Case Study

Microsoft 365 for Construction Management Case Study Part 2: Project Online

Case Study | November 7, 2022

This article is part two of our case study examining how we helped one of our clients manage their construction projects better with Microsoft 365. If you have not read the first installment, you might want to check out part one of the case study before proceeding.

The client in this case study contracted Lydon Solutions to develop a Microsoft 365 project management solution for a multi-billion-dollar program with over eighty active projects. In our first post, we outlined the client’s project needs, including how they currently handled these tasks and how we planned to help them improve their workflows with Microsoft 365 and its related applications.

One primary requirement of our client was integrating Microsoft Project into their overall project management solution. This article will detail our approach to creating a solution centered on Project.

A quick primer on Microsoft Project

Before we get into our client’s challenge, it might be helpful to review the evolution and status of Microsoft Project since the nuances affect the solution you can implement.

Microsoft Project is several different applications rolled into one:

Microsoft Project desktop application

The desktop version of Project is the application we all have used for years. Most construction companies have Project Standard or Project Professional installed locally on their computers.

The desktop version of Project is the most feature-rich version of the application but is not connected to the internet unless you pay for a Project Online subscription (see below). You need the more robust Project Professional to create complex schedules (beyond predecessor logic) and assign organizational resources and custom fields. You can do project-specific reporting in either desktop version of Microsoft Project.

Microsoft Project Online (Project Web App or PWA)

Microsoft Project Online is the web-enabled version of the application. With this version, you can manage a portfolio of projects, create Microsoft Project and SharePoint templates and sites, create and share company resources and custom fields, implement timesheets, and connect to the desktop Project application.

You can update schedules in PWA, but the functionality is limited to predecessor logic. You need Project Standard or Professional for more complex scheduling, organizational resource management, custom fields, and project-specific reporting. Note: PWA schedules do not integrate with Project for the Web (described below) since the app stores schedule data in SharePoint sites. You need Power BI to do multi-project reporting.

Microsoft Project for the Web (PFTW)

Microsoft Project for the Web is a more flexible, dynamic, and modern scheduling version of Microsoft Project. PFTW appears to be the future of Microsoft Project, but the development roadmap has been moving at a glacial pace.

Organizations trying to use both PWA and PFTW can confuse users since PFTW is a lightweight scheduling tool that looks and behaves differently than PWA, but both are considered Project Online. PFTW has similar functionality as PWA, but it does not integrate with PWA schedules or schedules made in the desktop version. PFTW is a stand-alone modern application that stores data in the dataverse, not SharePoint. You need Power BI to do multi-project reporting.

Now that we got that out of the way, you can see why the complexity of the Project ecosystem and how the various features and differences between the versions can create additional challenges when trying to develop a solution.

How our client used Microsoft Project

Our client was using Microsoft Project Online (PWA) to manage their portfolio of projects. The other factors we had to consider included the following:

The client’s project managers (PMs) did not want to use Project to update their schedules and instead leveraged construction coordinators to provide schedule updates on their behalf. Management wanted to change this behavior so that PMs were responsible for their updates but the solution needed to be as easy as possible.
The PMs did not have the desktop version of Microsoft Project to update schedules.
The PMs wanted to use Project for cash flow forecasting across projects.
The PMs wanted weekly reporting on all scheduled milestones and late tasks by Project but had not set up zero-duration milestones in their schedules.
There were over 80 active projects in their Project Online project center

Our approach to making Microsoft Project the core of the client’s solution

From experience and discussions with the client, we knew that email was the easiest way for PMs to update schedules.

We designed a solution to aggregate project schedule and task data across all projects from PWA into a centralized SharePoint list daily. We developed a Power Automate workflow to send emails with adaptive cards to the PMs when their tasks were due so that they could update them in Outlook without having to go into Project. The SharePoint list received the task updates, and another Power Automate workflow processed the updates back into PWA. Other parts of the solution leverage this same SharePoint list, providing a single source of truth for projects without users needing to interact with the Project application. We will explain further in a future post.

