Companies and organizations that implement projects, eventually realize the need for total support in organizing, planning, monitoring, control, decision-making, communication and evaluation of their projects. The need for increased efficiency of the expenses in conjunction to the possible complexity, risk, or the existence of multiple stakeholders with different requirements and expectations, essentially imposes the adoption of practices and techniques characterized by professionalism and efficacy. 
Starting from requirements analysis, the project charter development, the organization and mapping of the scope and passing through the schedule and cost planning as well as risk management to initiate project execution, several things need to be properly performed and finely setup. The same expectations exist and are even multiplied in project execution where exact monitoring, targeted control, production and dispersion of rich information that support robust decision making, is part of daily life. 
Needless to say, the importance of project evaluation cannot be overlooked, either in the execution or the completion, to reveal whether it met its targets, it provided added value to the organization, or was co-aligned to the business strategy. Additionally, it is of special importance to organize the knowledge, the findings and the lessons learned, the good and bad practices, and generally, the total intellectual capital that was generated and which contributes to the company evolution. 
 
Fine Telecom has both the knowledge and experience to provide Total Project Management Support to company projects for each of the following aspects and for all together: 
  • Collection, analysis and filtering of requirements 
  • Check of strategic co-alignment and value to the portfolio 
  • Project Charter development and targets specification 
  • Analysis, depiction, clarification and optimization of project scope 
  • Development and verification of time and cost estimates 
  • Resource assignment and costing 
  • Risk evaluation and quantification 
  • Schedule and budget development and optimization 
  • Development of communications plan and implementation of paper and electronic forms 
  • Development of management information forms 
  • Development and application of metrics and performance indices 
  • Monitoring and update of project plans 
  • Issues and risks monitoring and response evaluation 
  • Recording and quantification of additional scope 
  • Evaluation of entire project implementation 
  • Writing of completion studies 
 
For all of the above, Fine Telecom uses the appropriate tools that has developed and collected in its toolbox. 
Furthermore, Fine Telecom undertakes the full Project Server deployment for the company or organization, its customization and parameterization, as well users training, to enable project portfolio overview in real-time.
The strategic projects of an organization or company are not the simple, common, daily projects. They typically are much broader in scope and budget, exhibit outstanding strategic importance, enjoy higher visibility and are by far more difficult to implement. Just because strategic projects are so unique and important, organizations do have the luxury of failure. In addition, it is highly likely that internal resources are overloaded or ill-prepared to tackle the unique challenges of strategic projects. For all these reasons, executives often seek external Project Management support and technology to ensure successful planning, monitoring, control and reporting for their strategic projects. 
If one or more of the following are true, a company or organization may need support and consulting in Project Management. 
    • Financial impact from delays is significant 
    • There exists little or no experience in managing such projects 
    • There is a great degree of uncertainty or risk 
    • The cross-functional participation, and possibly, geographic dispersion is discernable 
    • Constant and of high-level focus, attention and intensity is required from executives 
    • Some of the company’s most valuable resources are needed 
    • The project visibility in the external market is high 
Fine Telecom has the know-how to support strategic projects. The company has experienced Project Management Consultants as well as tools and techniques to manage most complex projects, which permit the timely establishment of controls and warnings to safeguard the health of each project. Additionally, through the effective organization of information management and the generation of content-rich reports, it is ensured that all stakeholders are updated for the projects’ status and that all changes are agreed-upon. Finally, the top management is in place to decide with certainty, to perceive risks and activate responses, as well as to evaluate the strategic portfolio of the organization. 
Companies and organizations with a significant portfolio of projects or programs that implement or supervise, have increased needs to organize and overview the course of their projects and of their portfolio in total. The intense pace of data and information generation along with the interaction among projects cannot be benefited of, if projects are not gathered under the same roof. Additionally, the implementation of projects by different project managers and associates, incorporates the risk of arbitrariness in the interpretation of progress, the modeling and analysis of tasks, the evaluation of the project course, etc. 
The above points and even more, constitute sufficient reasons for companies to turn to the development of a centralized environment (with a client-server structure) to organize their projects. A project server hosts and organizes projects into programs and portfolios in a uniform way and safeguards the use of the same elements by all project teams’ members, eliminating errors and assuring the any change in an element (e.g., the cost of a material) is immediately applicable to all projects, synchronized, in real-time. The benefits from the use of a project server are multiple, the primary of which are: 
  • Creation of project organization structures 
  • Development of a population of customized corporate calendars for tasks and resources 
  • Development of corporate and external resources database, along with categorization 
  • Adaptation of calendars, resource sheets, etc., to each company preferences 
  • Grouping of issues in shared space and automated communication to accountable shareholders 
  • Risk tracking in real-time 
  • Monitoring of interactions between projects and resolution of competing issues such as, resource overallocation, prioritization, etc. 
  • Progress reports generation and comparison between reality and baseline 
  • Aggregate monitoring at the project, program and portfolio levels 
  • Dashboard generation including health indices for task to portfolio levels 
  • Development of fully customized, collaborative and interactive sheets to collect or disseminate information 
 
