1. Introduction of PTM (Planning Tracking & Management) Tool - developed by Meridian Technology
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2. Main Purposes
To expand some key concepts of the Software CMM (Capability Maturity Model) to non-software-development groups:
Software Project Planning (CMM Level 2)
Software Project Tracking and Oversight (CMM Level 2)
Integrated Software Management (CMM Level 3)
To clearly breakdown the work into tasks and effectively estimate and plan each task
To provide adequate visibility into the actual effort, manpower cost and status of the tasks against the estimates and plans
To achieve E-Management:
Leaders can estimate and plan new project / work by referencing statistics from the Metrics Database of the similar past project / work
Staff can systematically report effort data and progress status
Leaders can track any staff or the whole group’s effort, manpower cost and status in any past week (traceability ensured) or for any designated period (statistics obtained)
E-Communication can be easily and effectively built between leaders and staff
To facilitate the project / work’s completion on-time and on-cost
To create process assets to ensure the company’s long-term growth
It is absolutely NOT a different form of Time Card, like PFU.
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3. Target Users Any group with a leader and at least one staff
A Group can be:
The whole department
A project team
A work team
Especially beneficial for groups doing product development and subcontract work
How to deploy the tool can be discussed to make better use of it
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4. Platform Software Hardware
Microsoft Excel 2000 or above (With Macros enabled)
Microsoft Excel 2003 is recommended
(Microsoft Visual Basic 6.3 is the programming language)
Hardware
One file folder on a file server on the local network
Or one shared folder on the local network
All group members must have Read&Write access to the above folder
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5. Main Features Overall (1)
Equipped with a database to store the whole group’s metrics, which contain week info, tasks, plans, effort data and status description. This metrics database achieves 3-D storage. It is called “Metricsbase” in the tool.
Concurrent access to the Metricsbase over the local network by unlimited number of staff
Tasks are clearly categorized and labeled on report sheets. A task can be further broken down into sub-tasks up to 6 levels (Tree-view).
Two-way communication between group leader and staff:
Group leader can easily view the latest effort data and status description from the staff
Staff can easily get the latest task list and plan details from the group leader
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6. Main Features Overall (2)
Three levels of access control (system administrator, group leader and staff)
Original tool package is in a small size (around 700 KB), which consists of three files only. The leader, however, can expand it to unlimited number of files according the number of the staff in the group
Unnecessary Microsoft Excel features are disabled to avoid malicious usage or accidental operation
Easy version upgrade with existing data intact
User friendly interfaces (most functions are just one button click away)
Most instructions and help info are incorporated in the tool
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7. Main Features Overall (3)
Easy installation and configuration (system administrator configures Group Report, group leader configures Staff Report)
License control program is implemented
No extra cost of purchasing software except Microsoft Excel
No maintenance needed except the tool’s software bugs or problems
Can be expanded to flexible number of reporting levels, e.g.,
staff  group (or staff  project), groups (or projects)  department, departments  organization
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8. Main Features For Group Leaders (1)
Create, configure, re-configure, deactivate (delete) and re-activate Staff Reports from inside of the Group Report
Effectively plan and re-plan projects / work on multiple report sheets
All the report sheets are listed and managed on ‘Report Sheet Mgt’ sheet, where the individual report sheet can be accessed, exported, deactivated and reactivated on demand New!
Retrieve consolidated metrics for the whole group on all report sheets in any past week or for any designated period and show graphical charts for contribution percentage New!
Retrieve consolidated metrics for the whole group on the individual report sheet in any past week or for any designated period
Easily spot individual staff’s submission time and input (effort data and status description) on the consolidated report sheet
Show graphical charts for effort and manpower cost on all or designated categories on the report sheet New!
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9. Main Features For Group Leaders (2)
Compare group metrics between any two designated weeks and see the differences clearly highlighted on the group report sheet
Save remarks accordingly into the Metricsbase
Perform keyword search to see what happened in the past on a task, a category or all tasks for the whole group
Link a category or a task to a file folder or a document on the local PC or on the network
Access any staff’s report from inside of the Group Report to update the report sheet templates or to retrieve metrics for the staff in any past week or for any designated period
Group Report can be moved and used outside of the default folder
Configure (when and where) to enable automatic Metricsbase backup to the pre-defined location
Easy Group Report backup
A number of other useful functions
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10. Main Features For Group Staff (1)
Import the latest report sheet templates automatically upon logon and see dialogs showing the overall changes on the latest report sheets and change details on each latest report sheet template
All the report sheets are listed on ‘My Report Sheets’ sheet, where the individual report sheet can be accessed, unhidden and deleted on demand New!
Submit metrics to the Metricsbase on or not on a weekly basis
Retrieve his/her own metrics in any past week or for any designated period (personal Metricsbase is incorporated in the Staff Report)
Show effort chart for all or designated categories New!
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11. Main Features For Group Staff (2)
Specify the importance level for the status to be submitted in order to draw group leader’s attention if needed
Perform keyword search to see what happened in the past on a task, a category or all tasks for him/herself
Solution for non-local staff (including staff on overseas business trip) who have no access to the local network
Easy Staff Report backup
A number of other useful functions
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12. Main Structure
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