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A World Class Approach to Project Management and Service Delivery
Thomson Elite is committed to providing clients with the highest quality financial
and practice management solutions. In this spirit, we have developed a world-class
approach to project management, based upon the internationally accepted, ANSIstandard
principles from the Project Management Institute. Elite’s Project Quality
Model (PQM) is designed to ensure that each client receives superior service when
it comes to implementing Elite solutions. Whether clients are implementing Elite
products for the first time or are seeking to enhance their existing system, Elite
consultants use PQM to ensure that service delivery is completed successfully and
in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
Elite PQM provides the framework for all Elite implementation, enhancement,
consulting service and upgrade engagements. Under this model, each project is
viewed as being composed of five distinct but interrelated processes:
Although each client project has its own unique aspects, Elite’s Project Quality Model provides
the fundamental structure and processes to manage every project undertaken through its entire
lifecycle.
These five processes cover every facet of project management, ensuring that no
detail is left unattended and that the entire project is completed successfully.
Overarching the entire project lifecycle, and helping to ensure the overall success
of the project, is a critical set of monitoring and measurement activities that ensure
a project is stewarded to a satisfactory completion. The vision and strategy
processes enable Elite consultants to coordinate and collaborate with clients
during intensive sessions focused on defining and approving the overall project
scope, project schedules, expected results, risk factors and definitions of success.
These initial processes serve as the basis for the execution process, which puts
these plans into action and ensures a highly successful engagement. Once a project
is complete, the closure and transition process ensures that the project is properly
concluded and turnover to Elite support is successfully accomplished.
Elite’s Project Quality Model is designed to provide a clear roadmap of the entire
project and defines the overall project scope, critical production milestones, key
deliverables and anticipated results. Each successfully completed process creates a
stronger base from which to move forward with the project. Risk management as
well as schedule and cost control techniques are employed, and a communications
plan is established to keep involved parties apprised of project status and progress.
Monitoring and Measurement: A Fundamental Process to Ensure Success
Monitoring and measurement efforts consist of numerous cost and scope control,
testing, quality assurance and acceptance activities. These ongoing activities are
supplemented by critical control points that function as "gates" to ensure that the
project cannot advance to the next phase until the required activities and
acceptance factors are successfully met. The monitoring and measurement process
employed by Elite ensures that projects are properly stewarded to both a time and
cost budget. This critical process transcends across the entire project management
process to help ensure on-time project completion within estimated cost
parameters along with properly managed and approved schedule and scope
changes. Key deliverables of the monitoring and measurement process include:
- Actual-to-budget reports.
- Status meetings and associated recap documents.
- Client signoff and acceptance letters.
- Service addendums.
- Project plan change orders.
Understanding Our Client’s Vision
The project commences with the undertaking of the vision process. During this
time, client and Elite project stakeholders come together to reach agreement on
corporate objectives, key business drivers, solution expectations and the scope
parameters that govern the project. At the completion of this stage, the key
deliverables will include:
- A draft client profile document highlighting any critical intellectual property that
needs to follow the project.
- A draft project charter and scope statement outlining the project purpose,
project scope, preliminary resource allocations, project constraints, project
assumptions and deliverables.
Defining a Comprehensive Strategy
The strategy process is of vital importance to the success of the project and can
sometimes be the most time-consuming of the five processes. It is here that intense
planning and strategy sessions, which define the steps needed to accomplish the
client’s vision, are conducted. The organizational structure of the project team, as
well as key contacts, is identified and steps for issue escalation are defined. The
detailed tasks required of all parties to complete the project are identified and a
project schedule developed. A communications plan, which considers all project
stakeholders’ needs, is constructed. Change and project schedule control, as well
as risk management strategies, are also addressed. Finally, strategies unique to the
type of client project for areas such as training, conversion, software deployment,
process optimization, technology infrastructure and information distribution are
developed.
Resulting from the strategy process will be a clearly defined project team structure,
the project framework and a detailed project schedule. It also yields
comprehensive strategies to manage:
- Quality, including quality assessment and assurance.
- Project risks with proposed responses and contingency reserves identified for each risk.
- Project performance and acceptance.
- Schedule and cost control.
- Communications among all involved parties.
- Client-specific project solutions.
- A completed client satisfaction survey.
Execution Makes Vision a Reality
The execution process is where the effort put forth in the vision and strategy
processes bears fruit. During this process, client-specific Elite solutions are
designed, assembled, configured, tested and implemented. Here, our partnership
with our clients becomes even closer as we strive to ensure that they are
successfully embracing their new tools and processes, and becoming increasingly
self-sufficient. Whether we are implementing a software solution for a new client,
expanding upon an Elite solution set for an existing client, helping clients optimize
their environment, or solving a specific need with the help of our consulting
services, this is where it all comes together. At the conclusion of the execution
process, clients can expect the following result:
- An Elite solution tailored to their business needs and objectives that successfully
meets or exceeds the defined critical success factors, solution expectations and
quality assurance measures within schedule and cost parameters.
Closure and Transition to Support
In this final stage, the project management lifecycle for the project comes to an
end, and the Elite solution is fully deployed and ready for use. Ownership of the
solution is transferred to the client while ongoing maintenance becomes the
responsibility of Elite’s Support Team, which is fully prepared to assist clients in
troubleshooting any future issues that may arise. Elite’s Support Team members
are highly experienced in helping clients achieve maximum value from an Elite
solution. At the conclusion of the closure and transition process, plans are often
made for future meetings and discussions regarding upcoming client requirements
for additional product implementations, enhancements, optimizations or upgrades.
Deliverables from the closure and transition efforts include:
- A completed client satisfaction survey.
- An updated client profile document.
- Plans for continuous improvement efforts.
Client Satisfaction - The Ultimate Benchmark for Success
The development of a world-class Project Quality Model underscores Thomson
Elite’s dedication to its clients. Thomson Elite respects the level of trust that
clients place in us when implementing Elite solutions, and the level of quality and
attention to detail that is expected. With Elite PQM, clients receive superior
products and services that meet and exceed their expectations.
Your Partner for Financial and Practice Management Solutions
Thomson Elite is a worldwide leader in enterprise software for the professional
services industry with solutions for organizations in the accounting, IT and
management consulting, legal, marketing services, corporate and government
sectors. More than half of the Am Law 100, more than a third of the top 1,000 U.S.
law firms, and over a third of the top 100 UK law firms use Elite financial and
practice management solutions. Contact Thomson Elite to learn more about Elite’s
financial and practice management solutions that deliver firms a unique
combination of comprehensive functionality along with world-class service and
support.
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