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HMS Software Announces Project Portfolio Management Practice

Veteran Enterprise Project Management deployment firm embraces Microsoft Project Portfolio Server

Montreal September 18 2006 - HMS Software, a leading provider of enterprise project management and enterprise timesheet solutions, has announced a new series of services in the Project Portfolio Management domain. HMS, who has been in the enterprise project management industry for over 22 years, will provide consulting, training and technical services to organizations who wish to better manage the entire spectrum of project portfolios.

"From our very first mandate back in 1984 we have been presented with Project Portfolio challenges by our clients," explains Chris Vandersluis, president of HMS Software. "Project management really starts before a project is even initialized. Organizations must sift through all the possible permutations of what new ideas and existing requests will ultimately become active projects and that's where Project Portfolio Management comes in. This is an aspect of project management that is receiving a lot of industry focus right now."

According to IDC the Project Portfolio Management industry has grown to over $2.15Billion (US) in 2005.

HMS has a long standing reputation of deploying enterprise level project management and timesheet systems in mid- to large-scale project environments and expects this tradition to continue with its Project Portfolio Management practice. Extending HMS Software's existing practice of deploying Microsoft's EPM Solution, HMS will support the Microsoft Project Portfolio Server system.

"Our staff have been working with Microsoft since the beginning of the year on this new technology," says Stephen Eyton-Jones, HMS Software's Director of Technical Services. "We have had staff members in classes with the Project Portfolio Server developers at Microsoft's Headquarters in Redmond and have been working directly with the Microsoft staff on messaging for the system."

HMS's services will focus on 5 areas of Project Portfolio management which are all supported by Microsoft's PPS:

Portfolio Building

HMS Business Analysts will work with the client to determine the key metrics of the organization that are represented in the selection of projects. These may include Return on Investment, Alignment with corporate strategy, Risk, Alignment with existing skills, Competitive Advantage and more. At the same time a Stage-Gate environment is defined along with the metrics required to escalate through each stage of a project from the initial idea to project close.

Portfolio Optimizing

Once the key performance metrics have been identified, HMS will work on creating analyses that will leave management empowered to take action quickly on which projects should be accepted, which should be paused or rejected and which should escalate through the Stage Gates. These analyses then become part of the Portfolio process which HMS will help design in conjunction with the client.

Dashboards and Scorecards

HMS technical personnel will assist in the design and deployment of scorecarding and on-screen dashboards that will give Management visibility into the current status of all items in the portfolio process. This allows Management to get a high-end view or to descend to any level of detail.

Workflow

HMS personnel work with the client to establish and deploy a process for the entire lifecycle of a project from the earliest idea to a completed project. This is then embodied in Project Portfolio Server's automated Workflow. As each project goes through the steps that have been defined, key personnel are then notified to take the next appropriate action to ensure that the maximum throughput of projects and project work is achieved.

Integration with Microsoft Project Server Given its long-standing support of Microsoft Project Server, HMS is ideally suited to assist the client with integrating Project Portfolio Server into an overall enterprise project environment.

The HMS Project Portfolio Management Service is available immediately. For more information consult HMS Software's website at www.hms.ca or contact HMS by phone at +1 514-695-8122.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. For more information about Microsoft Project visit www.microsoft.com/project.

About TimeControl

TimeControl was originally released in 1994. It was immediately successful in the project management sector and today is recognized not only as a project management solution, but also as an enterprise timesheet solution in use by companies worldwide. TimeControl is designed as a multipurpose timesheet able to serve the needs of both Finance and Project Management simultaneously. It includes features such as a multi-browser, multi-device interface, a PC and mobile interface, vacation approvals, executive dashboards, extensive approval functionality, flexible reporting and links to project management and corporate systems which makes the timesheet product ideally suited for integration with existing systems in any organization. TimeControl's flexibility allows it to be deployed for use as a time and attendance, time and billing, project tracking and flex-time system. TimeControl is available both for purchase for an on-premises installation or as an on-line subscription in the Cloud.

To access the free Hosted TimeControl Trial site, visit our free trial page.

For more information about TimeControl, monitor the TimeControl blog at http://blog.timecontrol.org/ or the TimeControl website at www.timecontrol.com.

For information about TimeControlOnline, our hosted timesheet subscription service in the cloud, go to www.timecontrol.com/features/timecontrol-online.

For any other questions, please contact HMS Software at info@hms.ca.

TimeControl is represented around the world by our distributors in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, the UK, and the U.S.

About HMS Software

Based in Montreal, Canada with offices in Toronto, HMS Software has been a leading provider of project management and enterprise timesheet systems and services since 1984. HMS Software's first customized timesheet application was written in 1984. With the launch of TimeControl as a commercial application in 1994, HMS Software began servicing clients worldwide.

HMS Software's client list reads like a who's who of business. It includes Acergy, Aecon, Rio Tinto, the Atlanta Airport, the City of Montreal, the County of San Mateo, Electromotive Diesel, EXFO, FT Services, Kelly Services, Koch, Merck Frosst, the Government of Quebec, Georgia Pacific, Parker Hannifin, Rolls Royce, Sobeys, Volvo Novabus, Zimmer Inc. and hundreds of others.

For further information about HMS Software, please visit the HMS website at: www.hms.ca or contact us at info@hms.ca.