Most of us have experienced a project that hasn’t gone quite as planned. Information wasn’t received at the right time, different teams had completely different interpretations of the requirements, or somebody didn’t realize they were responsible for a task. Little things can turn into big things quickly, and suddenly a project is delayed, budgets are blown, and customers are unhappy.
With so many details for even the smallest project, the best way to keep things on track and have a successful outcome is to have a Project Manager (PM) overseeing the work. A Project Manager is a professional whose primary role is to organize the details of the project. They assign tasks, monitor deadlines, communicate with all the project team members, and flag issues early before they become major problems.
Because the role of the Project Manager is so crucial in having a successful outcome, it is always a good idea to know if the service provider your agency chooses for any contract work has a Project Management Office (PMO) with certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs). There are several key benefits that agencies can expect when choosing a service provider with a dedicated PMO.
Consistent Quality of Work
Federal agencies should expect consistent quality of work each time a solution is delivered. A PMO standardizes processes and procedures across all types projects, which translates to agencies having a consistent experience for every project. With a PMO, there is a dedicated resource that is solely focused on the process – someone who is there from the beginning to make sure all of the required tasks are documented and achieved. This resource also offers the client full transparency on how the work is done, what the deadlines are (and why they may need to be adjusted), and how the work is mapping to the budget. This consistency builds trust over time, and removes the inefficiencies of building a new process for each project, which could ultimately lead to inconsistent levels of success.
Regular Communication
For every project – regardless of size – it’s vital that all stakeholders understand their roles and responsibilities from the very beginning. The Project Manager’s job is to ensure the team members know each other, understand the goals of the project, and understand their required tasks and deadlines. The project plan created by the PM serves as a roadmap for the project, and includes regular check-in meetings and status reports. Every member of the project team will see the progress, understand the part they play, and be kept up-to-date on all tasks – even the ones they are not directly involved with.
This type of transparent communication provides more than just peace of mind. It enables a feedback mechanism between the planning and execution of any given requirement. It also helps the team uncover issues and make adjustments quickly, as opposed to uncovering problems when it may be too late to efficiently resolve them.
Successful Delivery
The timeline for delivery for large scale projects can take months, sometimes longer. When agencies are investing a great deal of time, resources, and budget into large scale solutions, they need to be sure all the work culminates in success. For these types of projects, it’s critical to have a dedicated resource who is watching the big picture – and the minute details. The Project Manager is constantly assessing progress, and can adjust the project plan quickly based on needs if unforeseen circumstances force a change. Projects that are well managed and have oversight by someone whose only task is to manage the project have a higher probability of being delivered on time and on budget than those that don’t.
When a solution provider makes the investment in a dedicated Project Management Office with certified Project Management Professionals to support the successful delivery of the solutions they sell, it shows their commitment to the customers they serve. For these types of solutions provider, it isn’t just about sales, it is about their customers’ success. If your agency is making the investment in a solution, be sure to include a question about project management in your selection criteria. It will go a long way in achieving your mission.
October 31, 2022
Sirius Federal Awarded CMMI Level 3 Certification
Sirius Federal, a CDW Company, a leading national IT solutions integrator for the federal government, announced today that it has been awarded the distinguished Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 3 certification. The CMMI certification was created by the Software…
November 16, 2021
Sirius Federal Named Cisco Federal Intelligence Partner of the Year at Cisco Partner Summit 2021
Crofton, MD – 16 November 2021 — Sirius Federal, a Sirius Computer Solutions Company, has been named the Cisco Federal Intelligence Partner of the Year for the second time in three years. Cisco announced the winners during its annual partner…
October 21, 2021
How Proper Collaboration Tools Make or Break Long-Term Telework Plans for Federal Agencies
Effective collaboration tools can eliminate silos and accelerate missions. But getting to a modern and secure collaboration environment can be a daunting task for federal agencies, especially with today’s mobile workforce. In the year and a half since the onset…
April 8, 2021
Federal IT Focus Areas for 2H of 2021
In the aftermath of an unprecedented year riddled with a teleworking surge, election-year tension and—last but certainly not least—a global pandemic affecting every industry and organization in our nation, it’s safe to say that 2021 was welcomed with open arms.…
October 3, 2020
5 Tools to Help Federal Employees Return to Work Safely
As COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease across the country, federal agencies are slowly bringing employees back into the office. However, many employees who have spent several months working in a remote environment may be nervous about returning to the office,…
October 2, 2020
Using the CDM Program to Keep Federal Networks Secure No Matter Where Employees Work
