Business Links

Los Angeles Fire Department

Dennis, how long have you used ManagePro?

Years, I’ve been using it in this position for 7 years, and 3 yrs prior to that.

What type of position do you hold?

I’m the Director of Systems, including the 911 dispatch system, for the City of Los Angeles’s fire department. Last year alone, LAFD responded to 757,203 requests for help. The scope of my position and that of my 7 direct reports covers supporting all the business systems, the hardware and software, the Fire Department uses. We are in charge of all the applications that deal with the internet and intranet, as well as writing requirement specifications and managing data projects.

How do you manage all that stuff, and what are the biggest payoffs you get from using ManagePro?

In a single statement, the biggest payoff is helping me manage everything from day-to-day tasks to our IT strategic plan. Oh we also use products like MS Project to lay out complex projects, but it doesn’t help me manage on a daily basis all the changes and ad-hoc tasks that emerge like ManagePro does.

I found with ManagePro, I can provide much easier tracking of the status of multiple projects using sorts and filters. I need something that ties into strategy, goals and budget, and lays out my tactical strategy...I really depend on the flexibility of ManagePro.

I’m often working with lots of changes, multiple pages long. Even in the simple version, our IT plan is about 22 pages, each section with its own series of projects and budget and staff. Being able to reconfigure the MPro outline to reflect to what's left, what the new plan is, what's been done, etc, within the multiple demands and changing priorities of our environment is a big plus.

I also use the back-up (progress updates) in ManagePro to support presentations I make. It helps me report up in a way that conveniently pulls the right level of information to help others make informed decisions, but not be overwhelmed with detail. I’ve used the data in ManagePro to help me shape decision making across the organization, such as in the latest consolidation plan.

What are the biggest things most people don’t get about using ManagePro?

Don’t adopt the “I’m too busy” mindset. First of all, we're all so busy putting out fires that we don't spend the time to define our mission, and keep it in focus – even though it’s really important that we do. If you don’t construct a plan, work it, reference it on a daily basis for yourself and your direct reports, all of which ManagePro excels at helping me accomplish, you get swamped and lost in the daily grind of responding to the next urgent request and email.

Don’t get intimadated by the empty screen. When people first look at ManagePro, it can be daunting, as you’re faced with its capability to tie everything you do together. You may have not thought all that through. People just need to remember to keep it to 3 easy steps when starting with ManagePro: 1. Lay out your strategy, 2. Lay out your tactical steps, 3. Apply it to where you are at… to what’s happening today. Do those three steps and you’ll be prepared and way ahead of most people, even if you have a lot to manage and a schedule that is usually booked solid two weeks out – like me.

-- Dennis Bloemhof, Director of Systems, LAFG

 

Stone Business Professionals, Inc.

Stone Business Professionals, Inc. recommends and uses ManagePro and MProWeb because it is the, “Right product for our clients!”

As the consulting firm that specializes in Strategic Initiatives, Sales Development & Human Resource Management for corporations, we searched long and hard to find a tracking software solution that combined all the best elements of traditional project management, dashboard and real time updates of critical path strategy planning in an easy to use and well supported package.

Stone Business Professionals strategic planning process in conjunction with ManagePro/MProWeb has saved our clients thousands and thousands of dollars, given its flexibility and the ease of customizing the software to fit the demands of their business.

Performance Solutions Technology (PST) has treated our clients with the same professional care that they receive from us. PST has truly listened to our clients to add new functionality to ManagePro / MProWeb without it costing them additional investment.

Our clients embrace the software because it is easy to use and very little training is needed to become proficient. Strategic meetings and quarterly updates now become proactive planning sessions and much less time is spent on “getting updates.”

The most common benefit we hear from our clients is:

“WE CAN QUICKLY SEE WHAT WE NEED TO ACHIEVE, WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS AND WHO’S RESPONSIBLE for the ACCOUNTABLE RESULTS!”

Thanks to all of you at PST for your continued support to bring great value to our clients and us.

-- Thomas Stone, President

Qarbon

Qarbon creates powerful, easy-to-use ViewletBuilder that creates Viewlets, like you see on the ManagePro page. An outstanding tool to demo software and educate your customers. But it is perhaps an even more powerful educational tool for your staff, as it lends itself to quickly conveying how you wish people to use tools such as ManagePro within their daily work process.

Click on the ViewletBuilder graphic to download your freeware version of this software.

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PMBoulevard

A project management knowledge center that includes a complete range of resources and services for anyone in the project management arena. The site includes: Templates, Techniques, Books, a Newsletter and a Shopping Cart. Be sure to put it on your Preferences list.