Elevate Denver: 500 projects, one program management system.

Denver, one of the largest cities in the U.S., is five years along its ten-year roadmap for an ambitious program of capital infrastructure improvements. This broad program comprises nearly 500 separate projects, aimed at helping Denver meet its rapid growth forecasts for the coming decade. The projects include brand-new elements, such as roads and recreation facilities, but additionally, renovating and improving existing infrastructure.

Branded Elevate Denver, the $937million program crosses seven portfolios and is steered by Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI). It has a has a broad remit for replacing, repairing and improving the city’s infrastructure including transportation and mobility; public safety systems such as police and fire; parks and recreation facilities such as libraries and cultural centres; and Denver Health Medical Center.

The City and County of Denver brought AtkinsRéalis on board in 2018 in a program management capacity and directed us to build a new visible reporting capability via digital dashboards for all stakeholders, including local communities, and to create a bespoke program management system.

The program management role included ongoing monitoring and management of project performance, including cost and budget, but also more complex dimensions that the city deemed vital for measurement and reporting: adherence to scope; efficient resourcing; fulfilment of diversity quotas; and achievement of the required sustainability certifications. The first step was to build the data to manage that measurement process and the second, to create the dashboards to quickly visualise it.

With widespread approval across the Bond Executive Committee and Mayor’s Office, the new program management system and accessible dashboarding improved coordination and collaboration across the 500 projects, increasing efficiency, clarity of reporting and predictability, resulting in the initial five-year contract being extended five more years.

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Residents in charge

When it came to getting the approval for the nearly 500 projects that make up the Elevate Denver program, the residents held most of the cards. In order to fund the program, the public was asked to vote on the seven different taxation mechanisms – one for each portfolio – that would provide the budget in its entirety. Widespread visibility of finance, benefits and status was paramount, so communities knew how their money was being spent and could check on the progress of any element going forward. Thanks in large part to the success of its predecessor program – Better Denver – residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of all seven portfolios.

At a management level, the scale and diversity of 500 individual projects presented a complex project management challenge. The Program Manager required a new, unified destination for all information on a scope, budget and schedule level, across the program as a whole and for each project. Off-the-shelf solutions, currently under development by DOTI were not yet implemented for reporting on the scale and variety of work involved. An additional challenge was the requirement to extract timely data from multiple sources and diverse systems, including the city’s financial system.

DISCLAIMER

Please note that you are now leaving the AtkinsRéalis website (legal name: AtkinsRéalis Group inc.) and entering a website maintained by a third party (the "External Website") and that you do so at your own risk.

AtkinsRéalis has no control over the External Website, any data or other content contained therein or any additional linked websites. The link to the External Website is provided for convenience purposes only. By clicking "Accept" you acknowledge and agree that AtkinsRéalis is not responsible, and does not accept or assume any responsibility or liability whatsoever for the data protection policy, the content, the data or the technical operation of the External Website and/or any linked websites and that AtkinsRéalis is not liable for the terms and conditions (or terms of use) of the External Website. Further, you acknowledge and agree that you assume all risks resulting from entering and/or using the External Website and/or any linked websites.

BY ENTERING THE EXTERNAL WEBSITE, YOU ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU COMPLETELY AND IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY AND ALL RIGHTS AND CLAIMS AGAINST ATKINSRÉALIS, AND RELEASE, DISCHARGE, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS ATKINSRÉALIS, ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS AND AGENTS FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LIABILITY FOR LOSS, DAMAGES, EXPENSES AND COSTS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ENTERING AND/OR USING THE EXTERNAL WEBSITE AND/OR ANY LINKED WEBSITES AND ANY DATA AND/OR CONTENT CONTAINED THEREIN.

Such waiver and release specifically includes, without limitation, any and all rights and claims pertaining to reliance on the data or content of the External Website, or claims pertaining to the processing of personal data, including but not limited to any rights under any applicable data protection statute. You also recognize by clicking “Accept” that the terms of this disclaimer are reasonable.

The information provided by Virtua Research cited herein is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranty of any kind. Use of any Virtua Research data is at a user’s own risk and Virtua Research disclaims any liability for use of the Virtua Research data. Although the information is obtained or compiled from reliable sources Virtua Research neither can nor does guarantee or make any representation or warranty, either express or implied, as to the accuracy, validity, sequence, timeliness, completeness or continued availability of any information or data, including third-party content, made available herein. In no event shall Virtua Research be liable for any decision made or action or inaction taken in reliance on any information or data, including third-party content. Virtua Research further explicitly disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.

The consensus estimate provided by Virtua Research is based on estimates, forecasts and predictions made by third party financial analysts, as described above. It is not prepared based on information provided by AtkinsRéalis and can only be seen as a consensus view on AtkinsRéalis' possible future results from an outside perspective. AtkinsRéalis has not provided input on these forecasts, except by referring to past publicly disclosed information. AtkinsRéalis does not accept any responsibility for the quality or accuracy of any individual or average of forecasts or estimates. This web page contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by third parties. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between AtkinsRéalis' actual future results, financial situation, development or performance, and the estimates given here.



Keeping the end in mind and to use data-driven decision making for Program and Project Managers.

JANE FISHER

PROGRAM MANAGER, CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER

People, data and technology

The solution was an embodiment of our people-data-technology approach. Drawing on our wealth of global knowledge, an experienced local team, digital expertise and City leadership, the team created a customized Program Management and Reporting solution. This used SharePoint for data storage and Microsoft Power BI for interactive reporting, with complete monitoring capability on finance, scope and progress, drawing data from across the board and consolidating it into one unified online platform. Several dashboard wireframes and development roadmaps for each portfolio area were created with phased releases. The full public-facing Program Dashboard launched in August 2022.

Elevate Denver was a showcase for our integrated approach to program management. A perfect example of how the combination of experience, the spirit of partnership, digital expertise and use of the latest-generation technology can make a difference for our clients, but also our communities.

SCOTT RICHRATH

INAUGURAL PROGRAM MANAGER & SENIOR ADVISOR, ATKINSRÉALIS

Every project is unique; one size does not fit all. Elevate Denver is a program of 500 projects where it was important to tailor a bespoke digital solution to make program management of a complex project landscape, much smoother and simpler.

SHANU SHARMA

TECHNOLOGY LEAD & TECHNICAL PROJECT MANAGER, ATKINSRÉALIS

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