Fred Swanepoel
Chief Information Officer Nedbank Group Technology
“ I have worked with the company since its inception and have no hesitation in commending their services in the Project/Programme and Portfolio Management space. I believe that they are the top specialists in South Africa and possibly the world when it comes to these disciplines. I know, because with their help, our company scored the best out of 29 companies benchmarked internationally (including AMEX and some top international banks!). so whether you need to implement practical project management in your company, or you need more sophisticated portfolio management or even help on resource management in your project portfolio, I highly recommend AAPM.”
Corné Grobler
Associate Principal Programme Management Office, Strategy and Organisational Change
“ ABSA Capital has been working with allabout projectmanagement for close on three years and continuously benchmarks vendors against industry standards. every time we choose to continue our partnership with allabout projectmanagement. their broad based experience in the project environment combined with the fact that they “don’t sell products but rather a workable process solution to project environments” ensures they are valuable partners to ABSA Capital. where there is product based solution, allabout projectmanagement is capable of assisting with “fit for purpose” practical solutions and have proved time and time again that they can put theory to practice. ”
Joy Sen
Divisional Director Programme Management Individual Life Servicing
“ the AAPM team combine professional service with a relaxed approach that I found both easy to work with and immensely comforting, particularly during those all too familiar stressful times that we can’t seem to avoid on projects.from the first scoping session, through to the project close-out, I knew that I was in good hands. AAPM practice what they preach; the project costs were contained in the proposed project schedule, and I was left in no doubt as to exactly what was to be delivered when, by whom and how much it would cost.
while they always tried their best to accommodate my many change requests, they would not take on additional work if they felt that they did not have the capacity to deliver. they also made sure that I adhered to my commitments on the project, and scheduled regular update and feedback meetings with me. they added enormous value in the IP that they brought to the project, and I was always provided with more than one option, be it for solution design, risk mitigation or issue resolution.
the AAPM team are knowledgeable, experts in their field, and they deliver quality outputs. above all, they are people who care and, given the right opportunity, I would not hesitate to partner with them again. ”
John Hayes
First Rand
“ in August 2006 FirstRand Bank engaged the services of allabout projectmanagement to assist in the Basel II regulatory reporting implementation. the time-lines for this project were extremely tight, and the project was daunting in its magnitude since it covered the whole banking group’s reporting requirements.
despite these initial challenges, and the many more that seem to benchmark these types of project, the project managers from AAPM set about their tasks with energy and insight. the project was soon in full flow and the PMs had a good measure of the practicalities and nuances of such a project, including the numerous personalities that needed managing.
the pace continued, and it became clear that we were well out in front being used constantly as a benchmark by others in the industry. the project then climaxed with the submission of the first live BAs which were delivered both correctly and on time. a huge success given the circumstances.
our working relationship has now moved on and the Bank uses AAPM to help in a number of other projects. we have even started a Project Office under the stewardship of AAPM to manage the mountain of projects that seem to be part of the banking world. in these endeavours we look forward to the continued excellent service, quality personnel and exemplary ethics that form part of AAPM’s business. ”
Stella Fourie
Head Life Project Office – Liberty Life
“ allabout projectmanagement have worked with Liberty Life on the implementation of our Project Office. their involvement spanned process definition, Rational Portfolio Manager system configuration, project management maturity maps, training and general consultancy. their knowledge and expertise in the Project Management and in particular the Project Office space has added great value to our project and their people have always delivered beyond expectation.
their simple approach to problem solving is refreshing and valuable. we will continue to use their services as we move along our Project Management Improvement journey. ”
Elaine van der Walt
First Rand
“ I would like to thank you for your knowledge, skills and professionalism in the implementation of the CMS. you were a real asset and extremely valuable to the whole team.
there were some challenging times in the beginning which I believed you handled very well and in a professional manner especially when the vendor got out of hand. you kept the team together and on their toes, which made the project very successful … especially having a representation of 95% at each meeting from each company to the end (closure of the project).
I would also like to give you credit for your commitment and enthusiasm to this project considering that you were not part of the project in the beginning. your follow through and admin work is amazing – always having your finger on the pulse.
thank you once again – if I ever have another project whether in my employment at FirstRand or any other company I will confidently make contact with Dennis or Matthew to request your services.
good luck and keep up the good work … ”
Rui Pereirra
CIO for Africa and the Middle East Glaxo SmithKline
“ complimentary about project that allabout projectmanagement is managing. this is almost exclusively to the application of solid processes. we believe the organisation has seen the value of using specialists to deliver projects and that there are future opportunities for AAPM within GSK. ”
Adriaan Botha
Portfolio Solutions Standard Bank
“ my initial thought was that it would take a long time to properly deploy and implement the tool before it provided value. I was pleasantly surprised when, after only one 45 minute consultation, one day of training and approximately 10 hours of “playing”, we were able to create a sensible schedule, complete with realistic estimates of the infamous SAP GL Integration project.
even though this was done with hindsight, I was again surprised that the final estimation approximated quite closely what we had actually spent. this would have surprised a number of people, notably the sponsor, who was always adamant that the project cost too much in the end. had we had the tool earlier, we may have made the decision not to complete the project.
I have found the tool to be intuitive to use and relatively easy to get started. it also becomes clearer the more you use it. it provides sound guidelines to experienced PM’s and newbies alike.
even if the whole of the PM community in SBSA does not use it immediately, I would personally find great value in having the tool available to do some accurate estimating and to provide confidence in committing to delivery. ”
John Zimmerman
Practice Manager, Benchmarcks & Assessments Software Productivity & Research
“ it’s been a pleasure working with everyone again, and I look forward to working with everyone in the future.”
