Professional Services Automation (PSA) and Services Automation (SA) Overview

Introduction

Externally-focussed Services Organisations (SO) require specialised tools to automate their processes.  These are known generically as "Professional Services Automation (PSA)".

Internally-focussed Services Organisation/Business Units (BU) also require specialised tools to automate their processes.  These are known generically as "Services Automation (SA)".

The PSA/SA features of PM^Complete™ provides benefits for different people:

Senior Management

Senior management includes the most senior management of the enterprise that owns the Service Organisation.

1. Confidence in knowing that the enterprise is following best practice processes.
2. This is embedded within PM^Complete™ and is learnt by System Users as a by-product of using it.
3. Delivers an excellent Return On Investment (ROI) for not just the direct expense of acquiring the initial system solution, but also the indirect expense of implementing it and training staff in its use.

Services Organisation Management

1. A single integrated, enterprise-wide solution that can manage, monitor, control, measure and report on Service Organisation performance.
2. This leads to tighter organisational control.
3. Ability to manage, monitor, control, measure and report on the whole enterprise's assets (most importantly people, as well as to a lesser extent physical and intellectual capital and property assets (like software)).
4. This leads to improved asset utilisation, improved productivity and thus, bottom line.
5. Ability to demonstrate to senior management and peer level management the value that the Service Organisation is delivering to the enterprise.
6. This leads to greater harmony within the enterprise (you don't keep having other department heads questioning what your organisation does, what value it delivers, why you need all of those people and why it costs so much).

Services Organisation Middle Management

Service Organisation middle management includes all the direct reports to the Service Organisation management.

1. A system that will grow and change as their own Service Organisation grows and changes.
2. This leads to confidence in the solution.
3. A system that allows them to keep a finger on the pulse of their organisation as well as be informed of problems on an exception basis.

Services Organisation Operations Staff

Service Organisation operations staff includes all staff who provide services.

1. Very rich system functionality that allows them to perform their jobs the best way possible.
2. This results in improved System User satisfaction, reduced fire-fighting and distractions about the capability of the system to support the organisation leading to improved staff morale.
3. WorkFlow to quickly and efficiently move transactions around the enterprise.
4. This reduces cycle times for transactions, improves staff productivity and greatly improves Sponsor/Client satisfaction.

Services Organisation Support Staff

Service Organisation support staff include clerical staff, personal and administrative assistants, accounting staff, contracts staff, human resource staff, resource (pool) management staff and information technology staff.

1. Accounting transactions are generated as a by-product of business transactions.
2. This reduces the need to capture and perform this data entry into computer systems.
3. Operates on an industry standard, low cost hardware and software platform.
4. This ensures a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over the life of the system by minimising the cost of hardware, system software, communications, training and system administration.
5. "Thin client" software.
6. This leads to reduced TCO because there is less maintenance to be performed every time a new version of the PM^Complete™ software is installed.
7. "Big system features" like full audit trailing, financial transaction posting trails, flexible system access security, full context-sensitive on-line help and no data base capacity limits.
8. These all mean that the system can be used in safety to manage the business, rather than just be a secondary productivity aid.

Client Management

Client management includes the senior management of the Client enterprises (for PSA) and the heads of all departments (for SA).

1. Ability to review the performance of the Service Organisation with a view to determining if they are receiving value for money.
2. This results in improved Sponsor/Client satisfaction (because they do not have to keep these statistics themselves) and, therefore, leads to closer inter-company relationships and repeat business.
3. Collaboration with the Service Organisation.
4. This increases Sponsor/Client satisfaction through better communications.

Client Staff

Client staff includes all staff who are recipients of the services that the Service Organisation provides.

1. Ability to use the system themselves either for data entry or for enquiring and reporting on status information.
2. This allows them to be part of the team and see all of their own activities.
3. This reduces cycle times, gives a sense of being in control, gives a sense of dealing with a professional organisation and improves Sponsor/Client satisfaction.
4. Excellent ease of use.
5. This leads to reduced costs for training and a greater likelihood that they will actually use the system.
6. Security to see just their own work.
7. This allows the Service Organisation to "open the kimono" to different degrees for different Clients.
8. Those Clients that the Service Organisation can trust to not abuse the service can have an "open book" policy applied.
9. Those where telling them too much can lead to political issues, can be restricted in their use.
10. One Client can not see another Client's data and reports.
11. Self-service capabilities.
12. This leads to greater Sponsor/Client satisfaction and ownership.

PM^Complete™ does all of this and more.

Click here for an Overview of PM^Complete™ including typical System Users.