Consulting practice

Microsoft Project & Project Server Implementation

Looking Glass Development is an Authorized Microsoft Partner providing a full line of consulting services for every client and enterprise edition of Microsoft's industry-leading enterprise project management software.

Screenshot of the Microsoft Project Web Access interface showing enterprise project views
Microsoft Project Web Access — enterprise project views.

The Microsoft Project family is designed to help you manage your work, your people and your business together. Microsoft has roughly 500 partners worldwide working with the Project family — so what sets Looking Glass Development apart? First and foremost, our strong command of the internationally accepted standards for professional project management. Of all the Microsoft Partners you could choose, only a handful are Global Registered Education Providers with the Project Management Institute. We are also the only firm that can guarantee every implementation is led by a PMP-certified project manager with at least ten years of information technology experience, and the only firm in the world certified by the National Association of Communication Systems Engineers to provide project management training.

A complete Project implementation requires expertise in four core Microsoft technologies in addition to a strong background in true professional project management:

  • Windows SharePoint Services — integrated document management and a true web user interface for project managers.
  • SQL Server — previously unavailable database replication and analysis services for project managers.
  • SharePoint Server — search and portal capability that integrates all project or portfolio information on a single website.
  • BizTalk Server — integrates complete project workflows into your project software so all projects follow the same basic process.

If you are ready to take your organization's project management capabilities to the next level, we can help — industry-leading project management expertise combined with the world's most powerful, most affordable computerized tools.

What enterprise project management looks like

Screenshot of Microsoft Project Web Access task and timesheet views
Team members update tasks and timesheets through the web.
A PERT chart showing project activities, dependencies and the critical path
PERT chart — dependencies and the critical path at a glance.
Screenshot of a Project Web Access portfolio and resource report
Portfolio and resource reporting through Project Web Access.

Beyond the tools

Project Management Consulting

Most IT professionals have lived through poorly run projects — shifting scope, difficult requirements, impossible schedules and limited budgets that make delivering quality products very hard. Whether your project is just beginning or started two years ago, we can help you manage the triangle every project faces. Our consulting practice focuses on the four areas we believe are key to a successful project.

Diagram of Dempster's triangle illustrating the relationship between project scope, time and cost

Requirements

Quality requirements are key to the success of any project — especially IT projects. A clear understanding of what the product must do makes the outcome of every decision easier to see. We bring expertise in the latest techniques such as Use Cases, the Unified Modeling Language, the Rational Unified Process and decision analysis — expertise that saves significant time and money and helps you avoid problematic project rework.

A decision tree diagram used to evaluate alternative project choices and their probabilities

Communications & documentation

The root of project failure is usually unclear or missing communication and documentation, where hallway conversations and ad hoc meetings replace organized communication. We help you develop a communications strategy so everyone shares the same expectations for requirements, timelines, costs and risks — and we help you create documents that tell the story of your project clearly enough to serve future projects too.

An earned value chart comparing planned value, earned value and actual cost over the project timeline

Project measurement & change control

Studies show the average completed IT project costs 188% of its original plan and overruns its budget by 222% — largely due to poor project reporting. Deploying tools such as Earned Value, Weighted Milestones and other advanced statistical techniques, we give you fast, simple, automated ways to know exactly where your project stands. And because 61% of projects fail to deliver their expected scope, we deliver simple, effective change control processes that make scope creep a thing of the past.

A project plan view with a task list, durations and Gantt bars in a scheduling tool

Project planning

Today's tools are powerful but complex, which makes building an effective project plan harder than ever. We provide commonsense tools and proven techniques — Work Breakdown Structures, tasks, activities, dependencies and duration estimating methods such as PERT — that can make a major, immediate difference in your project, saving significant time, money and headaches.

If your project needs help, don't wait

Call today: (303) 663-5402 or email information@lookingglassdev.com.

Request a consultation