PMOmanager™ and IV&V Lite™

Staying on top of numerous mid-sized and large technology projects involving multiple consultants or contractors with a limited project team comprised of internal staff is a formidable endeavor indeed. These resources are usually working on several tasks and do not have the bandwidth to address the details of each project nor do they have visibility into the overarching goals and objectives of the program or organization. It is also very difficult for them to understand the subtle nuances of each project and to be able to re-assign risk back to the consultants and contractors who, oftentimes, are motivated and skilled at placing the majority of risk with the owners of the project. Problems also arise from employee churn within the organization. There is limited management continuity and much of the intellectual property and history of management decisions walk out the door when the individual manager leaves. Standing up and managing a Project Management Office (PMO) is equally as complicated and just as daunting—beginning with the initial phase itself of justifying the concept, developing the business case, and making the pitch for the PMO. This is just the beginning, and many organizations continue to grapple with the challenges of planning for the PMO, actually implementing it, and ultimately managing it. Also, while the proven benefits are immense; enhancing resource optimization, completing more projects on-time, and increasing delivery speeds by integrating resource planning with project execution, adding the necessary project portfolio management (PPM) technology to the mix makes things a little more complicated.

KG2 Consulting understands the problems with a PMO and those associated with managing multiple programs with their numerous associated projects or, for that matter, several projects with any number of tasks. With over 30 years of combined consulting experience for the Federal government and the private sector, our Managing Partners are ideally prepared to provide their services as a solution to these challenges. We have perfected delivery frameworks and approaches that include our PMOmanager™ (www.pmomgr.com), and as a substitute to the traditional ‘independent verification and validation’ (IV&V) approach, we have developed what we are branding as 'IV&V Lite™.'

What is IV&V Lite™?

This is a slightly less rigorous, much less expensive ‘independent verification and validation’ process that ensures the outcome, results, and deliverables of the program or project meet your expectations and that any deviations are identified early in the process when it is much less expensive to take corrective action. As your trusted advisors, we will leverage our perspectives of both sides of the equation, that of the government and of the consultant or contractor, to provide you with an independent assessment of the status and management of the program or project. Outside of potentially conflicting organizational agendas and ‘political’ motivations, our objective is to identify, document and brief you of any perceived areas of program or project weakness and/or risk, and to provide you and your team with recommendations for their remediation and/or mitigation.

In direct support of a PMO or as an owner-centric instrument for PMO oversight, our KG2 delivery framework (PMOmanager™) and methodology for ‘IV&V Lite™’ is designed to facilitate early detection and addressing of issues; enhance management insight into program and project risks; and report on compliance with your project performance, schedule, and budget requirements. It is not intended to replace your project management office (PMO) initiatives, nor do we mean to add another organizational or reporting level, but rather to augment your in-house project management teams, coordinate with your contracted resources, and to provide you with a strategic perspective of the status of the program, project or PMO itself.

Let us help you to make the case for a PMO that is aligned with your business, then to plan, implement, and manage it. We will ensure its ability to improve program/project/task prioritization, to enhance its flexibility to change, to enable more informed decision making, to provide accurate projections and forecasts, and generally to support the PMO in successfully meeting its goals and objectives.

For additional details, please contact us at info@kg2consulting.com.

Project, Portfolio Management (PPM)

Understanding the importance of an industry leading partner, KG2 Consulting is teamed with Planview to provide a comprehensive platform for Project Management Office (PMO) and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) services. Together, we provide the latest in PMO strategies and PPM technology that fully leverages industry best practices, and provides a cost effective, low risk, and integrated solution for most PMO requirements…from division PMO’s to enterprise PMO’s!

SEE THE LATEST!

The recipient of numerous, current prestigious awards and recognitions from Gartner and Forrester, the Planview product suite is considered the global leader in Work and Resource Management (WRM), with the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of solutions for strategic planning, portfolio and resource management, work collaboration, and enterprise architecture. Their solutions span every class of work, resource, and organization, addressing the needs of teams, departments, and entire organizations, from the mid-market to global enterprises.

• Gartner 2017 Magic Quadrant™ for Project Portfolio Management Worldwide

Gartner has named Planview a Leader for project portfolio management (PPM) based on its ability to execute and completeness of vision.

• Gartner 2017 Magic Quadrant™ for Enterprise Architecture Tools

Gartner has named Planview as the only Visionary for Enterprise Architecture Tools based on ability to execute and completeness of vision.

• Forrester Wave™ for Enterprise Collaborative Work Management

Forrester has named Planview a Leader in The Forrester Wave™ for Enterprise Collaborative Work Management.