Next, we needed to use Project schedules for cash flows. For this, we had to be able to assign a cash flow resource to the schedules. Doing so would allow the schedules to drive the cash flow amounts. So, we created new cash flow enterprise resources for the organization in the PWA resource center. We created both budget and generic resource types. We established cost budget resources as the overall project budget at the project summary level (task 0) in Project. We used cost generic resources to assign the cash flow amounts for cash flow milestone activities at the task level.

We then created new cash flow milestones in Project with the schedule logic of how pay apps would be submitted and approved. Since cost generic resources represented our budget at the task level, the actual cost would update automatically when a user marked a cash flow milestone task as 100% complete.

For reporting, we leveraged Power BI to provide cross-project cash flow reports. There is a Power BI web app connection that you can leverage to access PWA data. This connection includes the Microsoft Project data lists so you can generate reports in Power BI. We’ll get into the details of how we developed the reports in a future post.

Do more with Microsoft 365 and Project

Find out how to take Microsoft 365 and Project to the next level by submitting a free consultation request. If you prefer a turnkey project management solution powered by Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, check out Construction Viz and our extensive lineup of construction apps.

A Case Study on Using Microsoft 365 for Construction Project Management

Case Study | September 21, 2022

Many organizations want to use Microsoft 365 to manage their construction projects. Unfortunately, figuring out where to start and how to bring all the Microsoft applications together into a cohesive solution can be overwhelming. We posted a three-part blog a little while back that includes some tips and considerations to help you on your way. You can check out that series here:

Starting with this new post, we are kicking off a new series to describe a case study of a real-world implementation of Microsoft 365 for construction project management. We will detail the challenges, explain some of our decisions, provide sample deliverables, and reiterate critical takeaways that might help your organization develop its construction program management solution in Microsoft 365. In this first post, we will discuss the client’s challenge and then provide a detailed analysis in follow-up posts.

The client’s challenge: How to use Microsoft 365 for effective project management

The client in this case study contracted Lydon Solutions to develop a Microsoft 365 project management solution for a multi-billion-dollar program with over eighty active projects. Meeting the client’s requirements required re-engineering their current processes and tools to deliver a solution using out-of-the-box Microsoft 365 applications effectively.

Below are the requests by the client, the systems they were using, and the Microsoft 365 applications and approaches we are implementing to solve their unique challenges.

Request	Current Applications	Microsoft 365 Applications & Approach
Scheduling in Project Online with schedule updates possible via email	Project Online	Project Online with resource management and schedule updates via Adaptive Cards.
Cash flow forecasting driven by Project Online schedule activities	Excel	Resource loaded scheduling with payment milestones in Project Online. Power BI reports by period and cumulative cash flows.
Document management migrated into SharePoint	External file share	SharePoint Online sites for each project with permission-managed document libraries and lists.
Forms (issues, risks, etc.) that are responsive across devices with data stored in SharePoint	Excel, Word, and PDFs	Power App forms connected to Project Online and SharePoint data and stored in a centralized SharePoint location.
Automated approval workflows	Email	Power Automate workflows, Power Apps for approval signatures, and Adaptive Cards for approvals via email.
Internal project communication	Email and voice	Teams with tabs for SharePoint sites and Power BI reports.
Reporting project statuses weekly, monthly, and quarterly	Excel, Word, and PowerPoint	Power BI reporting utilizing Project Online, Power Apps, and SharePoint data. Reports include data across all disciplines with a rollup and drill-down capability depending on the report.

Diagram of the applications with Project Online at the core of the solution

Before we dive into the solution space, we cannot stress enough the importance of collecting requirements. Without detailed requirements, it’s like building a house without a design. In many cases, we don’t have the luxury to perform a complete requirement gathering session since clients want a solution sooner rather than later, don’t have the resources to support the effort, and often see requirements gathering as unnecessary costs. Fortunately, we have the experience to work with whatever clients can provide and fill in the gaps where needed. But if you use a third-party vendor without this type of experience, you will end up with a disjointed solution that costs an arm and a leg to build.

