The scope, scale and activities of a Project or Program Management Office (PMO) vary widely, but typically they will include 1) developing and maintaining an integrated program plan; 2) collating status reports from different sub-teams and, 3) communicating program plans and progress to senior management and other stakeholders. The demands can be complex, but whatever the situation, it’s likely Swiftlight can help. With its clear high level timelines, other structured outputs and outstanding ease of use, Swiftlight offers:
Swiftlight’s visually appealing and flexible timeline feature allows you to create great-looking program timelines with incredible speed and ease. Check out the examples below:
Program Plan – Timeline Example in Swiftlight
To see a larger image of the above program timeline, click here
If you need a bit more detail, Swiftlight’s timeline can deliver this too:
Program Plan – Timeline Example with Project Milestones
Click on the link to see a larger image of the above program plan
Going beyond the timeline, Swiftlight’s Activity or Project Summary view allows you to highlight objectives and deliverables / benefits by project (i.e. each arrow on the timeline), helping to focus planning and simplify benefits tracking. (Note: this view is customizable, so other categories of information can be displayed too).
Program Plan – Project Summary with Project Objectives / Deliverables / Benefits
Click on the link to see a larger image of the above program plan
It’s a simple, practical combination which, in conjunction with Swiftlight’s six other views, gives the manager in a program management or PMO role a simple, visual tool which can enhance the ease of planning and executive communication, and save time in the process.
See How Quickly You Can Create a Program (or Project) Timeline in Swiftlight: Watch Overview Video
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Swiftlight’s clear, customizable views can also help with that all important progress reporting to senior executives, both at the program / PMO level or when project teams are reporting in to the centre. With one-click export to PowerPoint and customisable colours and fonts, getting your plans into your presentation and looking good could not be easier:
Program Plan Reporting – Example Timeline with Actual vs Baseline, Percent Complete & Traffic Light Status
Click on the link to see a larger image of the above project timeline
The Activity or Project summary view can also be set up to help communicate project status and issues for action:
Program Plan Reporting – Project Summary: Status and Issues for Action
Click on the link to see a larger image of the above program summary
When more detail is needed, the Activity Group Detail view can provide a good summary of overall activity (or project) status:
Program Plan Reporting – Project Summary Alternative
Click on the link to see a larger image of the above project summary
Swiftlight’s Issue Log may also be useful for tracking and communicating about critical program / project issues:
Program Plan Reporting – Issue Log
Click on the link to see a larger image of the above issue log
In situations where program management teams, or project teams, are using MS Project, Swiftlight’s links to / from MS Project can be helpful. This functionality allows you to do two things:
1) Quickly convert an MS Project file into Swiftlight, offering easier and clearer visualisation and communication of detailed project timelines and other project data.
2) Take a plan in Swiftlight and convert it into an MS Project file, allowing you to plan at a high level in Swiftlight and then export to MS Project for more detailed planning.
Click on the link to find out more about Swiftlight’s links to / from Microsoft Project
To give you ideas about how to set up a program plan in Swiftlight and to help you get started, you can download the template files used for the examples above. (Note: in order to use these files, you will need to have a trial or fully licensed version of Swiftlight). Just click on the link to get these program plan templates.
No tool is going to solve all your program management / PMO needs, and Swiftlight is no exception. Process, people, structure, culture all play more important roles than any software, but Swiftlight is a simple, practical and flexible tool that can help make people’s lives in a program office or PMO a little easier – facilitating planning, the management communication that is so critical to success and saving precious time in the process.
With its practical functionality, outstanding ease of use and all-round great value, Swiftlight should be an easy, low risk addition to the toolkit of anyone in a program or project management office. Why not see for yourself, and get a free 30 day trial?