Fine Telecom for almost a decade is developing, parameterizing, customizing and supporting the use of Project Servers for companies with increased Project Management needs. Through a grid of techniques and knowledge, Fine Consulting has created a plethora or tools and methodologies that optimize the use of the server, facilitate administrative overview, decision making and Project Management. Additionally, the historical data are collected and maintained as a knowledge base for future projects as well as lessons learned to apply. Finally, just because deeply believes that such an investment is decisive for a company, it supports the development with continuous users training and mentoring.
Projects often run the risk of failure in one or more of their objectives. Several studies have recorded such probabilities, typically ranging between 24% to 55%. Projects, however, are improtant for any company or organization. The key to avoid or reduce the risk of failure is the fast, prompt and coherent action using project recovery experts. 
 
Typical Symptoms of Projects in Trouble 
  • Difficult to complete deliverables and meet milestones 
  • Problematic resource allocation 
  • Continuous delays with respect to baseline schedule 
  • Persisting existence of technical issues that not only remain unsolved, but multiply 
  • Stressed decision-making due to missing information 
  • High-risk of not achieving anticipated benefits 
  • Reoccuring re-budgeting 
  • Lack of risk response planning 
  • Failure to monitor and control contractors 
  • Frequent target and roadmap changes 
  • Absence of personnel commitment to the project 
 
The 5 Most Prevalent Project Recovery Actions 
  • Project redefinition (scope decrease, schedule and budget review, etc.) 
  • Identification and solving of problematic technical issues 
  • Addition / Removal / Replacement of resources 
  • Improvement of project communication internally (team) and externally (stakeholders) 
  • Substitution of the project manager or support from an external Project Management Consultant to manage project recovery 
 
The Project Recovery Consultants of Fine, initially review the current status of the project and identify areas at risk, such as, scope, resource availability and capability, project monitoring and control, internal and external communication and information distribution, roles and responsibilities, etc. This evaluation is presented to the Management and while recogninzing the project achievements, it focuses on the main issues that triggered variances form the objectives. A corrective actions plan is also delivered. 
 
Once this action plan is accepted by the company, the Project Recovery Consultants either undertake the recovery initiative or mentor the project team to implement the corrective actions.
Companies and organizations continuously face challenges in the consistent application of defined Project Management processes to approve, plan, execute, monitor, control, resource allocation, etc., in the projects they execute. These challenges may also appear in other aspects of the business operation, such as, data analysis, forecasting, strategy verification, decision making, etc. A properly organized and well-managed Project Management Office (PMO) may effectively tackle these challenges and secure the successful execution of the projects. 
 
A Project Management Office is an internal entity (office, department, unit) which fulfills two essential functions: 
  • Provides Project Management services across the enterprise span 
  • Operates as a Center of Excellence in Project Management 
 
The existence of a PMO gives companies the ability to consistently achieve successful result in the projects they undertake, thus rendering Project Management to a competitive advantage for the company. 
 
The development of a PMO and the implementation of a Project Management Methodology in an organization that has not used anything similar in the past, is a great challenge. Fine Consulting helps businesses take the next step and overcome their concerns to implement a PMO. The approach of Fine is based in the close cooperation with companies to determine needs, objectives and expectations, whether these concern the development of a PMO, or its operation, or the optimization of an existing PMO. Through a phase-based and systematic manner, any resistance to change is handled, benefits are explained and dispersed, lessons learned are gathered and implanted in the PMO operation, while it assured that a robust project data infrastructure is developed to support implementation at the enterprise level. 
 