In the next post, we will discuss how we approached and implemented a Project Online solution.

About Us

Lydon Solutions has been developing and implementing construction management solutions in Microsoft 365 since its inception way back in 2011. We also provide a turnkey construction management product called Construction Viz that can be quickly deployed into a client’s Microsoft 365 or hosted externally. You can check out a video of the CMAA product demo here.

Microsoft Power Automate Construction Use Cases

Case Study | April 27, 2021

Here are a few examples of how we delivered real-world efficiencies for our construction industry clients using Microsoft Power Automate.

If you have been following our posts, you will know that we are big fans of the Microsoft Power Platform and, in particular, Power Automate, Microsoft's modern take on workflows. Available in Microsoft 365 with E and M licenses or separately if you need to access premium connectors, Power Automate provides a quick way to take advantage of workflows to improve processes predictability and business efficiencies for your organization.

Construction Use Cases for Power Automate

Microsoft provides a gallery of Power Automate workflow templates, which can be used for simple business scenarios or as a starting point for more complex solutions. We have helped numerous construction industry clients achieve their goals by leveraging Power Automate. Below are a few use cases of Power Automate for construction.

Document Review

There are several ways to create document approval workflows in Power Automate. For example, you could leverage the built-in approval actions to send approval requests via email or SMS to a mobile phone where the user clicks on a link to perform the approval.

One of our clients needed their sub-contractors to approve and respond to document changes without having access to the company's project management information system (PMIS). We leveraged Microsoft's Adaptive Cards technology to allow recipients to approve document modifications without leaving the email they received with the notification for action. Handling approvals entirely within emails was more convenient for the approver and helped improve engagement while increasing the turnaround time for feedback since users didn't have to learn a new system. A bonus was that the client didn't have to purchase additional licenses for their sub-contractors.

For another client, we used Power Automate to generate a daily digest of new and updated documents from each program's projects for PMs to review and provide feedback. This workflow also sent a weekly digest of projects that were closing out and attached a PDF document binder (also created by the workflow) of all the project documents as an attachment to the email. In each case, the body of the email contained project-specific information extracted from the project sites.

Project Safety

One of our clients needed to log when personnel entered and left construction sites to allow them to know who was on site quickly should there be an incident. To meet this requirement with Power Automate, our client's users registered their mobile phones with the new workflow we created. Then we leveraged Power Automate's geofencing features to trigger updates to a SharePoint list on the movement of personnel around construction sites.

For another client, we created a workflow to monitor data from weather stations located at the construction site. The workflow recorded the real-time weather at the site and sent alerts in the event of inclement conditions. Another workflow monitored data from a weather service and processed weather forecasts for construction sites to allow project planners to schedule or reschedule work based on forecast local conditions.

Project Automation

We built a workflow for a client to automate the request, approval, and provisioning of Microsoft Teams sites from a predefined set of templated sites. Users would complete a form to request a new team site, specifying the owner, users, the template to use for configuration, and if it needed to be private or public. The workflow would route a request to the project manager for approval. If approved, the team site would be provisioned and configured, and an email sent confirming its approval and creation to the requestor. If the project manager denied the request, the workflow sent a notification to the user with the reason.

For another client, we created a workflow to allow users to work cost reports and budgets in Excel without changing their processes rather than forcing them to log in to the PMIS to update project financial information. The workflow reads data from the Excel workbooks and sheets and updates the corresponding SharePoint lists in the PMIS. Additionally, if someone updates the values in the PMIS, they can optionally be written back to the master Excel file.

Take Advantage of Power Automate for Your Construction Projects

The above are just a few examples of how we have helped our clients use Microsoft's Power Automate to achieve efficiencies with repeatable processes that provide predictability and ensure accuracy. There are so many more. Make sure you explore what Power Automate can do for your construction projects.