As federal agencies deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on where and how employees work, federal CIOs that were already facing constraints securing their networks prior to the pandemic now have to contend with network security for the…
October 1, 2020
Remote, Hybrid, Onsite – Tools To Secure Federal Networks No Matter Where Teams Work
As COVID-19 restrictions ease, federal agencies are beginning to bring employees back into the office. Whether teams are returning to the office full time, continuing to work in a remote environment, or using a hybrid approach, the top priority is…
September 9, 2020
Sirius Federal Awarded ITES-SW2 Contract
Crofton, MD—September 9, 2020— Sirius Federal, a Sirius company, has been awarded the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions-Software 2 (ITES-SW2) contract. In addition to helping save time on procurement and cutting costs by consolidating their software purchases, the ITES-SW2 contract allows…
September 3, 2020
Sirius Federal Gives Back to the Community Through Virtual Food Drive
Philanthropy and community outreach have always been an integral part of Sirius Federal’s corporate culture. To support those in need in our communities, Sirius Federal is running a Virtual Food Drive during the month of September to support the Maryland…
November 30, 2019
Ignore the Workforce at Your IT Modernization Peril
Federal agencies are currently faced with the daunting task of modernizing billions of dollars’ worth of outdated technology. On the path to IT modernization success, the investment in technology represents only half the battle though — agencies also need to…
November 8, 2019
Sirius Federal Named Public Sector Partner of the Year and Federal Intelligence Partner of the Year at Cisco Partner Summit
This week, Sirius Federal was recognized for our leadership in the public sector by receiving two awards at the Cisco Partner Summit in Las Vegas, NV. Sirius Federal was named the Americas Geographical Region Public Sector Partner of the Year…
September 6, 2019
Protecting your Agency from Phishing
As we spend an increasingly large percentage of our time online, we’ve become aware of the malicious tactics used to trick us into downloading malware or betraying our credentials. Even as our built-in threat detection improves, we risk letting it…
March 12, 2019
TechTarget: Big Blue Drives Collaboration Among IBM Business Partners
IBM is investing in resources and business processes to make it easier for IBM business partners to create alliances with each other. Following last month's IBM Think conference in San Francisco, Senior Director of Software Practice Charles Fullwood discusses the…
February 27, 2019
Deployment and Resident Engineers Deliver On-Site Solutions
At Sirius Federal, we provide solutions. From infrastructure management to cloud migration, we create custom answers to federal IT’s most pressing problems. But we believe strong, sustainable solutions involve more than just software and hardware. What agencies often need most…
August 21, 2018
WBJ: Here’s What it Takes for a Mid-Tier Maryland Contractor to Compete in Evolving Federal IT Marketplace
More than three-fourths of federal government agencies — about 77 percent, according to a Government Accountability Office report — will not meet their planned technology modernization goals by the end of the year. Our CEO, Mike Greaney, recently sat down…
August 17, 2018
The Rally Call for Digital Transformation Is Here: Are You Ready for the Journey?
Today, digital transformation has become the rallying cry for government organizations aiming to innovate and improve operations. The promise of digital transformation is profound: faster and more informed decision-making, improved customer insights, greater cost savings, more reliable products and services,…
October 17, 2017
3 Tactics to Avoid Insider Threats Posed by Third-Party Contractors
"The balance between too much security and too little is delicate. Overzealous access policies can bring efficiency and productivity to a screeching halt. But an overly lax approach can expose sensitive data to people who don’t need it and shouldn’t…
October 10, 2017
Improving Insider Threat Detection with Security Integration
With cyber-attacks like Nyetya and WannaCry dominating headlines over the last several months, you’d think malware would top the list of security pro’s biggest concerns. But you’d be wrong, according to the SANS Institute’s 2017 annual data security survey. While…
October 10, 2017
Unstructured Data: The Threat You Cannot See
In this article for Dark Reading, Sirius Federal software practice director Charles Fullwood examines why security teams needs to take a cognitive approach to the increasing volumes of data flowing from sources they don't control. Every day, IT security teams…
October 2, 2017
Expect security, cloud spending in 2018 Federal IT Budget
In recent interviews with TechTarget, industry leaders--including Sirius Federal's Greg Kushto--cited an uptick in federal IT procurement activity during the government's fiscal fourth quarter and expected FY 2018 to feature security and cloud investments. IT solution providers planning to pursue…
May 15, 2017
NextGov: How to Unleash Federal IT Workers as Changemakers
Written by Sirius Federal's vice president of client solutions Jason Parry, this article was originally published at www.NextGov.com. The public-sector workforce has always been plagued by stereotypes. To the layman, “government job” calls to mind images of a middle-aged bureaucrat,…
April 25, 2017
SearchITChannel: New tech, old virtues keep server virtualization going
"Server virtualization is well past the peak of the technology adoption curve, but SMB customers, open source technology and hybrid clouds keep demand going." —John Moore, SearchITChannel Server virtualization platforms have been around for ages and would seem to be old…
April 4, 2017
FedTech: How to Make the Most of the Federal Hiring Freeze
Although the freeze may constrain resources, it is also an opportunity to conduct an IT inventory, invest in training and prioritize projects. In this article for FedTech, writer Phil Goldstein addresses how federal agencies are handling the recently announced federal…
