UniPhi 17 - New scheduling sub module for cash flow and effort

UniPhi 17 has split out the phasing of a contracts deliverables into two. In prior versions, a user could cash flow a contract by scheduling the deliverables and then using linear monthly phasing across those dates to drive when the forecast of when invoices will be raised. This then consolidates across the portfolio of projects to generate a corporate cash flow profile that can be sliced into states, sectors or any other portfolio subset imaginable.

UniPhi 17 expands this functionality considerably by adding an additional "effort" phasing screen and expanding the phasing algorithms to include other linear methods (i.e. quarterly, half year and yearly) as well as a standard "s" curve for main building contracts.

New effort view for contract schedule

The effort screen is only available for revenue contracts and only when you have developed your contract values from a bottom up estimate of task and assignment. By assigning resources to tasks and phasing out the effort, the end user instantly has a baseline earned value profile for that project. Note we can then cash flow at a higher level for milestone claims and as these don't represent the effort profile, both are catered for.

Feedback to the end user is presented in the form of total contract hours estimated, current actual hours and forecast remaining. Updated schedules push out the remaining hours only.

A baseline function enables users to compare current forecast to the original profile and also is the trigger for the budgeted cost of work scheduled when assessing earned value on the deliverable.

Finally, the hours phased in the contract screen push to the resource planning module to provide a bottom up cumulative effort profile for each person on the project, enabling a virtuous circle from proposal estimate to project management to timesheets to invoicing to cash flow to profitability to resource planning and back to estimating at completion costs.

This to our knowledge, is the only system in the world capable of doing this.

UniPhi 17 - Deliverable assignments by classification

There are three role definitions per person in UniPhi:

1) Role(s) on the team

2) Position in your organisation (AKA your job title)

3) Your salary classification

The first of these definitions sets up what your responsibilities are on the project. For example you may be project director on a project which has a defined set of responsibilities and accountabilities that are different to your general position in your company and salary level. In fact, it is common for people to be in different salary classifications but in the same role on different projects, usually due to the varying size and complexity of projects. In UniPhi, the access level assigned to these roles leads to the functionality that's available to the end user.

Job titles are always interesting and in UniPhi this is a free text field so that we can cater for the full list of that are dreamt up over time. One of our favourites over the years is chief culture officer which lead to our own head of fromage job title which passes weekly to the person who brings into the office the charcuterie platter for Friday lunch.

Classification is used in UniPhi as a driver for determining both cost and charge rates and can now in, UniPhi 17,  be used as an assignment to contract deliverables. The benefits of this capability are:

Price build 

As classifications have rates, you can assign a classification (e.g. Exec level 1) to a deliverable and that deliverable will inherit the cost and charge rate for that classification. This means you can build up your estimate for a new job using the unlimited WBS and the rates library assigned to classifications.

Contract deliverables with resource classifications and rates

Resource planning

By applying effort estimates to build up your price and then scheduling out the contract deliverables, UniPhi's portfolio tools can present a bottom up resource profile by these classifications. As a user can only have one classification (unlike project roles) this provides for a far more robust resource plan.

Classification effort profiles over time

Timesheets

If a user is in the classification that is allocated to the deliverable, then this deliverable will appear in their timesheets for that project. This means you can get actual values against a deliverable to measure performance without having to assign each person to the task.

Deliverables appear based on classification

These three benefits mean that it is far simpler in UniPhi 17 to get the virtuous circle of estimate leading to resource planning, leading to post contract performance management, leading back into estimating again.

We'll be demonstrating how this functionality works in our June 22nd UniPhi 17 webinar. Sign up to see first hand the above in action.

And don't forget to come back on Thursday to read about our next UniPhi 17 "Collaboration around deliverables".