The Fine Methodology 
The requirement for a complete, timely and cost-effective project completion pushes companies to turn to a PMO to organize and manage their projects, seeking to achieve goals along with information flow and transparency. PMOs are thus continuously judged whether the provided added value to a company, and if they managed to, they undertake even more strategic responsibilities. 
Fine Consulting helps companies respond effectively to these challenges and develop a brand new PMO or help an existing PMO reach the next level. Even if a company does not consider Project Management as its competitive advantage, it still has the option to outsource the operation of a PMO to Fine. 
Fine Telecom uses its own five-phases methodology: (i) Identify needs, (ii) initiate implementation, (iii) implement at project level, (iv) implement at enterprise level, and (v) operate and maintain the PMO. These are elaborated in the sequel. 
 
Phase I: Identify Needs 
The Project Management Consultants initially meet with the company or organization and record their needs, objectives and expectations. They, furthermore, record the current status in Project Management, the positive practices and the pitfalls, as well as the experience and the skills of the staff. At the end of the phase a scheduled and budgeted roadmap is developed and presented, which takes into account existing practices and includes priorities, functions, standards, staffing and expected outcomes. The roadmap is accompanied by a management plan of the change that the PMO brings, to mitigate and control potential resistance. Naturally, if the company already has an existing PMO, the above apply to its enhancement and transformation. 
 
Phase II: Initiate Implementation 
Once the implementation roadmap is agreed upon, the PMO charter, organization chart and communication plans are developed and the phased training plan to support / mentor project managers is carried out. Next, PMO staffing is performed and the processes to be implemented are finalized, so that they fit the requirements and the culture if the organization. Finally, the project performance indices are identified and communicated. Naturally, if the company already has an existing PMO, the above apply to its enhancement and transformation. 
 
Phase III: Implement at Project Level 
Once the initiation phase is complete, there starts the development of the PMO ingredients, that is, the processes, the forms, the documents, the information system, the software, the training material, the communication, etc. This implementation employs and profits of the experience and know-how of the Project Management Consultants of Fine, who are equipped with a toolbox of processes, forms and templates, and select from them the ones that are most appropriate to use. At the same time, pilot projects that are either in jeopardy or have the potential for near-term success are selected as the testbed of the PMO methodologies, and that former are healed while the latter serve as examples to follow. Finally, during this implementation phase, training and mentoring of the PMO staff is performed. The deliverables of this phase are the entirety of the Project Management processes and the necessary infrastructure for the application of PM techniques by the PMO to future projects. 
 
Phase IV: Implement at Enterprise Level 
During this phase, emphasis is given in the evolution of PMO to an organizational entity that handles optimally and provides solutions for the entire portfolio of the company projects. This implementation aims to create the necessary infrastructure for Program and Portfolio Management which will be suitable to support enterprise decision making based on information about the schedule, cost and staffing of projects rolled-up to the company’s portfolio. At the same time, the training plans are carried out and the development, update and monitoring of projects is gradually transferred by the Fine Project Management Consultants to the PMO staff. 
 
Phase V: Operation and Maintenance of the PMO 
Once the PMO is implemented and is functional, the PMO staff undertake the full responsibility for its operation and the management of projects. It is, however, necessary to perform regular reviews and evaluations to identify enhancement opportunities as well as fine-tuning needs, in order to render the PMO not only a necessary function but also a competitive advantage for the company or organization. The Project Management Consultants of Fine, may perform this independent external auditing and evaluation and to shape proposals and recommendations to maximize the PMO benefits.
PM Methodology Implementation 
Several companies and organizations perform projects either using their own resources or outsourcing the execution to third parties. Nevertheless, the assurance of success in project execution necessitates the existence of a reliable Project Management Methodology, that will encompass the project from inception to completion. Such a methodology must possess all the appropriate and functional tools, techniques, forms, processes,etc., to support initiation, planning and scheduling, execution, monitoring and control, and finally, the acceptance and completion of the project. Moreover, this Project Management Methodology must be easy-to-underdtand friendly, acceptable and realistic. 
Companies and organizations rarely possess a Project Management Methodology with the above characteristics. Among others, development from scratch of a complete and coherent methodology, requires time, money, focus, engagement, maintenance, etc., as well as an information ecosystem of processes, tools, information and documentation, which often discourage the undertaking of this challenge. 
 
Methodology Development 
Fine Telecom has the know-how and experience of development of not only the methodology but of the processes as well, adapted to the needs and particularities of each company, taking into account the broadness of the projects portfolio, the complexity and durations of projects and programs, as well as the current operational model of the company. The methodology to be developed must have the proper level of analysis of the processes and to have assured the existence and fucntionality of appropriate tools and artifacts (templates, forms, etc.), so that it becomes suitable for use by the project teams. 
Fine Telecom evaluates the current status of processes and usage within the company or organization. The Prohect Management Consultants are equipped with a toolbox of processes, forms and templates, and select from them the ones that are most appropriate to use either to subsidize existing or to generate new ones. This results to significant acceleration of the implementation of the right processes that guarantee proper project control and their completion within objectives. 
 
