Kantata Project Management Guide

Overview

Kantata is our primary Resource Management software where the PMO team reviews and manages Delivery team hours against project scope to effectively report on project progress and forecast PS revenue.

Our team does leverage google sheet templates to ensure forecast & resource allocation accuracy.

Project Types & Billing Models

Time & Materials (T&M) Projects

  • Billing: Invoiced according to time submitted at the project level (bucket of hours)
  • Revenue Recognition: Released monthly based on approved timesheets
  • Tracking: While SKUs are one transaction, we track against hourly billings (e.g., Consulting Blocks & Dedicated Engineer Projects)

Fixed Fee (FF/FP) Projects

  • Billing: Invoiced at milestone schedule
  • Revenue Recognition: Upon customer milestone acceptance or passive acceptance completion
  • Critical: Ensure anticipated dates are added to milestones and customer sign-off is obtained before billing period ends

Initial Project Setup

Project Lead Assignment

  1. Ensure you (as PM) are assigned as the project lead in Kantata
  2. Navigate to Kantata > Resourcing > Resource Center > Projects
  3. Filter by Project Lead = you to review allocations for your projects

Resource Allocation Types

  • Soft Bookings: Non-confirmed allocations (displayed as striped cells) - used when final schedule isn't known yet
  • Hard Bookings: Confirmed allocations (displayed as colored cells) - promises team member availability

Time Tracking Guidelines

  • refer here for a complete breakdown of non-billable vs billable time
  • be sure to review with your project team members independent or in conjunction with the Working Agreement

Resource Management & Forecasting

Creating Resource Requests

  1. Navigate to Resource Center > Projects
  2. Under assigned team members, click "Add Team Member" or "Add unnamed Resource"
  3. Fill in information and click "Submit Request" (Note: "Post" will not submit the request)
  4. If too early for specific resource but you have rough schedule, hard schedule with "unnamed resource" for capacity planning

Allocation Guidelines

All active projects must be fully allocated on a rolling 12-week basis and should have a combination of Hard and Soft allocations that account for the full 12-week window.

  • Hard Allocations (Hard Forecast):
    • Hours where we have confirmed client commitment (90%+ confidence)
    • Examples: scheduled meetings, project plans, and confirmed upcoming deliverables
    • Promises team member availability for requested hours
    • Projects into revenue forecast (90-95% accuracy)
    • Requires approval by project coordinator
  • Soft Allocations (Soft Forecast):
    • The PM's best assumption of likely project revenue based on current trajectory, scope, and client engagement — an informed estimate, not a guarantee
    • Used for visibility and planning when schedule is uncertain
    • Will not promise team member availability
    • Considered upside forecast (40% accuracy)

What's expected of every PM:

  • Confirm Hard allocations reflect only work with strong client confirmation
  • Fill remaining weeks with your best Soft forecast assumptions
  • Ensure no active project is left unallocated across the 12-week horizon

Blocked or missing information? If you're waiting on client confirmation, missing project details, or have any blockers, loop in your PMO Manager first and escalate any outstanding issues to PS leadership. Do not leave projects unallocated while waiting — use Soft allocations to capture your best current estimate.

Forecast Management Process

  1. Go to Resource Center > Project Tab and filter via "My Projects"
  2. Expand your project to see all PS Engineers and yourself
  3. Click on each team member's name and submit Resource Request via the "activity" window
  4. Assign to Project Coordinator as recipient

Team Member Availability

  • Navigate to Kantata > Resourcing > Resource Center > Team Members
  • View specific resource availability when changing or increasing allocations

Upside Tracking

Upside is reviewed weekly, monthly, and quarterly. Track upside in the weekly revenue tracking sheet (pinned to ps-pmo channel) for these scenarios:

  1. Uncertain Forecasting: Cannot confidently forecast project resources 2 months out → soft-book PSE/PM/TA time
  2. Pending Change Orders: CO not yet reflected in Kantata → review details with PMO Manager
  3. Milestone Date Adjustments: Anticipated completion in quarter but not yet confirmed/verified
  4. Customer Reporting: Call out upside in customer reports (e.g., "can only soft-forecast 'x' amount because of 'y' constraints")

Fixed Fee Project Management

Milestone Date Updates

  1. Open your project and select "Task Tracker" tab
  2. Expand milestones
  3. Update sign-off dates to reflect in forecast

Revenue Recognition & Project Closure

T&M Project Revenue Release

  • Timing: Revenue recognized monthly
  • Process:
    • PSEs/PMs log time weekly via Kantata timesheets
    • Project Lead/PM approves entries weekly
    • Month-end: Project Coordinator compiles approved timesheets and submits to Finance

Fixed Fee Project Revenue Release

  • Timing: Upon customer milestone acceptance or passive acceptance completion
  • Process:
    1. PM copies Project Milestone/Closure document
    2. Attach document to customer for closure, copying Operations coordinator
    3. Customer signs document or replies "approved"
    4. PM sets milestone in Kantata to "complete"

Passive Acceptance

  • Timeline: Customer has 5 business days to approve/deny (Day 1 = notification sent day)
  • Action: If no response within timeframe, milestone can be set to "complete"

Required Kantata Updates for Milestones

Update these custom fields in respective milestone tasks:

  • Sign-Off Sent: When acceptance request email is sent
  • Sign-Off Received: When customer acceptance received or passive acceptance achieved
  • Passive Acceptance Utilized: If passive acceptance is used
  • Attachments: Acceptance email (PDF format) or milestone document
  • Dates: Update actual start/kickoff/end dates

Important: Only update top-level milestone fields; sub-activities remain unchanged.

Key Reminders

  • Adhere to scheduling guidelines for accurate resource allocation and revenue forecasting
  • Weekly timesheet submissions are critical for T&M revenue recognition
  • Milestone management is crucial for FF project revenue recognition
  • Regular upside tracking ensures accurate quarterly forecasting