Credit Union Journal—Solution Helps Keep CU’s Project Costs and Timelines In Check

Olympia, Wash.–Washington State Employees CU is reporting solid results with software that helps it manage project costa and timelines. It’s a “very powerful for decision makers,” said Keenan Wagner, business systems analyst and project manager at Washington State Employees CU (WSECU) here.

“It’s easy to make sure that every penny we’re spending is justified, which is especially important with the way the economy is going,” Wagner explained. “With all projects lined up shoulder to shoulder in the software, we have a transparent view of all our projects outstanding. I can also see all of the high-profile projects, involving multiple lines of business.”

The $2-billion CU chose the AtTask hosted project-management solution from Orem, Utah-based AtTask last year, in part because of its “off-the-shelf usability,” said Wagner. “With Microsoft Project, we would have had to build a solution.”

A Quick Glance

A “quick glance” at a dashboard reveals the CU’s 55 current projects in the facilities, IT and support services divisions, he said. Red, yellow and green icons alert managers as to whether projects are at risk or on time. Managers also can see in real-time the cost of the project, what percentage of the work is finished on each project, a projected completion date and who is responsible.

“None of that is easy to see with 55 Excel spreadsheets,” which were used to track WSECU projects previously, Wagner added. “It was easy to overlook things.” Whereas Microsoft Excel delivered multiple sets of disparate data, the AtTask SQL database organizes data into one format in one central location, he said.

And Wagner said it takes him 15 minutes to set up a new project with a customized task list and team members in AtTask.

Then, Wagner can categorize a project as to the degree of risk it entails, the benefit to members and the organization and the project’s priority.

A Network Overhaul

Thus, a current network overhaul entails “very high” risk; the highest rating of 100 in terms of benefit; and a “high priority” designation – “it needs to be done,” he explained. “This project jumps right out at you on the bubble chart.”

AtTask helps WSECU management “make the right decisions at the right time for right reasons,” he said. For example, Wagner can use the software to assign a technology service provider to each project, which reminds executives to consider how fiscally sound the provider is when prioritizing the project. Recently, a Check 21 project was expedited when managers took into account the fact that the provider is struggling and might falter in the middle of the project, he said.

Soon, WSECU will roll out a time-tracking feature, wherein staff can log the exact number of hours they spend on a project, said Wagner. “AtTask right away starts calculating how the time affects the overall cost.”

AtTask brings every business unit together, making it crystal clear how much time and money it takes for one unit to complete its end of the project before the next unit can step in, Wagner continued.

For example, the lending marketing manager realized that campaign work needed to wait for two weeks until IT prepared its piece of the project. “It’s easy to look at the workload and project list and see how one task is dependent on another.”

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Source: www.cujournal.com, February 16, 2009

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