And if you would like some help, we have several construction-oriented Power Automate flows and components to jump-start workflows for your projects. You can request a free one-hour consultation here.

Does Your Organization Need a Custom Project Management Information System?

Case Study | March 22, 2021

How you manage your construction projects is unique to your organization, so shouldn't your construction project management software be as well?

Lydon Solutions has been developing custom Project Management Information Systems (PMISs) for the construction industry using Microsoft SharePoint and SQL Server since 2009. Over the years, we have found that every company, every project, and every project manager manages their projects differently. While there are standard practices across the construction industry, there is no one-size-fits-all process used across the scope and breadth of major construction projects.

Given the above, why do so many companies try to make do with an out-of-the-box PMIS when they really need and want a custom solution? The answer is: many management teams incorrectly assume that a custom solution is too expensive and time-consuming to implement. Here is why they are wrong.

The hidden costs of an out-of-the-box PMIS

Custom solutions strike fear in some companies because of their reputation for being expensive and taking too much time to implement. Instead of getting a custom solution that fits their needs and processes, these companies end up doing a combination of the following:

Working around the limitations of an out-of-the-box PMIS
Looking the other way as project teams do most of their work in Excel because the company PMIS is too cumbersome to use
Hiring more people to do the manual administrative tasks required by their inflexible off-the-shelf PMIS

In other words, rather than investing in a solution that works for them, many organizations struggle with tools that ultimately cost them more in the long run.

If companies performed a cost-benefit analysis, they would see that implementing a custom PMIS has the following long-term benefits over their status quo system:

A custom PMIS mirrors your work processes, allowing you to optimize your business processes for efficiency.
A custom PMIS offers greater scalability as your organization changes. You can flexibly adapt to changes in process, scope, resources, and so on.
Since a custom solution includes just what you need, you do not have to pay for unnecessary hardware or functionality. You can also reduce your reliance on offline tools.
Your organization likely uses other enterprise platforms. Your custom solution can integrate with all the other software products in use by your company, adding more efficiency in to your workflows.
Having a solution that lets your teams be more efficient and do their job better can give you a strategic advantage over your competitors using rigid off-the-shelf solutions.
When your PMIS more closely aligns with how you actually do business, the more likely it is that your organization will use the system.

Okay, you might wonder if an off-the-shelf system costs more over time; why don't all organizations go with a custom solution that better fits their needs? Most likely because they are intimidated by the planning required to launch a custom solution successfully.

The cost of a custom PMIS solution lies in the planning

Surprisingly, the cost and challenges of building a custom PMIS have shifted from IT development to upfront planning, requirements, and overall design. Platforms like Microsoft 365 have made it easier than ever to deliver custom solutions. Ultimately, the cost of the custom PMIS and its success is contingent on how well companies can articulate their vision of how the system should function to support their business needs. And how well an IT consulting company, which knows construction, can translate those requirements into a real solution. As with any construction project, you can't build without a solid design. The same goes for IT.

I want a custom PMIS, but where do I start?

In prior posts, we outlined the best practice to follow when rolling out a new PMIS at your organization. We have articles on planning, evaluating technology, implementing, and supporting a PMIS. You can start there to understand the big picture of delivering a PMIS. If you are considering using Microsoft 365 as the foundation of your PMIS, our previous blog post has some tips as well.

If you need additional help with the upfront planning or development for a custom PMIS solution, I invite you to submit a free consultation request with Lydon Solutions. We have an experienced team of construction and IT professionals with a track record of delivering award-winning PMIS solutions. We also have an expanding catalog of integrated Construction Viz apps that you can combine to fast-track your own fully customizable PMIS solution in Microsoft365 and SharePoint.

The FOCUS Methodology: A Solution-based Consulting Framework

Case Study | February 23, 2021

Lydon Solutions developed the FOCUS methodology, a step-by-step approach for delivering information management solutions to our clients. Read on to find out how our FOCUS methodology helped one client ramp up their efficiency without increasing staffing or cost through the smarter application of information technology and streamlined business processes.

