Project Management Institute (PMI) defines Project Management Information System (PMIS) as an information system consisting of the tools and techniques used to gather, integrate, and disseminate the outputs of project management processes. It is used to support all aspects of the project from initiating through closing, and can include both manual and automated systems. With the rapid advancements in technology and fast pace execution of today’s projects, decision makers require instantaneous access to real-time information. The information includes cost, schedule, performance, risks, production rates, profitability and other metrics and indices to allow them analyze how well projects in their portfolio are performing. Advancements in computers and information technology also provide significant amount of data and information promptly, making it even more challenging to organize proper information for each functional layer and verify their quality. An effective information system contributes to the planning and execution of projects and is an instrumental component for monitoring, control and reporting project status to the team and executives. Developing such a system is an important piece while implementing project management plan. PMIS ties closely to several functions including but not limited to project management office, accounting, configuration management, project controls, field office and human resource management. The reporting levels and contents need to be assessed and set in advance of developing the system to ensure the right information is distributed to the right audience. This requires flexibility in the PMIS design and user-interface so the information are either rolled into a summarized level for use by executives or expanded to show details for use by middle managers and supervisory functions. Security of data and information is also a key when developing any information system. For this reason, access levels for each role should be carefully reviewed in advance with the necessary approvals in place in order to maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information.
3Targets can help analyzing the requirements, designing, setting up, and training a customized and effective project management information system that suits projects in both contractor and owner firms. Although backbone of the system is sophisticated, the visible outcome most often is a user-friendly project or portfolio dashboard that shows the latest updates of critical metrics in any given project. Due to hierarchical and integrated structure of the developed PMIS, lower levels of details for each metric are also easily accessible for further analysis, based on the authorized data access level defined for each role in the organization.