Focused on the ‘big picture’, our integrated solution is developed to ensure your PMO is aligned with the broader business, and includes an optimal balance of strategy and execution…to assist with your ability to improve prioritization of projects, to enhance your flexibility to accommodate change, to assist with making more informed data-driven decisions, to provide accurate projections and forecasts, to increase your overall credibility, and generally to ensure the PMO’s success in meeting its goals and objectives. For additional details, please contact us at info@kg2consulting.com.

EAM, IWMS, ISMS, AI, IoT & RPA

At KG2 Consulting we understand that there are primarily two ways to increase the bottom line: increasing productivity gains and lowering the total cost of ownership…and either of these objectives requires technology as an enabler. Leveraging decades of experience with infrastructure asset management technology that evolved from CMMS to EAM and from CIFM to CAFM to IWMS, we assist our clients manage their most expensive elements of the business…their people, places, and things.

We are all about providing our clients with a solid ‘digital foundation’, one that ultimately supports elements of their focus on Industry 4.0 (IR 4.0) and on Smart Buildings and Smart Cities. Specifically, our technology-agnostic service offering approach can be viewed as a journey along a maturity continuum (our Digitization Maturity Continuum^TM), beginning with basic 2D CAD and culminating with IoT and AI-enhanced, Immersive, Interactive Virtual Workplaces (i2VW^TM)…our framework for Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality (VR/AR/MR).

In tandem with the journey we can take our clients on from 2D CAD to i2VW^TM (VR/AR/MR)…to ‘immersively' and 'interactively’ experience the benefits of a true ‘digital twin’, the overarching concept driving our related service offerings is that there are three discrete, yet integrated components to managing assets: data collection / population (automated sensors, actuators, gateways (IoT), manual data entry, etc.); data management and operation (enterprise asset management systems (EAM), integrated workplace management systems (IWMS), etc.); and cognitive data analytics (SparkCognition, Microsoft Cognitive, IBM Watson, etc.).

Our Approach

When approached by our clients to do so, our approach is to plan for and implement a comprehensive solution that would manage all infrastructure assets, and one that could ultimately provide cognitive data analytics for predictive maintenance management. In an ideal scenario, we would leverage the wireless, batteryless, and maintenance free EnOcean Alliance platform of IoT sensors to gather data in real time. After the data is analyzed in Watson, it is then 'operationalized' in Maximo or Tririga with a work order that details a very specific solution for the technician or as a direct input to the building management system (BMS) for corrective action. In an effort to address the manual, time consuming and often tedious requirements of maintaining this EAM data, we recently introduced Robotic Process Automation (RPA) options built on industry-leading tools like UiPath. This inexpensive and non-invasive enhancement will ultimately save money and time by streamlining manual processes, increasing efficiency and accuracy, and reducing errors and downtime…a significant impact to business outcomes, resulting in significant ROI.

More on Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

According to Gartner, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is licensed software used to integrate an application’s user interface to automate routine, predictable tasks using structured digital data. RPA tools deploy software scripts, with runtime executables referred to as software ‘robots’ or ‘bots’, that mimic a human process or task within a workflow. These bots are configured to perform tasks you assign and control and provide users the ability to automate almost any business process.
In other words, our RPA robots utilize the user interface to capture data and manipulate applications just like humans do. They interpret, trigger responses, and communicate with other systems to perform on any number of repetitive tasks…only substantially better. Our RPA software robots never sleep and make zero mistakes. They complete business processes, just as a person would, but in less time, with greater accuracy and at a fraction of the cost.

Leveraging the core components of RPA:

• Low-code ability to create automation scripts
• Non-intrusive integration with enterprise applications
• Flexible choreography and administration that includes configuration, monitoring, and security,

We utilize industry-leading RPA tools such as UiPath to enhance our Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) implementation service offerings. For example (and by no means limited to this), within IBM Maximo, we can address the manual, time consuming and often tedious requirement to:

• Insert/Update Purchase Orders (POs) in Maximo from an Excel sheet
• Update Currency Codes from the XE.com site
• Create an Item Master from an Excel sheet
• Automatically send approved POs to Vendors from Maximo.

We can also use RPA for data migration, for initial data loads, and to periodically update data in Maximo…the use cases are limitless!

Proven Results

Driven by valuable insights from the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, and cognitive computing, we believe our integrated services can have a significant impact on the bottom line of your company…reducing maintenance costs by as much as 30% and increasing employee productivity and operational efficiency by up to 18% are significant industry-leading targets to aspire to.

