MasterControl Projects™ - Features & Benefits
Managing and Controlling Document and Process-based Implementation Projects
Whether your project involves launching a new product or performing software validation as part of FDA compliance, the goal is to successfully implement your plan in a timely manner and within budget. Yet, the vast majority of companies manage most projects with arcane tools, such as spreadsheets, that require extensive manual effort and unnecessarily prolong a project.
MasterControl Projects™ automates the process of controlling projects, particularly those that are document and/or process-based. It automates task assignment, routing, escalation, and tracking. It streamlines the workflow and provides project transparency that fosters accountability.
MasterControl considers validation an integral part of software solutions for FDA-regulated customers. Our ?continuous validation? approach dramatically cuts the time, pain, and cost involved in validation, making it easier to re-validate future upgrades.
MasterControl's continuum of products and services address different levels of validation needs based on individual risk assessment. They include innovative products and services such as MasterControl Transfer OQ and MasterControl Automated OQ.
Here is how MasterControl addresses the key challenges faced by companies using different enterprise applications:
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MasterControl Projects™ Software |
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Disconnected Processes
Even expensive, dedicated project management tools are disconnected entities. It means a project manager must manually query task owners prior to manually updating task completion data.
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Connected Project Management
With MasterControl Projects, the plan is connected to the tasks. For example, MasterControl knows when a document is approved or a process is completed. When this occurs, MasterControl automatically updates the project plan with no manual intervention required.
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No Standard Process
Managers without a formal project management tool or process are essentially flying by the seat of their pants. Project results are likely to be inconsistent or ineffective. Meeting deadlines and staying within budget could be major challenges.
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Standardized Process
MasterControl will standardize project management by providing an effective framework for the process, from project definition to completion. All tasks, schedules, and resources related to a project will be coordinated under a single system, fostering efficiency.
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Poor Project Tracking
Tracking tasks manually can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Some tasks are likely to fall through the cracks without a proper tool for monitoring and escalation.
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Automatic Tracking
MasterControl automates tracking of tasks and monitoring of progress for a more efficient process. Users can create dependencies for a more effective workflow.
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Poor Turnaround
Every project comes with a target completion date. In projects such as a product launch or a quality audit, timeliness is critical. Managing a project using a manual process entails time-consuming legwork, meetings, and follow-up work that are likely to drag project completion.
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Fast Turnaround
MasterControl automates scheduling, task assignment, routing, tracking, escalation, and approval, greatly speeding up the process. The system provides project transparency to help avoid bottlenecks.
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Poor Communications
Each project has multiple stakeholders who need to know the current status of various tasks and/or milestones. Without an enterprise tool, determining status is inefficient and time-consuming.
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Real-Time Communication
MasterControl provides a central location for task and milestone status that is updated automatically. Stakeholders can easily determine what is on track and what is behind schedule.
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MasterControl Projects, a part of the MasterControl integrated quality suite, is a robust application that provides a connected framework for managing a project. MasterControl is 100 percent Web-based so team members can access it from virtually anywhere. Below are some of its powerful features.
Project Template: Most companies carry out similar projects time and again. MasterControl provides the ability to create a preconfigured template for each type of project to help reduce the time involved in starting a project. The template automatically includes basic information about high-level project groupings such as design, development, pilot/test, launch, and manufacturing/deployment, with each grouping depending on the prior one. The template includes document or form-based tasks that are typically required by the project.
Best-Practice Workflow: MasterControl incorporates the different steps of a typical project. Through this workflow, a user can:
- Define a new project;Define tasks and group them accordingly;
- Define tasks that are dependent on other tasks;
- Schedule tasks;
- Assign tasks to users;
- Assign target date for each task;
- Escalate tasks after a period of inaction;
- Route the tasks electronically;
- Track and monitor tasks electronically; and
- Approve and close completed project
Project Lifecycle Management: A project typically involves several phases: project definition, planning, execution, and completion. MasterControl provides virtual vaults for effective management of the project lifecycle.
- Definition and Planning ? A new project resides in the draft vault, which allows editing of tasks, schedules, dependencies, etc.
- Execution ? A project in the execution phase moves to the release vault, where tasks are automatically assigned to the appropriate users as defined by the project. Tasks and milestones can be modified as needed throughout the execution phase.
- Completion ? When all tasks are completed, the project moves to the archive vault. Completed projects will be available for review as needed.
Project View/Workspace: A user can view a hierarchical tree of tasks and groups of tasks through the workspace. The user can add, delete, and make changes to tasks, dependencies, and target dates. The project view also allows the user to easily determine the current status of tasks and project milestones.
Filtering Capability: A powerful filtering capability allows users to view tasks by categories: tasks on the critical path, overdue tasks, tasks assigned to a specific user, etc. This feature serves as a critical-path planning tool. |