Methodology Deployment 
The methodology deployment is not a one-time effort. Once processes and artifacts have been developed, these must be developed and put to operation. There exist different methods that can be employed in a company to prepare the deployment of the new processes and standards, such as classroom training, workshops, etc. A highly recommended method is to employ Coaches to work alongside with Project and Program Managers, either in groups or one-to-one, so as to ensure that the methodology is ready to or is already being used properly. This may be repeated from time to time, so as to correct potential dysfunctions, to enrich the methodology and to encourage its usage. Fine Consulting may further provide orientation to select / hire staff that will assist the organization smoothly own the Project Management Methodology. 
Several corporations and organizations perform projects and continuously face challenges. But how is experience from project execution capitalized and how is this profited of in future projects? How does a company know if it applied the appropriate techniques and if it has the proper organization? How good are the techniques employed and to what extent do they cover the Project Management areas? How many of the correct practices are used across the board by all (internal or external) project managers? And finally, how mature has the company or organization become after executing so many projects? 
These are just some of the issues that companies that live with and/or live by projects are troubled by. These issues justify the need for a company to assess how mature it is in applying Project Management and what it has to do to reach the next level. 
 
The Holistic Approach to Project Management Maturity 
Fine Telecom believes in the virtues of Project Management and this why it has developed its own Holistic Approach to Project Management Maturity, structured in four phases: (i) Assessment of the Project Management maturity, (ii) development of the improvement plan, (iii) implementation and support of the improvement plan, and (iv) re-assessment of the Project Management maturity. 
Fine Consulting thus helps companies evaluate their maturity level, identify the right maturity level for them, develop a transition roadmap to the improved state, apply and adopt the enhanced practices, and maintain their momentum to reach new levels. 
The four phases of the holistic approach are elaborated in the sequel. 
 