Towards this end, our services include a carefully balanced blend of functionally-driven, strategic-level process analyses, and state-of-the-art, tool-oriented, tactical-level methodologies. Our range of service offerings is broad: from Strategic Business Process Improvement to application specific enterprise asset management (EAM) and integrated workplace management system (IWMS) implementation. Generally, as a non-biased ‘broker’ with extensive experience on many technology solutions i.e. Accruent, Archibus, FIS, FM Systems, Infor EAM, Manhattan, Maximo and Tririga from IBM, SAP EAM, etc., we can assist you to manage a comprehensive portfolio of asset types…production, facilities, transportation and IT assets across your entire enterprise. This holistic perspective enables complete visibility and accessibility, thereby providing a window into the untapped potential within them. The culmination of our implementation services provides the knowledge and control you need to closely align your infrastructure management objectives with the overall goals of your organization. Specifically, we can assist you to:

• Improve return on assets
• Decrease costs and risk
• Increase productivity
• Improve asset-related decision making
• Increase asset service delivery responsiveness and revenue
• Facilitate regulatory compliance efforts
• Lower total cost of ownership.

On a more granular level, our emphasis is on ‘value’ extraction...and on how we can assist to:

• Enhance real property management initiatives
• Facilitate space and occupancy management
• Address space and land use plans
• Support resource allocation and scheduling, especially as it pertains to the Finance and Human Resource (HR) departments
• Assist with long and short-term capital reinvestment planning and management
• Establish preventive (and predictive) maintenance management programs
• Affect real and sustained reductions in the maintenance backlog (deferred maintenance)
• Identify and adopt maintenance management best practices
• Facilitate the reduction of out-year spending spikes
• Justify the prioritization and execution of on-going operations and maintenance (O&M) projects
• Develop documented support and justification in the defense of annual budgets
• Establish a case to distribute the initial and operating costs (the total cost of ownership) of an integrated system across other departments, and to include them in the projected return on investment (ROI) (or cost avoidance objectives) for the project.

This 'value’ proposition then becomes the backdrop upon which the facilities and infrastructure management system (the technology) is brought to bear. As we consider technology to be an important part of the solution...but only as an enabler of a well-developed information management and decision support process, we can assist you with all or a few of the critically important phases to a successful solution. We can help you plan, analyze, procure, assess, design, implement, test, train, transition, and evaluate, so for additional details, please contact us at info@kg2consulting.com.

Sustainable Workplace Strategies™

Both the Federal and the private sector workforce of today and the foreseeable future are undergoing substantial changes. Shrinking budgets that require doing more with less, increased concerns about safety, security, and the continuity of operations, the physical limitations imposed by increasing populations and scarce natural resources, increased sensitivity to sustainable behavior, with regulatory compliance requirements at work and at home, and the very nature of the work being conducted, all point to significant changes in need of new solutions. From Hoteling, Shared/Hybrid Workspaces, Alternate Work Schedules (AWS), and Telecommuting to working as a Digital Nomad, our Sustainable Workplace Strategies (SWS^TM ) and Immersive Interactive Virtual Workplace (i2VW^TM) solutions provide tailored options for sustainable Post-Covid work. 

KG2 Consulting is of the opinion that there are also other variables that must be factored into this equation. By now, most organizations are focused in one way or another on addressing sustainability goals and objectives, and have included LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rated buildings in their portfolios. While this is an extremely important first step, the next objective should be to incorporate programs and approaches that modify the on-going behavior of the end users of these buildings such that they truly leverage the sustainable features designed into the buildings, and do not undermine the original intent to improve their environmental, energy, and economic conditions.

What are Sustainable Workplace Strategies?

All these factors are converging into a perfect storm, with conditions set to accommodate what was originally branded as the Workplace of the Future. The future is now, and at KG2 Consulting, Sustainable Workplace Strategies provide an overarching framework that integrates the disciplines associated with infrastructure management, energy management and sustainability, and human resources.

Employing flexible alternatives to traditional workplace practices takes into account physical space design, sustainable asset management, IT and technology enablement, as well as HR policies and procedures. Our integrated solutions include concepts such as Hoteling, Shared/Hybrid Work Spaces, Alternate Work Schedules (AWS), and Telecommuting. These all serve to enhance the efficiency and flexibility in the use of office space that is traditionally dedicated, expensive, and mostly unoccupied, leading to 20%-50% improvements in asset performance and associated cost savings. Incorporating mobile technology solutions also allows for access and collaboration on demand – anytime, anywhere (at the client site, in transit, or from home).

At KG2 Consulting, we can assist you to assess existing and future space requirements, analyze total cost of occupancy and develop a 'best-fit' future state that addresses the specific needs of the organization. In addition to optimizing their portfolio of space, Sustainable Workplace Strategies enable us to assist our Federal clients to achieve their aggressive sustainability plans to comply with Executive Orders and Presidential Mandates. This while reducing costs, increasing productivity, reducing commute times, enhancing job satisfaction, improving work/life balance and effectiveness, and playing an important role in raising the image of the agency and its ability to attract and retain top talent.

For additional details, please contact us at info@kg2consulting.com.