM) is that it’s built on the Microsoft platform. This means that users can work where they want, and Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM), along with the Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub), keeps track of data.

“With Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM), status, progress, and project information is much more updated – so our project managers can actually manage projects and not waste time on project administration.”

For the people that work in Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM), they find that the user interface is more intuitive, delivering the right insights with a stable performance.

“Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM) is a lot more intuitive, which makes it easier to introduce to the users – who then know how to use it! It a lot simpler – and a way better performance [than Microsoft Project Online]”

Any development to the features and capabilities of Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM) is user-driven, based on the actual needs of the organization. This means that employees feel like they have an influence on the system, making them more likely to engage.

Roadmaps are the way to go

Roadmaps are one of the key features for Coop. It almost replaces some of the more complex reports. Roadmaps give a full overview of projects and statuses – updated live.

It used to be that Coop would spend maybe a week gathering all the relevant data and information, cleaning it up, and visualizing it.

Now they just use roadmaps in Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM), right in the meeting to fuel their discussions and decisions. All the information is there, updated, and in the right format.

Full control of data with Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub)

Along with Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM), Coop also acquired the Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub) to keep track of data.

Coop wanted to reduce the amount of resource data that was updated manually as it carried a risk of human error.

With the Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub), all core data and changes are updated across all resources. Not only does it reduce error, but it also saves days of work.

With the Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub), Coop also has full ownership of their data. Especially the finance department takes advantage of being able to pull the relevant data through direct SQL queries.

The most common use is via Power BI, but data in Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub) is accessible and built for scalability, with historic data and trendlines available for analytics.

Coop also appreciates the inbuilt security in Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub), where you can only gain access through an active AD account, making it easier to control access.

“With Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub), we have full control of our data, and we can get the data we need in the format we want.”

Coop and Context& have a strong working relationship for almost 20 years, inspiring and pushing each other to develop better solutions for strategic portfolio management in organizations.

“Projectum xPM (formerly Power PPM) is fully scalable, so in the future, we’d like to adopt it for internal projects as well. It makes sense because the functionalities work on multiple levels and can be integrated to give us more information.”

Coop is also on a journey to mature their data strategy and get more insight from historical data with Data & Analytics (formerly Power Hub) and AI.

“We really like working with Projectum. There’s a good dialogue, and they give valuable insight as we work to strike the optimal balance between governance and a user-friendly experience. It’s about figuring out what’s right for us and the people in the organization, and Projectum really gets that.”