The construction industry is undergoing a massive shift. Information management, both the technology and the processes surrounding it, are becoming critical for project delivery. We recently had a client that was ramping up a major maintenance and repair program, and their management tasked them with executing five times the number of projects while keeping their staffing level and cost the same. A classic case of delivering more with less.

Helping this client meet their management's new goal involved more than just creating efficiencies through an improved business process. It required a holistic information management solution. We worked with the client to determine how they should collect, store, handle ownership, and report on their data while also helping them create the tools and processes required to support this new strategy.

Delivering information management solutions like the above that work starts by following an established methodology. Lydon Solutions has been developing and implementing business solutions in and around construction information management for over eleven years. To tackle the challenges our industry presents, we developed the FOCUS methodology.

What is the Lydon Solutions FOCUS Methodology?

FOCUS is our custom step-by-step methodology applicable to any process but ideal for delivering information management solutions. As with the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) approach, the FOCUS methodology is adjustable depending on the project's size, budget, and schedule. The steps, which are most effective when followed sequentially, include inputs, processes, owners, and outputs. As we complete each step, results are reviewed with the client to ensure everything is in-line with their requirements.

Here is a breakdown of the five steps in our FOCUS methodology:

Formulate. First, we begin with fact-finding to gather high-level business requirements. This step helps us formulate the problem statement, provide a preliminary solution, and develop a rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate and schedule.
Organize. Once all parties understand the preliminary project scope, schedule, and budget, the next step is defining detailed requirements. Here we evaluate "as is" and "to be" business processes with the client (for more on this, see my blog post on documenting as-is processes). Taking the time to do this thorough assessment and documentation ensures that all requirements are well understood and expectations clear. At this point, we may need to revise the budget and schedule before building out the solution.

Together, the Formulate and Organize steps make up our envisioning process, which leverages our experience and a series of proven templates required to provide a business case. These templates include assets covering a project charter, risk assessment, governance, solution concepts, project staffing plans, and cost estimates. Having these deliverables enables our clients to be more confident in the successful outcome of their project. They also demonstrate to their stakeholders and senior leadership that the requested budget is realistic with minimal undefined assumptions.

Construct. Lydon Solutions takes the outputs from the previous envisioning process and moves into building out the solution. We hold bi-weekly review meetings with the client to go over status, monitor scope, address questions, and ensure the solution development progresses efficiently. We have found the agile development approach to be the most effective way to manage the build process since it provides the most flexibility to change due to shifts in scope and definition.
Utilize. Once we complete the development of the solution, it then needs to be implemented. Implementation is more than just handing over the finished product; it entails training, knowledge transfer, effective communications, and regular follow-up meetings to ensure the deliverables meet the client's needs.
Support. Once we complete implementation, we establish a feedback loop with a system or a process to ensure that the solution meets the client's expectations. Doing so allows us to manage issues, questions, updates, and requests for changes in a timely and efficient fashion. Having a support channel in place is essential to the solution's ongoing success as it becomes a mainstay for a client.

So what does the FOCUS process mean for you, a potential client? In short, it means if you work with Lydon Solution, there will not be any surprises. Because we focus on solutions and have a formal delivery methodology, you will have a better idea of what exactly you are getting, for how much, and when you can expect it.

Find out how Lydon Solutions can help your organization

Lydon Solutions has been delivering customized and compelling solutions for our clients since its founding in 2009. From integrating a range of technologies and solutions to providing rock-solid hosting in Microsoft Azure, all the way through to the development of our own React-based Construction Viz apps for Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, we strive to provide the best advice, direction, and strategy at every turn. We do not just do IT; we provide information management solutions. Our team knows the construction industry. We have boots on the ground, a can-do attitude to tackle big challenges and a commitment to delivering world-class solutions.

Let us help your organization take your construction project management to the next level. Schedule your free consultation today.

Microsoft 365 for Construction Management Case Study Part 2: Project Online