System and method for automatic financial project management

Abstract

A system and method for providing project management tools to support construction, renovations, maintenance and other projects. The system automates the creation, processing and approval cycles of the numerous documents involved with each project. The system provides standardized work processes through processing templates. The system provides automated control and management of the process. The system allows project initiation and funding approval by clients throughout the corporation via a desktop browser coupled to a corporate Intranet. A software application embodying the present invention and its underlying technology are appropriate for a paper intensive area. It reduces the approval cycle of projects. It automates the creation, processing and approval cycle of documents by routing documents electronically for on-line approval.

Description

[0001] The present invention is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 163,506 entitled AUTOMATED FINANCIAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, filed Nov. 4, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION Background of the Invention [0002] Project management, especially in the area of corporate real estate project management, is traditionally a process which is driven by paper forms and documents. These paper documents include for example, purchase orders, work orders, contracts, Requests for Assistance (RFA), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), commitments, bids, invoices, messages (generic correspondence), meeting announcements and minutes, project close outs, complete punch lists, project evaluations, and departmental statistics. [0003] The processing of all of these various documents is very labor intensive, error prone and subjects the proposed projects to needless delays. For example, if the manager in charge of ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention is a software application that automates the process of managing projects, specifically for real estate and facilities departments. It provides tools to manage construction, renovations, maintenance, and other projects. The system helps streamline the creation, processing, and approval cycles of documents involved in project management. It allows clients to initiate and fund projects through a desktop browser, and it assists project managers in creating budgets, controlling expenses, and managing vendors. The system reduces the approval cycle of projects and automates the creation, processing, and approval cycle of documents by routing them electronically for online approval. Overall, the invention improves efficiency and productivity in project management."

Problems solved by technology

The processing of all of these various documents is very labor intensive, error prone and subjects the proposed projects to needless delays.

For example, if the manager in charge of approving commitments is on a business trip for two weeks, a commitment requiring his or her signature might be delayed for an additional six weeks, which in turn delays another vendor's initiation of work and so on.

Furthermore, an increase in the number of requests for new construction or engineering projects increases the volume of documents that are processed by the project administration group and the accounting operations group.

Conversely, a decrease in volume of requests lowers the productivity of the groups, as the staff levels are maintained to support the processing at the peak operations volume.

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