Why PSA Maturity Stalls
Every Certinia release produces a list of things to configure. That list drives the roadmap. Most organizations never identify which process gaps are actually blocking margin and utilization outcomes.
Scoring 100% at Level 1 looks like success. It isn't a target — it's a baseline. The distance between a working PSA and a high-performing one is measured at Level 2 and Level 3, where most organizations score near-zero.
Without a maturity model, configuration tweaks and KPI blockers sit in the same backlog. You can't tell which changes will move the numbers and which won't.
What Reaching Level 3 Is Worth
SPI Research benchmarks show what separates Level 3 professional services firms from their Level 2 peers:
+15.1%
(22.6% → 37.7%)
+7.1%
(66.9% → 74.0%)
5.2%
(vs. -1.9% at Level 2)
The Workshop Series
Five workshops. Each targets a specific process area, scores your current state against the SPI maturity model, and produces a prioritized roadmap.
Skills Management Maturity
A skills catalogue that doesn't drive staffing decisions is a spreadsheet with extra steps. This workshop builds the process that connects skills data to Resource Requests: skill sets, self-assessment workflows, manager-approval loops, and gap analysis against open project demand.
- Group skills by discipline with Skill Sets
- Activate self-assessment and manager-approval workflows
- Connect skill requests to Resource Requests for data-driven staffing
- Measure Time to Staff by Skill and skills supply vs. project demand
Resource Management Maturity
When staffing runs on a resource manager's memory, demand is invisible until it's urgent. This workshop builds request-based staffing: Resource Requests on Opportunities and Projects, data-driven matching by role, schedule, and skill, and monthly EAC calculations that surface overruns before project close.
- Map As-Is and To-Be staffing processes with RACI ownership
- Activate Resource Requests with role, dates, hours, and skill requirements
- Build a Resource Management Workspace for priority-based staffing
- Set up monthly utilization KPIs with corrective action cadence
Time Management Maturity
Auto-approved timecards skip the quality control step and introduce billing risk. This workshop implements manager-approval workflows for both customer and internal projects, configures hour validation rules, activates end-of-week submission reminders, and gives management visibility into missing time before billing runs.
- Configure Project Manager and Functional Manager approval workflows
- Set min/max hour rules to catch over- and under-booking automatically
- Activate automated missing timecard reminders and management reporting
- Implement fixed fee milestone time tracking for budget variance visibility
Foundational Project Management
Billing events fire, but project structure is ad hoc. No templates, no milestone-level hour plans, no formal change tracking. This workshop standardizes project setup by billing type, connects EAC forecasting to monthly scheduling reviews, and puts margin visibility in place before project close.
- Build project templates by billing type with milestone and assignment structure
- Standardize T&M, Fixed Fee, and Hybrid delivery setup
- Implement EAC at the project and assignment level with monthly variance review
- Set up formal change request tracking to separate scope changes from the original SOW
Advanced Project Management
Once foundational PM processes are controlled, this workshop adds task-level planning: WBS-based scheduling with dependencies, ETC calculations at the assignment level, and portfolio-level P&L reporting with corrective action built into the weekly cadence.
- Implement WBS-based project plans with milestones, tasks, and Gantt scheduling
- Calculate ETC at the assignment level to forecast resource overruns weekly
- Build portfolio-level revenue, cost, and margin reporting with corrective triggers
- Design backlog management for demand-driven delivery execution
How Each Workshop Works
Maturity Assessment
We score your current processes against the SPI Research maturity model, level by level. The output names which capabilities you've reached, which KPIs those capabilities enable, and which gaps are blocking outcomes you can't yet measure.
Process Design
We map your current state against the target-state model for each process area. RACI ownership is assigned, KPIs are tied to specific business outcomes, and the To-Be processes are documented before any configuration work starts.
Implementation Roadmap
We sequence improvements by impact and feasibility, assign target maturity levels to each action, and produce a prioritized execution plan you can run independently or with us.
Certinia Innovation Partner of the Year
We have been a Certinia partner since 2011. We have delivered more than 180 PSA implementations, more than any other Certinia partner. Several of our consultants held prior roles at Certinia itself. We run our own services business on Certinia, which means we advise from an operator's perspective, not a vendor's.
Each Assessment Delivers a Full Analysis Document.
Fifteen to twenty minutes of your time. One process area. You get back a scored analysis across five maturity levels: what processes you've demonstrated, which gaps are blocking specific KPIs, and a sequenced action plan with target maturity levels at each step. No charge.
Resource Management
Your document scores staffing, utilization, and capacity across five maturity levels. You see which gaps block demand forecasting, which block skill-based staffing, and what to fix first.
Take AssessmentSkills Management
Your report shows whether your skills data drives staffing decisions or just sits in PSA. You get a specific list of what to change: how you validate ratings, how you match resources to roles, and where skill supply falls short of project demand.
Take AssessmentTime Management
Your document shows where time capture and approval gaps create billing risk, missing revenue, or utilization numbers you can't trust. You get a sequenced plan to complete, audit-ready timecard data.
Take AssessmentProject Management
Your report scores delivery maturity across budget tracking, margin calculation, and revenue recognition. For each gap, you see exactly which KPIs it's blocking and what changes when you close it.
Take AssessmentSelling Services
Your document shows where sales commitments and delivery setup fall out of sync. You get a specific list of PSA capabilities that close the handoff: Opportunity creation, project structure, and margin locked in before delivery starts.
Take Assessment