Project-based professionals in those industries are focusing oninitiatives that address compliance and efficiency. In one of aseries of recent reports on PBS, R "Ray" Wang, principal analyst atForrester, notes that the low cost, easily implemented and easilydeployed SaaS delivery platform makes an attractive licensingmodel, especially for small businesses in the services automationspace.

"The preference for comprehensive solutions will drive demandfor tools that apply program management techniques, deliver onintegration and collaboration and provide new deployment options.Business process and applications professionals consideringsolutions along the project life cycle should seekindustry-specific solutions from vendors who embrace the vision ofdynamic apps," Wang says.

Here's his advice for professionals in project-based industriesthat are selecting a PBS solution or updating their PBSstrategy.

• Start now. You don't need to buy a bunch of new technology tostart. This is about building a sustainable strategy that will helpguide existing and future technology investments, projects andmaintenance plans.
• Align requirements with project-based processes. There areopportunities for smaller organizations (200 to 1,000 employees),particularly in the services delivery automation space, to quicklystandardize their project management methodologies.
• Assess project and process maturity. Benchmark yourorganization against established project management standard. Yourmaturity level will provide a strong indication of the type ofsolution best suited for your needs.
• Start within the industry and consider specific scenarios.Identify the vendors that have shown proven capabilities in yourindustry or related industries. Take existing project processes andmap them to the key PBS processes. Identify key use cases and thendevelop demo scenarios for the vendors during the selectionprocess.
• Assess integration points to core applications. In enterpriseswith multiple ERP systems, carefully consider integration back tocore financials, core human capital management or otherproject-related systems.
• Choose a project scheduling tool. Make sure the selected PBSvendor supports the tool with which the business users will be mostcomfortable.
• Assess the long-term packaged apps strategy. Best practicesoften include not only a current assessment of apps strategy, butan ongoing review.