Phase I: Assessment of the Project Management Maturity 
During the first stage, the Project Management Consultants of Fine Telecom begin with the assessment of the current capability to deliver projects as well as the Project Management Maturity level of a company or organization. Determining the maturity level results from the use of a structured questionnaire that covers all project management areas, and the analysis of practices applied, systems employed, lessons learned maintained, etc. The questionnaire and the methodology have been derived using the experience and know-how of Fine Telecom . In addition to the current maturity level, the desired future level is also identified along with the target areas in which investments should be fused to progress. The appropriate future maturity level varies for any company or organization and is based on its goals, strategy, resource capabilities, needs, budget, etc. 
Phase II: Development of Improvement Plan 
Once the Project Management Maturity assessment is complete, an Improvement Plan is carried out containing recommendations for specific, costed and scheduled activities, as well as a Roadmap with realistic milestones corresponding to short-, mid-, and long-term results. The Project Management Consultants work closely with the company members to ensure that an agreed-upon improvement plan will result, which will also consider the management of the change that it bears, so as to overcome potential barriers and facilitate its assimilation. 
Phase III: Implementation and Support of the Improvement Plan 
The agreed-upon improvement plan is carried out by the company in partnership with Fine Telecom , which provides guidance and support to implement the recommendations and achieve the results. The cooperation between the company and Fine Consulting helps leverage the combined assets and expertise, and expedite maturity advancement. 
Phase IV: Re-Assessment of the Project Management Maturity 
Achieving the maturity is not a one-time effort. Once activities to advance to a subsequent maturity level are implemented, it is of outmost usefulness to assess the adoption of practices and to set new goals of evolution to an even more improved level or to focus on other areas. Fine Telecom conducts such abbreviated maturity assessments and codifies results and recommendations. This may be repeated from time to time, so as to correct potential dysfunctions, to enrich the practices and to encourage their usage. Fine Telecom firmly believes in and encourages the holistic approach in achieving Project Management Maturity and helps companies and organizations reach this target.
Every project, from inception to completion, faces uncertain events which, if the occur, may have a positive or negative impact on one or more pf the project objectives. The events of negative impact are considered threats or risks. Risk response is considerably more efficient when performed proactively and predictively, while in the contrary, the reactive or a posteriori response when risk events occurs incurs normally a much higher cost and in many cases, does not remedy impacts. 
Developing a Risk Management Methodology, which will result to developing a proactive risk response culture, occurs after a coordinated study and implementation of techniques, means and processes that consolidate experience and cultivate knowledge among project teams staff. 
Fine Telecom possesses both the knowledge and the experience to develop a risk management methodology, along with the techniques of risk assessment and formulation of a crisp, applied risk response plan. Some of the employed techniques, are (indicatively): 
  • Nominal Group Technique 
  • Decision Tree Analysis 
  • Monte-Carlo Simulation 
  • Pareto and Fishbone (Ishikawa) diagrams 
  • Flow charts, etc. 
During the development of a Risk Management Methodology, the Project Management Consultants of Fine Telecom, collaborate with the personnel (mainly project managers) of the company or organization and develop Risk Breakdown Structure, Probability and Impact Matrices, as well as other methodology outcomes. Additionally, Fine Telecom takes care of the personnel training in tools usage, as well as the continuous support of the company in managing the risks in its projects.
Data, information and knowledge are closely related concepts, but each has its own role in relation to the other, and each term has its own meaning. Data is collected and analyzed; data only becomes information suitable for making decisions once it has been analyzed and put to context. Knowledge is derived from extensive amounts of experience dealing with information on a subject. 
Today’s companies are flooded by data and information that wish or attempt to transform to useful knowledge. Especially in the Project Management field, data and information are always existent in the projects lifecycle, while at the same time, there is a need to create new knowledge and avoid losing existing one. It is thus vital for a company or organization, to have ways to analyze data, to manage information and to develop knowledge. 
Fine Telecom provides solutions in all three areas, focusing on Project Management. Through the use of techniques and systems combined with the appropriate coaching, Fine Telecom enables companies to convert unstructured data to structured knowledge.
Companies and organizations that implement projects, often face the problem of uniform and sufficient knowledge of their staff, the quest of up-to-date methods and techniques that may be used by stakeholders, as well as the coverage of targeted knowledge needs not available in a project team. The benefits of corporate training are, among others, the alignment of mentality in Project Management, the more efficient portfolio analysis and management, the uniform evaluation of performance, the quest of even more challenging projects and, naturally, the meaningful economic benefits resulting from proper Project Management. 
Fine Telecom possesses a broad curriculum of corporate training in mainstream and in wider Project Management subjects. The training programs recognize the needs of each company and are tailored in cooperation with each company, in terms of content and duration. The offered corporate training subjects are, among others: 
  • Project Management fundamentals (2 or 3 days) 
  • Project Management processes (2 or 3 days) 
  • Project Management Office (PMO) development – Methodology, processes and techniques (3 or 4 days) 
  • Project planning with MS Project (2, 3 or 4 days) 
  • MS Project Server administration (2 or 3 days) 
  • Reports development using MS Project (1 day) 
  • Project Risk Management (2 days) 
  • Advanced scheduling techniques (2 days) 
  • Monitoring project scope, time and cost performance (1 day) 
  • Project Change Management (1 day) 
  • Project Management Maturity stages (1 day) 
  • Requirements analysis and scope management with Mind Mapping (1 day) 
  • Working teams and collaboration in projects (1 day) 
  • Project Management of large industrial maintenance projects (4 or 5 days)
Organizations and companies often perform projects as part of their daily business, or as part of a program, or as a vehicle towards strategy implementations. In several cases, however, companies either do not have or do not avail the necessary staff to be involved in the management of or to manage a project, or even drag it out of a difficult situation. Additionally, the acquisition of knowledgeable and experienced personnel may turn out to be difficult, expensive and time-consuming. 
 
Pluralism of Solutions 
Fine Telecom covers the short- and mid-term needs of corporations for personnel with Project Management experience and skills, and contributes to the following PM aspects: 
  • Strategic projects support 
  • Recovery of troubled projects 
  • PMO development and support 
  • PM Methodology development 
  • Coverage of PM needs and skills 
 
Available Specialties 
To deliver the above solutions, Fine Telecom may avail through outsourcing the following specialties, depending on the company needs: 
  • Project & Program Managers 
  • Project Management Experts / Consultants 
  • PMO Consultants 
  • Project Recovery Experts 
  • Project Server Developers 
  • Project Management Trainers, Mentors & Coaches 
  • Project Planners & Schedulers 
Fine Telecom cooperates with every company to dimension its needs and propose staff outsourcing solutions.