| Feature | Function | Benefit |
|---|
| Common Reporting solution using a data warehouse | An optional relational database is available to integrate information, enabling you to perform trend analysis utilizing all the data sets on which you currently run pivots and reports. In addition, you can access standard reporting solutions to perform ad hoc inquiries as required, without having to involve IT. | Improved performance for ad hoc report generation. Warehouse can allow multiple feeds from multiple Rational Portfolio Manager deployments providing aggregate data views. Reporting solutions such as ALPHABLOX®, Crystal Reports®, BIRT® and many others may be leveraged. |
| Rational Portfolio Manager software integrates with IBM Rational ProjectConsole™ software | Expand trend analysis for a more accurate assessment of general project health. This integration allows you to include relevant data from other sources, such as IBM Rational ClearQuest® and IBM Rational RequisitePro® software, as well as third-party tools. | Gain a more holistic picture of what’s going on with early warning capabilities that use trending data on all the elements impacting the projects in your portfolio. |
| Rational Portfolio Manager software integrates with IBM Rational Method Composer software | Rational Portfolio Manager offers a unique capability allowing you to customize Rational Unified Process or define any other methodology, publish method guidance in a website format and create project templates based on and connected to the method guidance. | This process predictability and control helps improve manageability throughout the project lifecycle by integrating process with the way people work |
| Rational Portfolio Manager software integrates with IBM Rational ClearQuest® software | Rational ClearQuest records can be integrated into projects as tasks, summary tasks or scope elements; taking advantage of all of the capabilities of Rational Portfolio Manager:
- Resource Planning
- Scheduling
- Cost and Benefits tracking
- Project Management
- Scope and Risk Management
| Provides project managers with insight into development activities for more effective project management and resource capacity planning by automating status and state information retrieval from Rational ClearQuest and updating the corresponding Rational Portfolio Manager tasks. This integration allows you to adopt better governance practices through more detailed project tracking WITHOUT making significant changes to existing processes and practices |
| Rational Portfolio Manager software integrates with IBM Rational RequisitePro® software | Rational RequisitePro requirements instantiated in Rational Portfolio Manager allows project managers to assign resources. These requirements can be scheduled and have cost and benefit assigned to them, and they can be moved to the appropriate iteration—in short, they can be treated as any other scope element in Rational Portfolio Manager. | The integration provides project managers with greater visibility into the relationship between development activities and requirements from Rational RequisitePro and allows business analysts to trace requirements to the corresponding requirements and development activities in Rational Portfolio Manager. |
| Portfolio dashboard | Condense many reports into roll-up reports with tables, maps and graphical displays of status and comparisons, including bubble charts, score cards, and more. Perform detailed ROI, payback, or break-even analyses. | Provides technical and business stakeholders with the ability to visualize the complete IT environment. Capture and interpret complex project and portfolio metrics in order to align investments with enterprise priorities. |
| Capacity and resource planning | Maintains a complete model of an organization's capacity, affected resources, skills inventory, total workload and resource demand. | Optimize skills usage and ensure that all mission-critical resources are aligned with high priority projects. |
| Resource leveling and scheduling (including integration with Microsoft® Project) | A scheduling engine analyzes bottlenecks, available slack, over-allocated resources and due date constraints. Leverage either the native scheduling interface or synchronize with Microsoft® Project | Find the best resource distribution across a multi-project environment. Distribute and collaborate on project schedules within a central repository. Import and export schedule data to maximize flexibility and accuracy. |
| Project collaboration | An integrated collaboration workflow engine automates and tracks the flow of all project work. | The ability to communicate from the Work Breakdown Structure assures that teams have immediate access to all project information; e-mail notifications alert participants to changes in state and other variances. |
| Time and expense management | Enter expense information against appropriate charge codes, and display variances as expenses are incurred. Time spent can also be entered by team members using an intuitive timesheet interface. | By centralizing time and expense reporting, cost variances and resource usage is calculated in real-time, reducing project risk and contingency utilization. |
| Risk management | Project risks are catalogued and responded to via a central repository. | Identify, track, and mitigate the highest impact risks. Each risk and its impact on various project areas is described, and a customizable trigger mechanism lets you know when a risk event has occurred. |
