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Microsoft Partner Engaged Squared has deployed an information platform for Origin Energy to collate the lessons the energy provider has learned from various projects into one place.
Engage Squared worked with Origin to develop a solution that is powered by Microsoft Power Apps, linked to Sharepoint and integrated with its data lake and project management information system to provides access to learned lessons through a user interface.
The consolidated platform draws on project data, such as like name, description, duration, cost, risk, difficulty and impacted stakeholders from the project management information system.
In addition, the project field type includes technology, exploration, construction, maintenance and renewables.
After collecting the relevant information, the platform transfers it to a data lake stored on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and uploads it to SharePoint every night.
Previously, the energy provider captured information on lessons learned in a spreadsheet that was stored in a SharePoint library.
According to Origin’s project delivery lead Adam Paine, the old system was not easy for others to access, particularly new project managers.
“If you were lucky enough to find a project similar to the one you had been asked to deliver, getting access to those lessons very much depended on who was still around in the organisation to give you permissions to that library,” he said.
“Those lessons might not be stored in a logical place and the quality was questionable. So, you could really spin your wheels as a new project manager, trying to find relevant projects to learn what has and hasn’t worked at Origin.”
An internal assessment of the existing systems then took place, which flagged problems, with the user experience, licensing and adaptability.
“If you’re a project manager who’s been here for some time, you know what projects we’ve done, and you know the people involved, so you probably have a reasonable idea of what does and doesn’t work,” Paine said.
“But, if you leave Origin, that knowledge was going out the door with you. Now, if you’re a project manager, you can easily search for projects with characteristics that are similar to yours and read the lessons that are applicable.”
Following the deployment of the project lesson platform, a Microsoft Power BI dashboard was also built for project managers to provide insights into how the system is used and find common themes.
It also rank individuals via a 'leader board', which gamifies the process and encourages other project managers to use the platform, Microsoft claimed.
The methodology appears to be working, with project managers adding over 1,300 lessons to the system since it was deployed.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback from project managers that it’s the best lessons learned system and process that they’ve ever come across,” Paine said.
“With project managers often being contractors, they’ve worked with a lot of different companies and seen how they operate. So, that has been great feedback.”
Engage Squared previously worked with Cricket Australia to assess the mental wellbeing of its staff through the deployment of an employee experience platform, which was based on Microsoft's Viva Insights product and was announced in May.
