MICROSOFT PROJECT USER REVIEW: SUNCOR ENERGY (2 of 2)
REVIEW SUMMARY |
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When it comes to creating presentations of its complex scheduling information, Suncor Energy often turns to Microsoft Project, an easy-to-use application that enables quick and simple changes without the loss of formatting.
Suncor, a multi-billion dollar oil and gas energy corporation, has invested in many programs to support its initiatives. Since Microsoft's products are mainstays in most organizations, Microsoft Project management software easily integrated with Suncor’s menu of applications, said Salvador Carlos Hernandez Ramirez, who has worked at Suncor for two years and used Project for about three years. "We picked it for the simplicity it offered to create and change baselines in projects, as well as its seamless integration with other Microsoft products such as PowerPoint and Excel," he said.
Due to Project's user-friendliness, Hernandez Ramirez has never needed to call Microsoft's support lines or open the documentation or online help, he said. Likewise, users require little, if any, formal training to use the software, Hernandez Ramirez noted.
While Suncor uses Primavera Project Planner to create most construction schedules, Microsoft Project is a good solution for simpler or smaller projects, he said. The software reduced the time Suncor spends creating presentations for clients and partners, Hernandez Ramirez said.
"On a monthly basis, for reporting requirements only, we used this tool on a company that was running 116 projects at one point," he said. "In these environments, reporting tasks at the end of the month had become very time consuming. Microsoft Project gave us the flexibility to do changes back-and-forth, without losing any formatting."
Hernandez Ramirez rated Microsoft Project management software an 8 out of 10.
USER PROFILE |
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| User: | Salvador Carlos Hernandez Ramirez |
| Company: | Suncor Energy |
| Location: | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Website: | www.suncor.com |
| Type of business: | A major North American energy producer and marketer |
| Business size: | 2007 revenue of $18 billion; approximately 6,500 employees |
| Experience: | Founded in 1967 |
| Software tools used: | Microsoft Project |
| Tool & Version | Microsoft Project |
REVIEW DETAILS |
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What kinds of construction projects do you mostly work on?
How long have you been using this tool?
Where did you obtain it?
How much did you pay?
How are you using this product?
Why did you pick this product?
Was this product compatible with the software programs you were already using?
Did you look at other tools on the market before picking this one? What was it you didn't like about them (or made this product better)?
Before you bought this product were you using a different one to do the same job? If so, what tool were you using?
How many people are using this software? Who are they?
Comparing the way you work now with the way you worked before you bought this tool, what has changed?
Can you give us an example of a job where this tool really made a difference?
Can you estimate how much time or money you saved or other measurable benefits your firm realized using this tool?
What are the best features (for your business) in this tool?
Do you think it's a fair value for the price you paid?
What would you change about the product if you could?
Are there features that you don't use? Why not?
Who would you recommend use this tool?
How much computer experience do you think someone needs to use this tool effectively?
Did it take much training (or studying) to learn to use this tool?
Have you ever called the company's support lines and asked for help? What was your experience like?
How would you rate the user documentation? Is it helpful?
When the next version of this software comes out, will you upgrade to it?
Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this tool?
What kinds of construction projects do you mostly work on?
Suncor has approximately 6,500 employees and earned about $18 billion last year. The company is a major North American producer and market of oil and gas energy.
I've been using Microsoft Project management software for three years.
Where did you obtain it?We bought it directly from Microsoft.
How much did you pay?
I do not know.
How are you using this product?
We use it for the presentation of construction schedules.
We picked it for the simplicity it offered to create and change baselines in projects, as well as its seamless integration with other Microsoft products such as PowerPoint and Excel.
Was this product compatible with the software programs you were already using?
Yes. We use a lot of Microsoft products and, of course, they all work well together.
Yes, but the company chose this primarily for presentation purposes, not to do real construction scheduling or critical path analyses.
Before you bought this product were you using a different one to do the same job? If so, what tool were you using?
We were using Primavera Project Planner and Primavera SureTrak.
How many people are using this software? Who are they?
I don't know how many people are using it, but the employees doing the input and day-to-day tasks are mostly scheduling engineers.
Using Microsoft Project allows us to embed GANTT charts very quickly, allowing us to include them in PowerPoint presentations.
Can you give us an example of a job where this tool really made a difference?On a monthly basis, for reporting requirements only, we used this tool on a company that was running 116 projects at one point. In these environments, reporting tasks at the end of the month had become very time-consuming and so Microsoft Project gave us the flexibility to do changes back-and-forth, without losing any formatting.
Can you estimate how much time or money you saved or other measurable benefits your firm realized using this tool?
It certainly saved time when developing presentations in PowerPoint, although I can't really estimate the hours we saved.
What are the best features (for your business) in this tool?
Microsoft Project management software has an uncomplicated manner that allows the user to create and change the baseline -- all this, while moving tasks and complete work breakdown structure packages in time or around the several hierarchy levels without much complication.
Do you think it's a fair value for the price you paid?
I am not familiar with the price Suncor paid.
I would create a stricter way to set up the starting baseline and a stricter way to lock and change it.
Are there features that you don't use? Why not?
I know Microsoft Project offers cost control capabilities, but they are not valuable if a tool like this is used solely for presentation purposes.
Who would you recommend use this tool?
Depending on the project and the particular needs of the company this could be a useful tool. For simple and short projects, Microsoft Project management software is a very good tool. However, for complex and long projects, I would look at Primavera Project Planner (P3).
How much computer experience do you think someone needs to use this tool effectively?
You only need basic computing skills to use Microsoft Project management software.
Did it take much training (or studying) to learn to use this tool?
I believe training is not really required for this tool, as long as the user has an understanding of what construction scheduling is about. The software is very intuitive and easy to use. However, I have seen courses offered to enable users to squeeze out all of Microsoft Project's capabilities.
Have you ever called the company's support lines and asked for help? What was your experience like?
No, I have never called for support..
I have never used the documentation provided with this tool but usually all of Microsoft's applications have a very comprehensive help tool built in.
When the next version of this software comes out, will you upgrade to it?
No. We won't need to upgrade to meet our needs.
Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this tool?
8.