Gold mining and exploration company Harmony Gold’s project management office (PMO) recently showcased its digital project manager scorecard – developed by project solutions company Project Portfolio Office (PPO) – which provides “clear direction” for project managers and administrators by streamlining the performance management information gathering process.

“The PPO software solution is a Web-based project and portfolio management application that [enables] . . . an organisation to register, measure and manage its projects,” enthuses PPO CEO and cofounder Guy Jelley.

PPO’s project manager scorecard enables the managers in Harmony’s PMO to automate the process of managing the portfolios of all projects across the organisation, such as archiving project data, action and/or task tracking updates, and status and progress reporting, he adds.

However, the software solution is not limited to the in-house PMO processes at Harmony – it can also be applied to various other business and industrial sectors to streamline in-house performance information, including key performance indicators (KPIs).

Other potential beneficiaries of the PPO software include businesses in the financial services sector, government, fast-moving consumer goods companies, consultancies, and educational institutions.

For Harmony, the solution assisted in streamlining its performance management information-gathering process, following Harmony Gold PMO manager Helga Olivier’s discovery that it was taking “an excessive [number] of days [to reach] project completion”, and her commitment to making delivery improvement a key focus area.

“On average, depending on the project’s type, size and, of course, the methodology used, information technology-related projects should ideally be completed in between 84 and 300 days, with some exceptions.

“It became a priority, then, for the Harmony PMO to find a better way to see project delivery statuses, identify project pain points and understand other influences on duration,” she explained in a press release, published on March 26, 2024.

Olivier added that Harmony’s aim was to automate and digitalise paper-based procedures, because oftentimes information was difficult to find and could sometimes take on the form of handwritten numbers – making the process more impartial, in addition to making it more efficient.

The Harmony PMO has been using PPO’s project and portfolio management solution for several years, so it was a natural next step to see whether the tool could also be used to introduce a project manager scorecard.

Business Benefits

The PPO software solution offers project management offices many benefits to enhance and automate traditionally manual business processes.

For example, the solution enables organisations to create a visual representation of project flow, consequently allowing for the prediction and selection of best demand and/or new projects to include in their portfolio, based on budget, complexity, duration, risk and benefits.

The solution also enables such departments to make informed decisions about the organisation’s key focus areas, often urging project managers and administrators in departments and/or organisations to implement additional training, as well as change management to support and assist users.

“The PPO solution offers an automated monitoring dashboard to [enable] . . . the PMO to track key drivers and behaviours of the users within the project space,” adds Jelley.

Further, PMOs can couple time-sheeting with the software solution to automate and manage several project costs and duration factors, including project expenditure and “planned versus actuals” on projects.

Using resource allocation and planning data, PPO users who have hefty resourcing costs and requirements can calculate project budgets through automated labour costing.

“The PPO software solution is a Web-based project and portfolio management application that allows any organisation, irrespective of size, maturity, industry or project type to register, measure and manage their projects,” he concludes.