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Transforming Historical Project Data into Useful Information

Transforming Historical Project Data into Useful Information. Presented by Todd Pickett, CCC and Bruce Elliott, CCC Conquest Consulting Group. Introduction. Examining history helps improve performance Use of project historical data will help your company get a competitive edge

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Transforming Historical Project Data into Useful Information

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  1. Transforming Historical Project Data into Useful Information Presented byTodd Pickett, CCC and Bruce Elliott, CCCConquest Consulting Group

  2. Introduction • Examining history helps improve performance • Use of project historical data will help your company get a competitive edge • Good strategic business decisions • Choosing projects that are right (or wrong) for your company • Problem - few companies have the right systems in place

  3. Historical Project Data CollectionWhere We Are and Why Loss of Expertise • Many layoffs due to canceled projects • Owners unwilling to commit capital to retain experts • Newly hired personnel not fully developed or trained • Old guard moved on to other jobs or retired

  4. Historical Project Data CollectionWhere We Are and Why Loss of Data • Owners apathetic • Work subcontracted to those with no vested interest in data retention • Poor project process leading to poor control and data collection • Poor (or no) methodologies, procedures, or systems in place

  5. Current State • Business boom in capital projects driven primarily by energy sector • Major expansion occurring in O&G • Over $100 billion (U.S) in Alberta • Over $1 trillion (U.S.) in gulf region

  6. Current State • Major cost overruns due to many reasons • Lack of good processes and procedures • Lack of skilled resources • Lack of historical data from past ¼ century • Owners realizing need for up front project analysis for benchmarking and validation • Payback time

  7. Prerequisites for Data Collection • Management Support • For obtaining funding • For recruitment and hiring • To encourage participation • Trained and dedicated staff of professionals • Infrastructure • Communications tools • Computer applications • Network capabilities

  8. Prerequisites for Data Collection • Code of Account • A structured, coded index of project cost, resource, and activity categories • When properly designed it will clarify and reduce confusion • All codes must be clearly defined and easily understood by project personnel • Assigned to each element of the project for the purposes of finding, sorting, compiling and summarizing

  9. Prerequisites for Data Collection • Cost Control System • Provides a means for capturing and storing actual project costs • Pure accounting systems are not useful for capture of appropriate historical data • Must be capable of collecting and reporting costs in a code of accounts format

  10. Prerequisite for Data Collection • Project Classification • A method of categorizing projects by the various types • Ensures that only like projects are analyzed and compared

  11. Data Collection Form

  12. Data Collection - Normalization Reduces inconsistencies in your data by: • Eliminating unusable projects • Due to bad accounting / project controls • Small project • Direct purchase • Create consistent units of cost • Make year of data collection consistent by escalating project costs

  13. Implementing a Historical Project Database System • Goal is to collect data and translate into a strong knowledge base • Putting in place this system will enable: • Cost estimate validation • Creation of benchmark metrics • Aiding of estimate database calibration • Strategic level estimates • Strategic level schedules

  14. Choosing the Right System • Purchased system • Limited availability • One example is Eos Advisor • Spreadsheets • Most popular option but with limitations • Developed Software • Requires lots of time, effort, and commitment • Requires software developer • Most costly option

  15. Using Experts to Implement • System development experts can: • Aid in determining appropriate requirements • Offer enhanced specification writing • Provide software development experts • Expert data analysis to understand, interpret, organize, and filter • Experienced decision makers • Shortened implementation time • Training experts

  16. Using Your New System • Primary goal of your new system is to user your historical data as a knowledge base to help improve practices in: • Estimating • Cost control • Strategic estimating and scheduling • Standard project process

  17. Using Your System Benchmarking • Will be an invaluable aid for estimate reviews and validations by providing: • Benchmark Data • Metrics • Factors • Can store external data for comparisons • Reports…

  18. Using Your System • Database Calibration • Provides a check of estimating database unit costs • Identifies cost trends versus spikes • Can be especially useful during times when labor and material costs are volatile

  19. Using Your System • Strategic Estimating and Scheduling • Use equipment related data and associated metrics to quickly generate estimates • Minimal engineering input required • Strategic Project Planning • Apply lessons learned to front end planning sessions for control of future projects • Help determine future staffing needs

  20. Conclusion • Create a standardized method of examining the past to learn from previous mistakes and to draw on examples of good results • Remember – Improvement is the goal!

  21. Questions? Todd Pickett, CCC (585) 747-5599 tpickett@ccg-estimating.com Bruce Elliott, CCC (585) 943-2823 belliott@ccg-estimating.com

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